Lou Levy (pianist)
Lou Levy | |
|---|---|
 Lou Levy in Amsterdam, 1959 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | March 5, 1928 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, 2001 (aged 72) Dana Point, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1947–2000 |
| Labels | Nocturne, Warner Bros., RCA, Atlantic, Verve |
Louis A. "Lou" Levy (March 5, 1928 – January 23, 2001)[1] was an American jazz pianist.
Biography
[edit]Levy was born to Jewish parents in Chicago, Illinois, United States,[1] and started to play the piano aged twelve. His chief influences were Art Tatum and Bud Powell.[2]
A professional at age nineteen, Levy played with Georgie Auld (1947 and later), Sarah Vaughan, Chubby Jackson (1947–1948), Boyd Raeburn, Woody Herman's Second Herd (1948–1950), Tommy Dorsey (1950) and Flip Phillips.[3] Levy left music for a few years in the early 1950s and then returned to gain a strong reputation as an accompanist to singers, working with Peggy Lee (1955–1973), Ella Fitzgerald (1957–1962), June Christy, Anita O'Day and Pinky Winters.[3] Levy also played with Dizzy Gillespie, Shorty Rogers, Stan Getz, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Supersax and most of the major West Coast players.[3] Levy recorded as a leader for Nocturne (1954), RCA, Jubilee, Philips, Interplay (1977), and Verve.
Levy died of a heart attack in Dana Point, California at the age of 72.[1]
Selected discography
[edit]As leader
[edit]| Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954? | The Lou Levy Trio | Nocturne | reissued on Fresh Sound, 1988 |
| 1955 | West Coast Wailers | Atlantic | Quintet, with Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bill Holman (tenor sax), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums)[4] |
| 1956 | Solo Scene | RCA | Solo piano[5][6] |
| 1956 | Jazz in Four Colors | RCA | Quartet, with Larry Bunker (vibraphone), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Stan Levey (drums)[6] |
| 1956–57 | A Most Musical Fella | BMG/RCA/Cloud 9 | Trio, with Max Bennett (bass), Stan Levey (drums)[7] |
| 1958 | Lou Levy Plays Baby Grand Jazz | Jubilee | Trio, with Max Bennett (bass), Gus Johnson (drums)[8] |
| 1962 | The Hymn | Trio, with Max Bennett (bass), Stan Levey (drums)[9] | |
| 1977 | Tempus Fugue-It | Interplay | Trio, with Fred Atwood (bass), John Dentz (drums)[10] |
| 1978 | Touch of Class | Dobre | Trio, with Fred Atwood (bass), John Dentz (drums)[11] |
| 1982 | The Kid's Got Ears | Jazziz | Three tracks solo piano; three tracks duo, with John Heard (bass); four tracks trio, with Shelly Manne (drums) added[12] |
| 1993? | Lunarcy | Verve | Quartet, with Pete Christlieb (tenor sax), Eric Von Essen (bass), Ralph Penland (drums)[5] |
| 1993 | Ya Know | Verve/Polygram | Most tracks quartet, with Eric Von Essen (cello, bass), Pierre Michelot (bass), Alvin Queen (drums)[13] |
| 1995? | By Myself | Verve | Solo piano[5] |
As sideman
[edit]| Date | Artist | Album title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Manny Albam | The Jazz Greats of Our Time – Vol. 2 | Coral | |
| 1957 | Manny Albam | West Coast Delivery – Jazz Lab Vol. 12 | Coral | |
| 1963 | Georgie Auld Quintet | The Georgie Auld Quintet Plays the Winners | Philips | |
| 1963 | Georgie Auld Sextet | Here's to the Losers | Philips | |
| 1962 | Louis Bellson | Big Band Jazz from the Summit | Roulette | |
| 1966 | Tony Bennett | The Movie Song Album | Columbia | Levy on three tracks |
| 1956 | Elmer Bernstein | The Man with the Golden Arm | Decca | |
| 1997 | Dee Dee Bridgewater | Dear Ella | Verve | |
