Author: Oren Levine

Jazz pianist and composer in Washington, DC. Also a digital product and technology professional working at a small DC nonprofit
DC jazz scene, performances

DC jazz in Bangkok!

Travelling to Bangkok this weekend with the DC Jazz Collective for a week of shows ending with a performance at the Thailand International Jazz Conference on Jan. 26. Follow us on the trip at @DCJazzCollective and #DCJazzCollective on Instagram and Twitter

The Collective was assembled by Will Stephens, founder of the DC Jazz Jam, for an exchange program with the Mahidol University College of Music in Bangkok. Four jazz faculty from Mahidol will join us in DC at the end of April for a series of performances and jams. The exchange is supported by a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

Our schedule for the week:

  • Jan. 22: With Cynthia Utterbach at Bamboo Bar: the Collective backs vocalist Cynthia Utterbach at the elegant Bamboo Bar in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok.
  • Jan. 23: Jam session at Jazz Happens: The band takes the house band spot in this weekly jam session in a top Bangkok jazz club.
  • Jan. 24: Gig at Check Inn 99: our own show at this popular Bangkok club
  • Jan. 26: Performance at the Thailand International Jazz Conference (TIJC)
  • Jan. 27: Clinic at TIJC: talking about the jazz scene in Washington, DC

The Collective (L to R): Lionel Lyles, saxes; Evan Samuels, guitar; Will Stephens, drums; Oren Levine, piano; Percy White, bass

DC jazz scene, Original music, performances, Recordings

December gigs

Here’s my list of gigs for December, featuring an exciting DC Jazz Jam with the great Fred Foss on alto sax, and performances with Barbara Papendorp (12/26) and Aaron Myers (12/28).

I’m also celebrating the release of Making Up For Lost Time at a house concert on the 13th. Please let me know if you’re interested in that, so I can send along the details. 

In addition to all that, I’ll be going into the studio with the Lucky So & Sos to record a couple of tracks for a future release. Stay tuned for more info about that project!

Happy holidays and Happy New Year!

Original music, Recordings

Available now! “Making Up For Lost Time”

At long last, my album of original songs “Making Up For Lost Time” is complete and ready for production, scheduled for release on November 7. The album features 11 compositions (9 with lyrics) and features 10 of the DC area’s top jazz performers.

I’m thrilled with how the music came out. I’m also thrilled with this super cover photo, shot by the brilliant DC photographer Darwyn M. Dave.

I hope you enjoy the finished product, coming soon to CD Baby (digital and CD) and your favorite digital music services.

cover 2

 

Original music, practice

Updates to the original: As Water Covers The Sea

It was Original Songs week on Jam Of The Week (week 244!), which gave me an opportunity to revisit “As Water Covers The Sea,” an instrumental piece I wrote a couple of years ago. While practicing the tune for the recording, I found a few bits that didn’t sound right to me, so I revised the melody and chords a bit to improve (IMO) the overall harmonic and melodic flow. I’m much happier with the revised version. Hope you enjoy it.

DC jazz scene, performances, Recordings

The album project is underway!

Just completed recording 11 tracks for an upcoming album of original tunes, which I hope to release later this year. I had the privilege of recording at the superb American University studios with Mike Harvey and his crew of talented graduate students, who made it easy for us to capture the work of 11 musicians in a variety of configurations.

I’m deeply grateful to the DC and Baltimore area artists who contributed their talents and ideas to this project:

  • Aaron Myers
  • Andrew Frankhouse
  • Barbara Papendorp
  • Ele Rubenstein
  • Herb Scott
  • Lionel Lyles
  • Mark Saltman
  • Paul Jung
  • Percy White
  • Tony Gudell

I’m looking forward to hearing the final product and sharing it with you.

Thanks to Tony for the photos!

history

Remembering Billie and Mel

We grew up with stories from my late father Mel Levine about the many evenings he spent in the jazz clubs of Boston in the 1940s and 50s, hearing the greats and hanging out with the local jazz players. Pa went to Storyville on April 24, 1959 to hear Billie Holiday, taking his camera with him to shoot some photos of the gig. That turned out to be one of her last performances. She died on July 17 of that year in New York.

We discovered some of those photos while cleaning out our parents’ house in Boston after my mom passed away in 2013. I posted those photos on this site soon afterwards.

A few years later, I received an email from Tracy Fessenden, a professor of religious studies at Arizona State University, who was writing a scholarly book about Billie Holiday, and wanted to use one of those photos for the cover art. My brother and I agreed, and we worked with Prof. Fessenden and her publisher to reproduce the image for her book.

That book, Religion Around Billie Holiday, has just been released by Penn State University Press, featuring our father’s photo on the cover. This is truly a fitting memorial for Mel, a lifelong jazz fan with a special love for the music of Billie Holiday. I’m looking forward to reading it.