Album Notes

For those of you who have said, “They don’t write songs like they used to”, Bob Levy’s “Out In The Cold” is the CD for you! Featuring PARIS WITHOUT YOU from the Touchstone Film 'YOU AGAIN' that stars Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Victor Garber, Patrick Duffy & Jamie Lee Curtis and WHY PRETEND from TNT's hit series SAVING GRACE and ABC Family's GREEK. Bob is an award-winning songwriter on the East Coast. “Out In the Cold” is his first jazz CD after more than ten years of writing country songs for many Nashville artists. Bob went back to his jazz roots for this exciting CD of ‘New Jazz Standards’ that evokes memories of Frank Sinatra and Mel Torme classics. Rich ballads, romantic bossa novas and swing. Bob Levy’s songs are performed by jazz vocalist, Perry Danos. “Perry Danos is the perfect blend of Harry Connick, Jr., Tony Bennett and Michael Buble. His warm, rich voice and natural delivery goes right to the heart of a jazz song. Perry’s style and interpretation are uniquely his own”, says Levy. Joining Perry on this CD is Shelly Miller whose beautiful, silky voice is reminiscent of Grammy winner Norah Jones. Bob’s special guest is the exceptionally talented Dane Vannatter, Back Stage Magazine’s 2006 Bistro Award Winner and 2007 Nightlife Awards finalist. Bob's songs have been performed in the US & Canada by vocalists like Dane Vannatter, Jan Peters, Vincent Wolfe, Sue Matsuki, Marcus Goldhaber, Laurie Krauz, Ronny Whyte, Barbara Brussell and Joe Peck.

Bob Levy started his songwriting career at the age of twenty-two in New York, co-writing with the multi-talented singer/songwriter Ronny Whyte for his NYC Cabaret act and composer/record producer Boris Midney. Bob has also collaborated with talented songwriters Jerry Lundy and David Coons, and most recently with Australian born singer/songwriter Karen Jacobsen. Bob is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in New York, as well as the Songwriters Guild of America,the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs(MAC)and The Boston Association of Cabaret Artists (BACA). Bob Levy’s jazz songs are co-published by Silk River Music, ASCAP. Bob is a 2008 MAC Award nominee for Outstanding Song Of The Year and an award winning songwriter and lyricist. His jazz and country songs have received numerous honors in the 2007 Billboard Song Competition, The VH1 Song Of The Year Competition. Bob is also an ASCAP Plu$ Award Winner for 2005-2006 & 2007. His song, “Paris Without You” was selected by ASCAP for their EMERGING JAZZ WRITERS radio broadcast series. “THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL GET FROM ME”, recorded by Perry Danos from Bob's new CD, “Me + My Best Friends” was nominated for best song of the year in the Jazz Vocal category in the 2009 JPF Awards Competition. Songs were submitted from 160 countries worldwide and less than 1/3 of 1% was nominated out of the 560,000 songs that were submitted.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

"Romantic songwriters seem such an anachronism in this post-modern world of traffic gridlock, rampant materialism, terrorist bombings and a general sense of antipathy toward anything subtle, joyful or hinting at disposable notions like romantic love. Fortunately, this approach is not completely a lost art, as proven by Bob Levy’s lovely collection of “new jazz standards,” Out in the Cold.
With lyrics that rhyme and express romantic yearnings and regrets in an intelligent and sophisticated manner, Levy shows himself to be a gifted lyricist and melodicist. He has his perfect match in Nashville veteran Jerry Lundy, who crafts music that matches Levy’s vision perfectly. The production by Jamey Whiting is clear and clean, yet warm, and the Nashville touches (there is a little Charlie Rich in the piano) gives the jazz a slightly different and welcome tinge of Southern grace. The musicianship as well is professional and the guitar work (no credit listed) quite tasty.Singer Perry Danos is a wonderful fit for Levy’s songs, as his soothing voice reminds one of Tony Bennett. Guest vocalists Dane Vannatter and Shelly Miller add some flavor of their own as well, Vannatter with a little, lighter vocal timbre, and Miller bringing a nice change-of-pace female interpretation (in turn proving Levy can write for both sexes), but in the end it is the songs themselves that are the stars of the record. Songs like the title track, “Paris Without You” and “All I Really Need is You” bring back the glory days of the well-written standard, while “Why Pretend” and “Ask Me if I Care” sound like something one of the Nashville crossover greats like Eddy Arnold would have done — reminding us, as in the case of Ray Charles, just how close the classic country music was to the jazz tradition. Meanwhile, “What Were You Thinking” with Miller’s sweet vocals over a nice Latin-tinged composition is another treat, reminding me a bit of Brazil ’66 style pop. I have the feeling we may be hearing some of Levy’s new standards entering the repertoire of cabaret singers seeking new high-quality songs. Meanwhile, for lovers of smooth, old-school jazz, this is the perfect opportunity to turn the lights down low and share a quiet break from the tumult of modern life with a special someone." Review by Brad Walseth, JazzChicago.net 9/07

"For those who have said that they don’t write songs like they used to, Bob Levy proves them wrong. Bob's songs are timeless and not topical. They harken back to the classical Great American Songbook, when melodies were strong and the lyrics caressed the notes instead of squashing them like so many contemporary song lyrics do. His themes are timeless too and his songs are satisfying to sing. They swing lightly and my musicians like playing them and they appreciate the jazzy chord changes. The songs are strong enough so that there is not much need to over-interpret or over sing. I just enjoy the ride like I would a great Ellington song. I was drawn to the lyrics of these songs. There's some nice depth to both songs that I recorded, but they don't get sappy or sentimental. Most songwriters today are knocking us over the head with syllables. Bob's songs have none of this harshness. They are sweet and simple but not simple-minded. I love the lyrics from top to bottom. I love the music, how the words sit on the notes. His songs are classic and understated. Absolutely memorable!"
DANE VANNATTER, Backstage Magazine's 2006 Bistro Award Winner

"Out In the Cold…Love the songs! Love them all! Keep them coming."
SHAWN RYAN, Jazz/Cabaret & Recording Artist, LA & NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”
"Scintillating lyrics...Bob Levy has a way with words. Just beautiful!"
LORETTA CORMIER, Jazz Vocalist & Recording Artist, TX
"Bob Levy’s ‘Why Pretend?’ is absolutely a standard. Wonderful stuff!”
KAREN JACOBSEN, Pop Singer, Songwriter & Recording Artist, NYC
"It's easy to see that Bob Levy enjoys writing jazz and excels at it!"
DAMIAN MARCHAND, Vocalist & Recording Artist, Brandon, SD
"Wow! Absolutely wonderful! Beautiful songs and great vocals. A very gifted songwriter indeed."
DEBRA CILINGIN, Jazz Vocalist, Norwalk, CT
"Bob Levy's songs have a very warm and swinging sound and style. Kudo's on his songwriting."
ROSEANNA VITRO, Challenge Record Artist & 2004 US Jazz Ambassador
"Out In The Cold" is so smooth and classy!
JANET FISHER,Goodnight Kiss Music Publishing, BMI