| 1978 | Ruth Brown | You Don't Know Me | Dobre Records | |
| 1955 | Conte Candoli | Conte Candoli | Bethlehem | |
| 1976 | Pete Christlieb / Warne Marsh | Apogee | Warner | |
| 1976 | Pete Christlieb | Self Portrait | Bosco | With Warne Marsh |
| 1977 | June Christy | Impromptu | Interplay | Supervised by Bob Cooper |
| 1981 | Al Cohn | Nonpareil | Concord Jazz | Released in 1992 |
| 1958 | Bob Cooper | Coop! The Music of Bob Cooper | Contemporary | |
| 1991 | Bob Cooper Quartet | For All We Know | Fresh Sound | |
| 1959 | Herb Ellis w/ Jimmy Giuffre | Herb Ellis Meets Jimmy Giuffre | Verve | |
| 1963 | Herb Ellis w/ Stuff Smith | Together | Epic | |
| 1989 | Art Farmer | Central Avenue Reunion | Contemporary | |
| 1958 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert | Verve | Released in 1988 |
| 1958 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Swings Lightly | Verve | |
| 1959 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook | Verve | |
| 1959 | Ella Fitzgerald | Get Happy! | Verve | |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella in Hollywood | Verve | |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Returns to Berlin | Verve | |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald | Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! | Verve | |
| 1957 | Herb Geller | Fire in the West | Jubilee | |
| 1955 | Stan Getz, Shelly Manne, Leroy Vinnegar, Conte Candoli | West Coast Jazz | Norgran/Verve | |
| 1957 | Stan Getz | The Steamer | Verve | |
| 1957 | Stan Getz | Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds | Verve | Levy on four tracks |
| 1958 | Stan Getz | The Great English Concert 1958 | Jazz Groove | Six (of eleven) tracks with Getz (others feat. Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge with nearly the same rhythm section) |
| 1957 | Stan Getz | Award Winner | ||
| 1957 | Stan Getz | Getz Meets Mulligan | ||
| 1959 | Stan Getz | Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan / Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio | Verve | Levy on the two tracks with Getz and Mulligan (see also Gerry Mulligan |
| 1981 | Stan Getz | The Dolphin | Concord Jazz | |
| 1981 | Stan Getz Quartet | Spring Is Here | Concord Jazz | Released in 1992 |
| 1957 | Terry Gibbs and Bill Harris | Woodchoppers' Ball | Premier Albums | |
| 1957 | Terry Gibbs | A Jazz Band Ball (Second Set) | Mode | |
| 1959 | Terry Gibbs Dream Band | The Sundown Sessions, Vol. 2 | Contemporary | Live recording, released in 1987 |
| 1959 | Terry Gibbs Dream Band | Flying Home, Vol. 3 | Contemporary | Live recordings, released in 1988. Levy on four tracks |
| 1959 | Terry Gibbs Dream Band | One More Time, Vol. 6 | Contemporary | Live recordings, released in 2002. Levy on four tracks |
| 1982 | Terry Gibbs & His West Coast Friends | My Buddy | Atlas | |
| 1955 | Lionel Hampton and Stan Getz | Hamp and Getz | Norgran | |
| 1958 | Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge | The Great English Concert 1958 | Jazz Groove | Five (of eleven) tracks (others feat. Stan Getz with nearly the same rhythm section) |
| 1958 | Coleman Hawkins Septet | Lover Man et al. | (various labels) | Live recordings; two tracks with Levy from the Jazz Festival in Antibes, France: "Undecided" and "Indian Summer"; first released maybe in 1987 or earlier |
| 1960 | Coleman Hawkins & Friends | Bean Stalkin' | Pablo | Live recording from Paris, France, released in 1988; four (of six) tracks with a sextet feat. Levy and Benny Carter |
| 1948f | Woody Herman and His Orchestra | Woody Herman Second Herd | Capitol | |
| 1957 | Quincy Jones | Go West, Man! | ABC-Paramount | Levy on three tracks |
| 1956 | Peggy Lee | Black Coffee (reissue) | Decca | The four additional tracks for 12" LP release with Levy |
| 1963 | Peggy Lee | Mink Jazz | Capitol | |
| 1965 | Peggy Lee | Pass Me By | Capitol | |
| 1955 | Stan Levey | This Time the Drums on Me | Bethlehem | |
| 1957 | Stan Levey | Stan Levey Quintet | Mode | |
| 1976 | Warne Marsh | All Music | Nessa | |
| 1984 | Warne Marsh Quartet | A Ballad Album | Criss Cross Jazz | |
| 1978 | Charles McPherson | Free Bop! | Xanadu | |
| 1977 | Sam Most | Flute Flight | Xanadu | |
| 1957 | Gerry Mulligan w/ Stan Getz | Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz | Verve | see also Stan Getz |
| 1954 & 1956 | Lennie Niehaus | Zounds! (Vol. 2 & 3: The Octet) | Contemporary | 1958 LP release of both octet sessions prev. issued on 7" and 10" |
| 1957 | Lennie Niehaus | I Swing for You | EmArcy | |
| 1960 | Anita O'Day | Incomparable! | Verve | |
| 1979 | Anita O'Day | Mello'day | GNP Crescendo | Levy also arranger |
| 1955 | Shorty Rogers & His Giants | Martians Stay Home | Atlantic | Released 1980 |
| 1955 | Shorty Rogers | Martians Come Back! | Atlantic | |
| 1955 | Shorty Rogers | Way Up There | Atlantic | |
| 1956 | Shorty Rogers | The Big Shorty Rogers Express | RCA Victor | |
| 1957 | Shorty Rogers | Wherever the Five Winds Blow | RCA Victor | |
| 1958 | Shorty Rogers | Portrait of Shorty | RCA Victor | |
| 1960 | Shorty Rogers | The Swingin' Nutcracker | RCA Victor | |
| 1959 | Sonny Stitt | Sonny Stitt Blows the Blues|Verve | ||
| 1959 | Sonny Stitt | Saxophone Supremacy | Verve | |
| 1959 | Sonny Stitt | Sonny Stitt Swings the Most | Verve | |
| 1960 | Sonny Stitt | Previously Unreleased Recordings | Verve | Released in 1973 |
| 1980 | Sonny Stitt & His West Coast Friends | Groovin' High | Atlas | With Art Pepper |
| 1975 | Supersax | Live in '75 – The Japanese Tour Vol. 2 | Hindsight | Released in 1999 |
| 1977 | Supersax | Chasin' the Bird | MPS/Pausa | |
| 1979 | Supersax | MPS/Pausa | ||
| 1983 | Supersax & L.A. Voices | L.A. | Columbia | |
| 1983 | Supersax | Stone Bird | Columbia | |
| 1993 | Bennie Wallace | The Old Songs | AudioQuest | Levy on two tracks |
| 1985 | Pinky Winters | Let's Be Buddies | Jacqueline | With Monty Budwig |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Ratliff, Ben (31 January 2001). "Lou Levy, 72, Versatile Pianist For Top Singers in Jazz World". The New York Times.
- ^ "Lou Levy". DownBeat. February 20, 1958. p. 17.
- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1470. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Conte Candoli / Lou Levy: West Coast Wailers". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c Ramsey, Doug (May 1, 1998). "Lou Levy: Lunarcy". JazzTimes. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Myers, Marc (June 10, 2015). "Lou Levy: Jazz in Four Colors". allaboutjazz. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Yanow, Scott. "Lou Levy: A Most Musical Fella". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Lou Levy: Plays Baby Grand Jazz". freshsoundrecords.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Dryden, Ken. "Lou Levy: The Hymn". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Dryden, Ken. "Lou Levy: Tempus Fugue-It". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Lou Levy: My Old Flame". freshsoundrecords.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Yanow, Scott. "Lou Levy: The Kid's Got Ears". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Yanow, Scott. "Lou Levy: Ya Know". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lou Levy.
