Album Notes

New York pianist Alex Levin gives his sophomore recording a gentle façade along with bassist Diallo House and drummer Taylor Davis. Through this program of his own compositions, he reminds us of the connection that jazz has with the wee small hours of the morning and the stillness of the night. Blues and Bossa Nova play a minor role, as the pianist concentrates on night music for his message—eloquently, and filled with somber thoughts. He brings in guest artists to give the trio a quality that’s far from solitary. The album begins with a two-tenor saxophone blues battle that stands out as the session’s high point. Levin makes you feel as if it’s late at night and you’re among friends at your favorite nightspot. “A Reason for Being Alone” differs from most of the album through its introspective appearance and the distance that the pianist places between himself and his audience. It’s like closing time at the club when most of the audience has gone. Several other pieces provide the same impression, but the album contains enough upbeat material that one can come away completely satisfied. “New Schooled” and “Blues through Stained Glass,” in particular, carry Levin’s deeply felt message with plenty of reasons to check him out. Jim Santella - LA Jazz Scene (Print Edition) (Apr 1, 2007) Pianist/composer Alex Levin has penned a fine set of tunes for his sterling players - bassist Diallo House and drummer Taylor Davis; and the complementary playing (on selected tunes) of guests Max Hacker and Stacy Dillard on tenor saxes, Chad Coe on guitar and William Martina on cello - to bring to fruition. This music is very much in the straight ahead tradition but Levin understands how to put his own signature on what sounds like familiar material. Cellist Martina, for example, states the theme on the Brazilian-inspired “Emma’s Ennui” and Levin’s bittersweet melodic line sits perfectly in the voice of the cello. And guitarist Coe fills out the sound of the group with color and verve. Levin is a smart and sensitive pianist - he’s able to blend an accomplished technique with a sense of what works to tell a story. He understands the jazz vocabulary and also color and texture. He opens this, his second album, with “Blues for Thursday”, a crowd-pleaser that, says the composer, was written with Art Blakey in mind. Both horns state the theme and weave together a smoking tapestry of down-home emotion. And then Levin changes course and offers up a delicate ballad - the title tune - that is dark and quiet. “Her Solitary Wish” suggests brooding emotion but its melancholy theme and the powerful playing of Dillard turn this into a grand statement of passion. These tunes and all the playing have a little of everything - blues, bebop, bossa, ballads and, somehow more. It makes sense that Levin is an English teacher and in pursuit of a degree in literature. His writing and the way he creates the space for his players to speak and act suggest the workings of a master communicator. Donald Elfman - All About Jazz New York (Print Edition) (Jan 30, 2007) The title of this disc might suggest an inward-looking or melancholic listening experience; but the Alex Levin Trio, plus a couple of tenor saxophonists sitting in—Max Hacker and Stacy Dillard—blows the roof off on the opener, “Blues on Thursday.” It's a bright, gregarious, Art Blakey-esque sound, the horns sparring like a couple of free-swinging welterweights, snapping off jabs and flurries in front of a zingy rhythm. Put another quarter in the jukebox! This is a “with guests” disc—the trio is joined on two more numbers by each of the saxophonists; a guitarist sits in on one tune, and a cellist plays on two more—but the title cut, with just the core trio, is an inward-looking, contemplative tune, with a memorable melo