Leonardo, “Leleo” in short. He became known as Leleo because his school bus driver nicknamed him when he was 2 years old, leh-leh-oh. His father Mr. Stelio Teixeira, sun of a famous Brazilian 20th century painter, works restoring works of art and his mother Mrs. Anita Teixeira, is a musicologist and house wife. His parents brought Leleo and his brother Marcus in a typically middle class family, in the glamorous Rio seaside suburb called Copacabana. This beach place influenced many of Leleo’s compositions and illustrates the beauty and the chaos of what some can describe as "Manhattan on Sea”.

Leleo had big exposure to Beatles songs and British pop through his mother, great fan. He bought his 1st guitar from a pawn shop in the crowded streets of Copacabana. From there on Leleo and guitar became inseparable. He grew up playing in school festivals, family parties, friends discos and sound systems.

In 1988 Leleo started a very successful Brazilian band called Band Bel. They released two albums, the first “O rei do Rio”, in 1992 through a label called Titanus and the second called “Sambadrome” topped the Brazilian charts with a song about the football player Romario. It was 1994, the year of Romario playing in the Brazilian World Cup squad, it was a mega hit, number one in fact. The song immediately became a football anthem, and now it serves as sound track for the images of skillful Brazilian football players and their devoted supporters. Banda Bel toured Brazil, the Far East and USA and ended in1995. During this period Leleo also composed a song called "Rosemary Margarida" for the film called " DIAS MELHORES VIRÃO" de Carlos Diegues, a very influential and one of the most important Brazilian movie directors.

Leleo met the the legendary Ivo Meirelles from Mangueira in 1991, and was invited to join Ivo's newly formed band soon after the first meeting. Leleo played guitar on Ivo’s album called “Desafio da Navalha” and this came out on EMI Brazil in 1992.

In November of 1995 Leleo started working for Warner Brazil in the A&R position and left in 1998 to form his own company with partners David Villafort and Marc Rainier. They had their own studio where they produced from movie soundtracks to pop and electronic music. Among many things they produced the world famous documentary “2000 Nordestes”. In 1996 Leleo produced the sound track for the movie “Como ser solteiro”, this was another great hit out on Natasha Records. The translation is “A bachelor in Rio”, the song with the same title, and yes, he did it again… The song is the most requested on Brazilian radio stations to this day, especially during summer time; radio listeners just can’t get enough.

Leleo also produced a record in Portugal with a singer called Marta Dias, the album called “Toxidade” came out on Farol Musica. On returning to Brazil in 2003, Leleo worked with Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Marcelo D2 and others. In 2004 Leleo started a partnership with Bernardo Vilhena, famous Brazilian pop poet and lyricist, together they developed the album “Maravilhas” soon to be released in the UK on Acid Jazz.

Now Leleo is a singer, composer and producer with a very definite sound which makes us feel firmly into the 21st century Brazil and yet it evokes that happy flavor found in the 1970’s sound of people like Jorge Benjor and Sergio Mendes. It is acid as acid jazz meets new bossa samba swing. They call it “Acid Samba ”.

Leleo’s band, "Maravilhas", name that also inspired the album's name, is composed of a group of talented friends; Nara Gil, Laufer, Ricardo Imperatore and Roger Negão. We can’t stop playing it; we carry on tapping our toes and here comes that dance feeling again. Happy tunes from a happy place, if it is not Copacabana, Rio...it must be somewhere inside Leleo’s world.