Tunes On Tuesday – Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter

Tunes on Tuesday: Stella By Starlight

photo of Oren Levine playing a grand piano. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday September 1, 2026 Stella By Starlight'

Why this tune? I’m posting this week from Star Island, New Hampshire, off the coast of Portsmouth. I’m here for a songwriting workshop led by Scarlet Keys and Susan Cattaneo from the Berklee College of Music, learning from them about the craft and art of songwriting. I hope to share some new work from theContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Stella By Starlight”

Tunes on Tuesday: Harmony

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing into a microphone suspended over the keyboard. Text at top reads 'Tunes on Tuesday August 4, 2026 Harmony'

Why this tune? This week’s song is one of ten originals I chose to record in October for my next album. I’m traveling to Los Angeles for the sessions, working there with an experienced producer and an array of talented LA-area musicians, including some of my favorite singers. I’m planning to sing two songs onContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Harmony”

Tunes on Tuesday: But Beautiful

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing into a microphone suspended over the keyboard. Text at top reads 'Tunes on Tuesday July 29, 2026 But Beautiful'

Why this tune? I shared an instrumental version of this classic Jimmy Van Heusen song a few years ago. I’m returning to it this week with a vocal version, trying to do justice to Johnny Burke’s elegantly crafted romantic lyric. It’s been recorded almost 500 times since Bing Crosby sang it first in 1947, soContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: But Beautiful”

Tunes on Tuesday: Nice ‘n’ Easy

Photo of Oren Levine playing the piano and singing. Text at top center reads 'Tunes on Tuesday July 21, 2026 Nice 'n' Easy'

Why this tune? I’ve been working on my singing lately, preparing for a recording session in LA in October. I committed to singing two of the ten original songs on my next album, a fun swinging tune and a ballad. I am working with a vocal coach and have started to sing a few songsContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Nice ‘n’ Easy”

Tunes on Tuesday: Appetite

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing into a microphone. Text at top reads 'Tuens on Tuesday July 14, 2026 Appetite'

Why this tune? This week’s tune marks Bastille Day, the French national holiday, with a silly song about how we rely on a French phrase to start our meals in the USA. I responded to a songwriting prompt to use “foreign words” and took this idea to an absurd extreme. This was the second ofContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Appetite”

Tunes on Tuesday: My Country

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing into a microphone. Text at top right reads 'Tunes on Tuesday July 7, 2026 My Country'

Why this tune? Once in a rare while, inspiration strikes and there’s no choice but to follow it. That happened to me on the morning of July 4, when we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. I had an image in my head of an enormous American flag flying over aContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: My Country”

Tunes on Tuesday: Be Free

Cover Art for the Lucky So & Sos single "Be Free." Text at top righ treads 'Tunes on Tuesday June 30, 2026 Be Free'

Why this tune? In honor of this week’s celebration of Emancipation Day in the US Virgin Islands and US Independence Day, I’m sharing “Be Free,” a song I wrote back in 2018 for The Lucky So and So’s, a funk/latin/jazz/hip-hop band I was part of for a while in DC. The song has a simple,Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Be Free”

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: What About Us

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing into a microphone. He wears a ball cap and headphones.

Why this tune? This week’s tune is an update of my Torah Tune for Parashat Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1). It tells the story from Numbers 27 about the five daughters of Zelophehad, who successfully petitioned to inherit their late father’s share of the Promised Land, establishing a rule that daughters could inherit property if there wereContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: What About Us”