Adam Levy & the Mint Imperials -- with Andy Hess (bass) and Tony Mason (drums)
Influences
Lynda Barry, the Beatles, Alice Bierhorst, Johnny Cash, the Coen Brothers, Ry Cooder, Elizabeth Cotten, Rodney Crowell, Al Jackson Jr., Norah Jones, Richard Julian, Dayna Kurtz, Nick Lowe, NRBQ, Tillie Olsen, Ben Orr, Buck Owens, Dan Penn, Sam Phillips, Marie Ponsot, Annie Proulx, Charlie Rich, Jill Sobule, Squeeze, Loudon Wainwright III, Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, Chris Whitley, Bill Withers, XTC, Neil Young.
I'm writing to tell you of my newly available instrumental jazz album, 'Nice
Place to Visit'. The music was recorded at the end of 2005, and I've been waiting for the right moment to release it. This is that moment.
The music: Sort of an expansion of the vibe of my 'Buttermilk
Channel' album from a few years back. Sort of, but also sort of something else altogether.
The band:
Adam Levy (guitars)
Jenny Scheinman (violin)
Todd Sickafoose (bass and production)
Ben Perowsky (drums)
'Nice Place to Visit' is available now via iTunes and other online music stores. It's a download-only release—no pesky plastic discs! Please check it out, and enjoy!.
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Adam Levy is best known for his tenure as the featured guitarist in Norah Jones' Handsome Band. He played on her breakout 2002 disk Come Away with Me, her '04 follow-up Feels Like Home, and her latest CD Not Too Late. In his downtime between steady gigs with Jones, Levy has been onstage and/or in the studio with Rosanne Cash, Amos Lee, M. Ward, and up-and-coming Aussie artist Eran James.
In addition to Levy's skills as a player, he is a gifted songwriter. He penned "In the Morning" for Jones' Feels Like Home, and other artists have recorded his songs as well. There's no doubt, though, that the best way to hear Levy's folk/pop/blues gems is straight from the source.
"Adam Levy has a reputation for tailoring imaginative and elegant guitar solos to fit almost any tune, beginning with Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" and more recently on Norah Jones' three CDs. When not busy backing Jones, the former Bay Area jazz musician has been writing tunes of his own, mostly in a bluesy folk vein, and he sings 11 of them on Washing Day. Lingering fragrances, coin laundries and pay phones inform his highly poetic, deeply emotional and at times disturbing songs about a lost lover. He avoids the wind because it reminds him of her touch, threatening to stir up a storm inside him. Finally, in a cow-punk ode titled "I Shot Her Down," he commits murder. Pain oozes from Levy's craggy tenor tones, which he answers with blistering shards of guitar sound."—San Francisco Chronicle
"The name Adam Levy probably doesn't ring an immediate bell in your brain, but you could be forgiven. He's not even a household name among jazz guitar aficionados, but this part-time New Orleanian combines the best of Bill Frisell and Larry Carlton in his patient, chiming, yet exploratory melodics. If those names don't mean jack to you either, three words: Norah Jones' guitarist. This, his fourth solo album, aims for her crowd. If she made a less sterile roots-pop record that explored the sneaky dynamics of sexual control, it might sound like this. This means, naturally, that Levy has to lay off the solos and work in a more conventional structure, which brings his merely adequate vocals up front. He fills that gap admirably with atmosphere, however, resulting in the nearly trip-hop "Breathe with Me" (not an easy feat for an acoustic trio) and the cracked, atonal stomp of "I Shot Her Down." And even if his poppier moments result in Adult Alternative nuggets "I Can Promise You That" or the (unintentional?) Wilco homage "Never Been Alone Like This," even the thorniest jazzbo snobs can recognize Levy's potential to pen material for the next Great American Songbook.—Offbeat.
Adam Levy's "day job" is playing guitar in Norah Jones' band. Not surprisingly, his own music holds some similarities to his boss'. They share certain laid-back musical qualities that swirl jazz, blues and country colorings into the singer/songwriter palette. In fact, Jones covered Levy's "In the Morning" on her Feels Like Home album. One main difference between the two, however, comes from the fact that Levy (not to be confused with the Adam Levy who fronts the Minneapolis roots rock band the Honeydogs) is a guitarist so his music naturally features a much more prominent guitar sound than Jones' piano-based music does. Not strictly a subtle strummer, Levy is not averse to attacking his guitar with enough ferocity to rattle the coffee cups at Starbucks. Both the blues "In the Morning" and the twangy stomper of a murder tale "I Shot Her Down" boast some raucous guitar work. Levy, however, doesn't showboat his guitar skills here, choosing instead to use his typically economical playing to service his songs. He fuels soulful rocker "I Can Promise You That" with a funky guitar line, while the jazzier "Breathe with Me" gets sparked by an eerie guitar figure that perfectly fits the song's nocturnal mood. When Levy slows down the pace on his spare, melancholic romantic laments "Unspoken" and "Longest Day of the Day," he suggest the craftsmanship of a Freedy Johnston. Levy's lyrical skills really shine on the evocatively rendered title track. He fills this relaxed early morning ode with little snapshots but then slips in the simple yet poetic observation -- "my secrets now just streaks of blue" -- after discovering an old, now laundered notebook in his dungarees. This disc opener bookends nicely with "The Party Is Over," a weary-eyed look at a long night that comes as the album winds down. The disc's concluding song, however, is something of a tempo-changer. "Never Been Alone Like This" is Levy's poppiest track, a jangly ditty that would improve any power pop album. Much like Jesse Harris has stepped out of Jones' shadow, Levy seems poised to do the same."—All Music Guide
Notable Live Reviews from Norah Jones Tour 2007
"Guitarist Adam Levy's ever-surprising licks... gave the music complex rhythmic qualities not often present on the recordings." —Hollywood Reporter
"... crisp guitar work..." —Denver Post
"Guitarist Adam Levy was a standout all night long, and 'Creepin' In' afforded him a rare chance to rev up the crowd." —Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
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In October of '06, Levy went into the studio with bassist Andy Hess and drummer Tony Mason, bringing along 5 guitars, 47 chords, and several versions of the truth. Producer Marvin Etzioni oversaw the sessions, and engineer John Siket was there to capture the sounds on tape. (Yes, kids, that's right: 2" tape!) The album was recorded and mixed in a fast-paced week of spit and sweat and secret handshakes, and the result is Washing Day — Levy's most personal record to date. Washing Day is available in stores, at CD Baby, amazon.com, Lost Wax Music and at....
Hi Adam, Hope all is well, just got back from playing in Mystic Connecticut and net up with John Gorka,really enjoyed his music. Hope you come back to the UK sometime. All the best. Max
Hey……… Thanks for being our friend over the years…... We're about to release in a few weeks our new 5th CD….”SIGNS” Have a preview listen and a look at our new myspace face lift for the promo for it..... The Streamliners sending you some good vibes for 2009.
Stoppin by 2 show some love. Come thru 2 the page and check out my new music video " Get Away" off of my album "Walk on Water" shot in The Dominican Republic and Yonkers N.Y. Hit the HQ button to see it in High Quality -cLash
Online Now!
