Jaime Legato

Who is Jaime Legato?

Jaime Legato is one of the more diverse musicians in popular music. He is perhaps best known as a founding member of Giant Jerk, one of the leaders of the American-based improvisational folk movement of the mid-1990s.

Legato was born in Toledo, Ohio, on January 24, 1971. He and his younger brother, Shirc, were classically trained in piano and violin respectively. They formed many rock bands together in their early years, usually with Shirc playing guitar and Jaime playing bass.

After Shirc graduated high school in 1991, the brothers moved to Dayton, Ohio, where they met up with singer, Thaddeus Floodgate, another Toledo transplant. Along with percussionist DJ Kwapich, they formed Kilgore Trout, named after the character in Kurt Vonnegut novels. Kilgore Trout had modest success in the Midwest, perhaps capitalizing on the national success of more mature local acts like Guided by Voices, The Breeders and Brainiac. The band effectively dissolved in 1994, with Jaime and Shirc moving to Orlando, Florida and Thaddeus moving to Boulder, Colorado.

Despite their distance, they continued to share ideas through home recordings and occasional visits to each other.