jazz piano – Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter

Tunes on Tuesday: You Would Rather Have the Blues

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday June 24, 2026 You Would Rather Have the Blues'

Why this tune? This week’s tune comes from the songbook of the late great Dave Frishberg, a brilliant pianist and songwriter who passed away in 2021. If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember his classic “I’m Just a Bill” from Schoolhouse Rock, or other classics like “I’m Hip” and “Peel Me a Grape” whichContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: You Would Rather Have the Blues”

Tunes on Tuesday: Day By Day

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing. He wears a ball cap and headphones. Text at top center reads 'Tunes on Tuesday June 16, 2026 Day By Day'

Why this tune? This week’s tune “Day By Day” is a popular song from 1945 written by Alex Stordahl and Paul Weston with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford recorded it first soon after it was written. Sinatra returned with another version in 1961. The song has remained a popular standard inContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Day By Day”

Tunes on Tuesday: Hold Em Joe / St. Thomas

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano. He wears a black t-shirt and green ball cap. Text at top center reads 'Tunes on Tuesday May 26, 2026 Hold Em Joe / St. Thomas'

Why this tune? This week’s tune is a tribute to the life and work of the “saxophone colossus” Sonny Rollins, who passed on May 25. He recorded over 60 albums as a leader and composed several standards of the jazz repertoire including “Oleo,” “Doxy” and “Airegin.” He was the last surviving musician from the iconicContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Hold Em Joe / St. Thomas”

Tunes on Tuesday: We Hate the Same Way

photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday May 19, 2026 We Hate the Same Way'

Why this tune? I wrote the first version of this week’s tune in January as part of my song-a-day challenge. I found inspiration in a column by Miss Manners we read in the Washington Post, where their response to a letter included the blessing “May you two have a long and happy life together focusingContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: We Hate the Same Way”

Tunes on Tuesday: The Last Banana

Photo of Oren Levine sitting at an electric piano singing into a microphone. Text at top left reads 'Tunes on Tuesday May 12, 2026 The Last Banana'

Why this tune? I wrote “The Last Banana” a couple of years ago, and have been performing it at live shows and open mics for about a year. I have shared it with appreciativeaudiences in DC, St Croix, and most recently at the Cast Party open mic in New York City. I’ve been working onContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: The Last Banana”

Tunes on Tuesday: Yesterdays

Photo of Oren Levine's hands playing an electric piano. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday May 5, 2026 Yesterdays'

Why this tune? Tunes on Tuesday returns to the jazz standard repertoire this week with “Yesterdays,” written by Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical Roberta. That show also included the classic “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” Before the end of the decade the song was adopted by swing and jazz musicians,Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Yesterdays”

Tunes on Tuesday: Reflections

Photo of Oren Levine's hands playing an electric piano. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday March 3, 2026 Reflections'

Why this tune? I’m taking a break from the original songs this week to share Thelonious Monk’s lovely ballad “Reflections.” Monk recorded it at least twice, with a band in 1952 and as a solo pianist in 1959. I first heard the tune on a 1984 album “That’s the Way I Feel Now,” a collectionContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Reflections”

Tunes on Tuesday: Damn the Budget

Photo of Oren Levine singing into a recording microphone suspended in front of his face. Text at top left reads 'Tunes on Tuesday January 27, 2026 Damn the Budget'

Why this tune? This week’s tune is another daily project in the January song-a-day challenge organized by Kat and Sarah from Songwriting For Music Educators. The inspiration came from a conversation with friends, where several people endorsed the idea of saying “Damn the budget!” occasionally to splurge on a special event or purchase. I couldn’tContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Damn the Budget”

Tunes on Tuesday: Ready To Change

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing in to a microphone suspended above the keyboard. Text at top left reads 'Tunes on Tuesday January 20, 2026 Ready To Change'

Why this tune? This week’s tune is another daily project in the January song-a-day challenge organized by Kat and Sarah from Songwriting For Music Educators. After years as a technology developer and manager, I learned that everyone wants to change, but nobody wants to do anything different. That remained just a grumble until my wifeContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Ready To Change”

Tunes on Tuesday: Pay the Band

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano. A microphone is suspend in front of him. Text at top left reads 'Tunes on Tuesday January 13, 2026 Pay the Band'

Why this tune? This week’s tune is another daily project in the January song-a-day challenge organized by Kat and Sarah from Songwriting For Music Educators. This is a revised and extended version of “Pay the Band,” which I wrote first in 2024. It’s another in my Torah Tunes series, inspired in this case by aContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Pay the Band”