Leighton Harrell (b. 1999) is a Canadian-American bassist and composer born in Washington D.C. and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. He found his passion for music at the age of 16, and a year later was selected to be a member of the Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble, with which he attended the 2017 Essentially Ellington competition in New York City. Upon graduating from high school that year, Leighton received a scholarship to attend the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance program, where he studied with Dave Young, Andrew Downing, and Geoff Young. While in Toronto, Leighton balanced a busy schedule of gigs around the city with his studies. After graduating from UofT in 2021, Leighton relocated to Montreal where he lived for two years. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Since 2023, Leighton has been a member of the Jeremy Pelt Quintet, and has also performed with Joe Farnsworth, Sullivan Fortner, and NEA Jazz Master Louis Hayes. On the Canadian scene, Leighton has performed or recorded with Kevin Dean, Sam Kirmayer, Caity Gyorgy, and Baron Tymas to name a few. In 2022 Leighton was nominated for a JUNO award as a member of the band Alex Bird and the Jazz Mavericks, whose sophomore album, You Are The Light and the Way was considered for Best Vocal Jazz Album.

Leighton is also a widely sought after bassist in the indie rock genre, having performed or recorded with Fiver, Ada Lea, Le Ren, Sasha Cay and James Clayton, and Bells Larsen. He also performs frequently with Jonah Yano.

Leighton recently composed a suite of music for a multi-disciplinary collaboration with tap dance artists Ella Steele and David Lafleur which was presented in August 2022 at the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival.