Oren Levine

Tunes on Tuesday: Nothing To Say

Why this tune? I was determined to write a new song for this week’s Tunes On Tuesday, but ran into a problem. I couldn’t come up with an idea for a song. I tried starting with a couple ofphrases I had in my notebook, but they were not sparking any good ideas. That left oneContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Nothing To Say”

Tunes on Tuesday: Be Free

Why this tune? I wrote this week’s tune in 2018 for the Lucky So & Sos, the latin/ jazz/ funk/ hip-hop ensemble I wrote about back in September before our show at the Capital Cider House. Now that the band has been reactivated I hope to perform it live with the group in the DCContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Be Free”

Tunes on Tuesday: Jinx Killer

Why this tune? Song ideas can come from anywhere at any time. This song is a case in point. The “anywhere” was a pharmacy on St. Croix, which sells a variety of “mystic baths.” I saw “Jinx Killer” and thought it would make a great song title. I didn’t, however, try out the product. it’sContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Jinx Killer”

Tunes on Tuesday: That Old Feeling

Why this tune? This week’s tune is “That Old Feeling,” another tune from “The Great American Songbook” that can still sound new almost 80 years after its first appearance in “Walter Wanger’s Vogues of 1938.” Thanks to YouTube and streaming services, it’s easy to explore the evolution of the song from the early recordings byContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: That Old Feeling”

Tunes on Tuesday: Lullaby Of The Leaves

Why this tune? For this week’s tune I was looking for a song for the season, and recalled “Lullaby Of The Leaves,” which suggests the falling leaves of autumn. This was a song from a minor 1932 Broadway revue, “Chamberlain Brown’s Scrap Book,” that was later adopted as a jazz standard. Mary Lou Williams recordedContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Lullaby Of The Leaves”

Tunes on Tuesday: Island In The Sea

Why this tune? I wrote “Island In the Sea” in 2016, inspired by the time we spent on the lovely Caribbean island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. The singer invites their partner to get away from the rush and action of the city and travel to “a sunset shore under starry skies.”Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Island In The Sea”

Tunes on Tuesday: Washington, DC / Lucky So & Sos

Why this tune? Tunes On Tuesday marks the return to the stage of the Lucky So & Sos, a latin / jazz / funk / hip-hop ensemble I joined several years ago. Guitarist and composer Ian Taronji has kept the band going with DC-based rapper/MC Ardamus, writing and arranging new music through the disruption ofContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Washington, DC / Lucky So & Sos”

Tunes on Tuesday: Shiny Stockings

Why this tune? September 23 is quite the day for music birthdays. John Coltrane, Ray Charles, and Frank Foster could all have shared a cake, along with Les McCann, Albert Ammons, George Garzone and Bruce Springsteen, to name a few. For Tunes On Tuesday this week, I chose to mark Frank Foster’s born day withContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Shiny Stockings”

Tunes on Tuesday: Fall In Boston

Why this tune? This week’s tune is a jazz waltz I wrote in 2008, which was originally supposed to have lyrics. I was trying to describe the sight and sounds of autumn in the Boston area where we lived. I worked on the lyrics for a while, but found that they were just not workingContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Fall In Boston”

Tunes on Tuesday: Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella

Why this tune? This week’s inspiration comes from the delightful Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island in Portland, Maine, which we visited over the weekend. The museum was founded by Nancy 3. Hoffman in 1996, when she found herself with several umbrella covers she didn’t know what to do with. That odd decision evolved intoContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella”