Album Notes

My Friend Hafiz is the result of an artist being inspired by a poet who was inspired by a mystic.

Hafiz of Shiraz is a Sufi mystic from the 14th century whose 'multidimensional' poetry not only prompts an internal joy that promotes peace within and without, but like The Beatles reaches people of every faith, race and country with a universal message of love. His poetry has been translated into English by Ralph Waldo Emerson and many others but in 1996 Daniel Ladinsky, a poet and student of Meher Baba, published his first collection of Hafiz poetry which was followed up by three other collections including the 1999 Penguin Publication, "The Gift".

Daniel Ladinsky manages to bring Hafiz poetry into the modern age with a timeless quality that makes the very quarks in the heart shout in blissful abandonment. Although criticized for not being accurate in his translations, he points out that to translate means to 'bring across' which he does with the most wonderful results. The Hafiz-Ladinsky poems reach right into the soul and stir it up with effervescent swirling delight. The whirling dervish inside the reader goes into a state of perpetual motion when savoring these poems.

On May 1st, 2005, Ira Scott Levin was given 'The Gift' for his birthday. Unexpectedly he was struck open by a river of lyrics inspired by the book and began to compose music for the songs that sprung out of his response to this poetry- passed down in succession as if by a torch from Hafiz himself, whose spirit apparently can not be contained in finite space or time.

Ira's wife Julia developed the songs with him and their group The Levins, a world-folk ensemble dedicated to promoting peace through sonic splendor began to arrange and record the music in two San Francisco studios: Different Fur and Broken Radio with engineers Chris Fletcher and Carly Benham. Chris Fletcher mixed the album which was produced by Ira and Julia and mastered at Capitol Records in LA, CA by Robert Vosgien.

The result is 10 songs with the titles taken from the Hafiz poems as they appear in "The Gift" and which hopefully convey the tranquil feeling of joy they were inspired from.

The musicians on the CD include:
Ira Scott Levin- Vocals and guitar, flute on "Act Great"
Julia Bordenaro Levin- Vocals, harmonies, piano, keyboard
T. Hallenbeck- Cello, mandocello
Aharon Wheels Bolsta- tabla, darbukka, riqq, various percussion, Bansuri Indian flute on "Sun Never Says" and "Forgive the Dream"
Elizabeth Stuart- Zarb, shaker on "Every Child", "Forgive the Dream", "Life Giving Sun" and pennywhistle on "Your Mother and My Mother"
Musical guests:
Ian Kay Shields- Cajon, bongos and expressive percussion
Dina Maccabee- violin on "When the Violin"
Payam J. Agheli- Ney on "Life Giving Sun", "Forgive the Dream" and "Every Child"

Album Design and Layout by Stump'd-
www.stumpdesign.com

To reach The Levins:
levins@thelevinsmusic.com
www.myspace.com/levinsmusic