Tunes On Tuesday – Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter

Tunes on Tuesday: Plague

Image of the Negev desert and southern Dead Sea. Text at top left reads 'Tunes on Tuesday April 7, 2026 Plague'

Why this tune? As we approach the end of Passover, I’m sharing a song inspired by the Torah story of the Ten Plagues (Parashat Vaera in the book of Shemot/Exodus). “Plague” transforms the story into a bluesy breakup song, sung by someone who realizes that their relationship has become toxic and that it’s time toContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Plague”

Tunes on Tuesday: My Funny Valentine

Photo of Aaron Myers and his trio performing at CMCArts on St. Croix. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday March 24, 2026 My Funny Valentine'

Why this tune? It was a treat to welcome my good friend and long time musical collaborator Aaron Myers to St. Croix earlier this month. We had the opportunity to introduce him to our new home and to share his talent with a St Croix audience. The show we presented at the Caribbean Museum CenterContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: My Funny Valentine”

Tunes on Tuesday: Tech Can’t Fix People

cover art for Oren Levine's single "Tech can't fix people". Text in white on a background image of a blurred computer screen displaying computer code

Why this tune? I spent most of my professional life in the worlds of technology, as an engineer, programmer, marketer and product manager. Spending all that time creating products and seeing their impact led me to the conclusion that our technology can do plenty of good, but can’t by itself resolve the very human conflictsContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Tech Can’t Fix People”

Tunes on Tuesday: Island in the Sea

cover art for Tunes on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, Island in the Sea. The text appears above and below a photo of a palm tree silhouetted by the colors of the sunset on a beach

Why this tune? I’m delighted to welcome my friend and long-time musical collaborator Aaron Myers to St. Croix this week for a concert at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in Frederiksted. I brought a draft of this week’s song “Island in the Sea” to Aaron in 2021, with a plan to record itContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Island in the Sea”

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: Breathing In Time

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano. He wears headphones over a ball cap. Text at top left reads 'Tunes on Tuesday February 24, 2026 Breathing In Time'

Why this tune? This week’s song is the third iteration of “Breathing In Time,” which I wrote first on January 19 this year during my song-a-day challenge. I added a bridge for this recording and made some small edits to the rest of the lyrics. The song is my way of sending warm thoughts toContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Breathing In Time”

Tunes on Tuesday: The Muse Knows

Photo of Oren Levine wearing a black t-shirt, sitting in front of a recording microphone suspended in front of him. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday February 10, 225 The Muse Knows'

Why this tune? This week’s song is another example of revisiting and rewriting. I wrote the first version of “The Muse Knows” in 2021. I wasn’t very happy with it after I wrote it, and tried afew times to revise it in the years since. I took another look this January, and this time rewroteContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: The Muse Knows”

Tunes on Tuesday: The Smile In Your Eyes

Photo of Oren Levine singing and playing an electric piano. He is wearing headphones an an ASCAP ball cap singing into a microphone suspended over the piano.

Why this tune? I had a very successful January song-a-day challenge, completing 28 songs in the 31 days (I took a few days off because of ill health). Now I’m starting the longer process of revisiting and revising the songs I wrote last month, in hopes of extracting and polishing some gems I can useContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: The Smile In Your Eyes”

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”