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.

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!

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.

MetroSongs live!

Posted on January 27, 2013 by ohlevine

Come on out to Iota in Arlington tomorrow night January 28 for some live MetroSongs. I’ll be on stage with Jason Mendelson and the Open Doors, as we join several other local bands for what promises to be a fun evening of original local music. The show starts at 8; I expect we’ll go on around 10.

Thanks for a great jam

Posted on January 14, 2013 by ohlevine

We had a fun time at Dahlak last night, when we welcomed special guest Glenn Donnellan from the National Symphony Orchestra to the second Sunday DC Jazz Jam. Glenn is a violinist with the orchestra, but for this gig brought along his electric ”batolin.” This is not just a baseball bat turned into a musical instrument, but a custom Louisville Slugger made especially for that purpose.

I think we were successful in bridging the classical-jazz gap with a selection of standards that gave Glenn space to take the lead (and take some solos). I was also pleased that we had a chance to perform a new tune of mine, “Three for Three” (available on the original music page), and end the session with a super-fast rendition of the “18th Street Theme.”

By the way, there’s still time to vote for the DC Jazz Jam (“DC Jazz Jam @ Dahlak”) as Best Jazz Jam Session in DC in the Washington City Paper Best Of Poll.

December gigs: MetroSongs live!

Posted on December 4, 2012 by ohlevine

This month’s performance schedule starts with a live MetroSongs performance by Jason Mendelson and the Open Doors, with me in the keyboard chair. We’ll be at Ebenezers Coffeehouse on Capitol Hill in DC on Thursday Dec. 6, performing about an hour of MetroSongs, including a new song about Union Station and my composition for Cleveland Park. DC singer-songwriter Amanda Lee is opening for the Open Doors. The coffeehouse is at 201 F St. NE in Washington, a couple of blocks from Union Station. Tickets for the show are $10, and doors open at 7:00 pm.

My regular Black Fox gigs with Aaron Myers and the Black Fox Ensemble continue in December, with with two performances on Dec. 7 and 21. As always, these Friday night shows start at 9:30 pm, and as always there’s no cover charge for the music. I have a new instrumental tune, “Three For Three”, that I’m hoping to play at one of these shows.

The DC Jazz Jam is going strong in December as well. I’ll be in the second Sunday house band on Sunday Dec. 9, 6:30-9:30 pm at Dahlak, joining the house band of Mark Caruso on guitar, Dahni Scally on bass, and Paul Jung at the drums.

Busy musical weekend starts tonight

Posted on September 7, 2012 by ohlevine

Three gigs in three days this weekend, starting tonight (Friday Sept. 7) with the regular first Friday show at the Black Fox Lounge in Dupont Circle DC. I’ll be at the piano backing vocalist Aaron Myers along with the rest of the Black Fox Ensemble: Percy White on bass and Will Stephens at the drums. The show starts around 9:30 pm, and as always there’s no cover charge for the music.

The music continues on Saturday Sept. 8th at 8:00 pm, when I join Jason Mendelson and the Open Doors for a special MetroSongs performance at the Electric Maid in Takoma Park DC to celebrate the release of MetroSongs Volume 3: “Red Handed”. Harris Face and Zia Hassan are opening for our band.

As part of our set, we will perform my contribution to the metroSongs oeuvre, “Cleveland Park“, which is included in Volume 3.

The musical trifecta wraps up on Sunday Sept. 9 at 6:30 pm, when I join the second Sunday house band for the DC Jazz Jam at Dahlak, 1771 U Street NW, Washington, DC.

Hope you can come out and hear the music!

Oren Levine

Jazz pianist and composer

Tag Archives: live