Preparing to play on the Porch

Posted on May 16, 2013 by ohlevine

I’ll be joining Jason Mendelson and the Open Doors on a front porch in Takoma Park DC on Saturday May 18 to play some MetroSongs, part of the Takoma Porch music festival that’s bringing a bunch of local acoustic bands to porches around the neighborhood.

Since there’s no piano on the porch (and since I don’t plan to learn the accordion between now and Saturday), I needed to figure out another way to play some sort of keyboard in a portable (if not acoustic) way.

My plan is to take along my new Korg MicroKEY 37 and a laptop, hook those up to a tiny amp, and use the magic of MIDI to play with the band. I think the Lounge Lizard Session package should give me enough cool electric piano sounds for most of the tunes on the set.

If you’re in the Takoma Park area on Saturday the 18th, please stop by 252 Walnut St. NW at 2 pm to hear some MetroSongs!

Dinner Jazz at Dahlak: May 1

Posted on April 25, 2013 by ohlevine

The new Wednesday night dinner jazz series at Dahlak continues on Wednesday May 1, when I’ll be in the house on piano leading a vocal trio featuring singer Deirdre Jennings-Holton and Russell Snyder on bass. Looking forward to a fun evening of standards and original vocal and instrumental pieces.

Please come out and enjoy the music and tasty Eritrean food. The music starts at 7 pm, and there’s no cover or minimum.

Dahlak (also the home of the DC Jazz Jam) is located at 1771 U St. NW in DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood.

DC Jazz Jam: Best of DC!

Posted on April 13, 2013 by ohlevine

Woohoo! The readers of the Washington City Paper voted the DC Jazz Jam at Dahlak the Best Jazz Jam Session in DC this year. Most of the credit goes to Will Stephens, who has built the jam into a solid DC institution over the last three years. I always enjoy playing there, in the house band or as a guest, and look forward to many more jams to come.

Speaking of which, I’ll be back in the house band on Sunday April 21.

Two jams in April

Posted on April 2, 2013 by ohlevine

I’ll be joining the house band for the DC Jazz Jam twice this month. The first session will be Sunday April 7, when I’m looking forward to playing with the first Sunday house band and guest master artist Pepe González on the bass. I’ll be back in the band on Sunday April 21, joining the third Sunday band.

Hope you can come out to hear and play!

Dinner jazz at Dahlak continues

Posted on March 31, 2013 by ohlevine

Looking forward to my second session of dinner jazz at Dahlak Restaurant in Adams Morgan this Wednesday April 3 at 7 pm. I’ll be joined by the great Russell Snyder ~~Percy White~~ on bass for several sets of standards and some original tunes.

Hope you can come out to enjoy the music and tasty Eritrean food.

Updated April 2: Russell Snyder will be on the bass instead of Percy, who will be in New York recording with Aaron Myers

MetroSongs Volume 4: on CD (and maybe in your house)

Posted on March 7, 2013 by ohlevine

I’m excited to be working with Jason Mendelson and the Open Doors on Volume 4 of MetroSongs, a musical journey inspired by the stations of the Washington, DC Metro subway system. For Volume 4, Jason plans to record the full Open Doors band for the first time, and include songs written or co-written by members of the band in addition to Jason himself. Our goal is to release a professionally mastered album, plus accompanying video on DVD to add visuals to that audio.

Jason kicked off a Kickstarter campaign to get us going with this project. I encourage you to check it out and help support this unique musical adventure. We’re accepting contributions small and large; we’re offering great benefits, including the opportunity to host a live MetroSongs concert in your living room!

I’ve had a blast playing MetroSongs with the Open Doors, and having the opportunity to write some MetroSongs of my own (you can hear “Cleveland Park” on Volume 3). I have at least two more station tributes in the works for Volume 4, starting with “Friendship Heights.”

I look forward to your support!

Washington Post shout-out!

Posted on March 6, 2013 by ohlevine

In today’s Washington Post, the Going Out Guide recommended two jazz spots I play at regularly, Dahlak in Adams Morgan (home of the DC Jazz Jam and new Wednesday jazz series), and the Black Fox Lounge in Dupont Circle. Happy to see the shout out to this part of the local scene!

By the way, I still haven’t heard of any changes in my scheduled gig tonight at Dahlak, but will provide updates if I hear of any. The snow’s starting to pick up now (8:30 am).

March music: new dinner jazz and WWJF

Posted on March 1, 2013 by ohlevine

March is shaping up to be a busy musical month. I’m looking forward to kicking off a new Wednesday night dinner series at Dahlak Restaurant, which hosts the weekly DC Jazz Jam. I’m taking on the first Wednesday slot, starting on March 6 at 7 pm. I plan to invite a variety of musical partners to join me in this Adams Morgan spot. Stay tuned for more information on the personnel.

Speaking of the DC Jazz Jam, I’m really excited to be joining the third Sunday house band on March 17 at 6:30 pm, as we welcome vocalist Rochelle Rice to kick off the 3rd annual Washington Women in Jazz Festival. We’re looking forward to a particularly talented group of guest musicians to join the house band: yours truly on piano, alongside Duff Davis on guitar, Phil Ravita on bass, and Anders Eliasson at the drums.

If that wasn’t enough, I’m heading back to 1979 with Jason Mendelson and the Open Doors at Iota in Arlington, VA on March 21, recreating highlights of Pink Floyd’s The Wall in the Classic Albums 1979 showcase. This collection of some of the top pop sounds of my high school years includes re-creations of The Eagles, The Clash, Tom Petty, and Michael Jackson. Tickets for this blast from the past are $12 at the door.

Finally, Fridays at the Black Fox continue in March, with two shows with Aaron Myers and the Black Fox Ensemble, Mar. 1 and 15. Those shows start at 9:30 pm, and as always there’s no cover for the music.

Hope to see you in March!

Classic Albums 1979: the poster

Posted on February 26, 2013 by ohlevine

More information on the event Facebook page, plus this groovy cool (is that what we said back then?) poster.

Back to 1979, with the great music, without the bad hair

Posted on February 14, 2013 by ohlevine

It’s Classic Albums time again, this time going back to the incredibly influential musical year of 1979. Please join us at Iota in Arlington, VA on March 21 for a re-creation of some of the musical highlights of my late high school years, featuring:

Harris Face and the Restoration as the Eagles (The Long Run)
Two Dragons and a Cheetah as the Clash (London Calling)
The WeatherVanes as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Damn the Torpedoes)
The Sweater Set as Michael Jackson (Off the Wall)
Jason Mendelson and the Open Doors (with yours truly at the keyboards) as Pink Floyd (The Wall)

That Pink Floyd act is pretty ambitious; we’re starting to shed heavily now in preparation for the big night. Hope to see you there!

p.s. Don’t forget about the upcoming benefit for FAIR Girls featuring my regular jazz group, Aaron Myers and the Black Fox Ensemble. Tickets are still available for this February 20 soiree at the Swiss Embassy in NW Washington, DC.

Oren Levine

Jazz pianist and composer

Author Archives: ohlevine