Pete Levin’s 2008 CD release CERTIFIED ORGANIC continues to push the envelope of the traditional organ trio. On top of the grooves laid down by former Hot Tuna drummer Harvey Sorgen and Pete’s organ bass, four veteran guitarists stretch out on the album: ubiquitous New York session guitarist John Cariddi (Steve Marcus, Patti Austin, Ricki Lee Jones), the legendary Joe Beck (Miles Davis, Gil Evans, David Sanborn), Mike DeMicco (Dave Brubeck, Jack DeJohnette), and rocker Jesse Gress (Todd Rundgren, Tony Levin Band). Pete knows how to feature his sidemen, but when it’s time for the Hammond to take charge, he does just that. In addition, the organ’s bass is mixed up front as an equal element. The set rocks and grooves hard - not a hint of Smooth Jazz in sight.
Michael Bloom Media Relations
P.O. Box 41380
Los Angeles, CA 90041
323.258.6342
musicpr@earthlink.net
Recording CERTIFIED ORGANIC
2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ace Keyboardist Pete Levin Goes B-3
On Motema Music Debut CD DEACON BLUES
(March 20, 2007 Release)
With the keyboard wizard's debut album for the Motema label, Pete Levin re-emerges in 2007 as a bandleader and master of reinvention, embracing his roots and first love, the Hammond Organ. Working with a group of top sidemen (Joe Beck, Danny Gottlieb, Tony Levin, Mike DeMicco) Levin and company demonstrate an uncanny chemistry that is immediate and infectious.
Michael Bloom Media Relations
P.O. Box 41380
Los Angeles, CA 90041
323.258.6342
musicpr@earthlink.net
~~~~
PETE LEVIN BAND - 2007:
Pete Levin, Joe Beck, Mike DeMicco, Tony Levin, Danny Gottlieb, Ken Lovelett, Carlos Valdez
In 2007, Pete continues to tour with TONY LEVIN BAND - 2007:
Tony Levin
Jerry Marotta, Larry Fast
Jesse Gress, Pete Levin
THE CLAMS:
Pete Levin, Tony Levin, Steve Gadd, Michael Holmes, Vinnie Pasternak, Dixon VanWinkle
Influences
Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Jimmy Giuffre, Herbie Hancock, Art Tatum, Julius Watkins, Oscar Peterson, Oscar Pettiford, Larry Young, Billy Preston, Richard Tee, Richard Strauss, Bach, Copland, Bartok, Morricone, Mancini, Eddie Sauter, Nelson Riddle, Jay Chattaway, Joni Mitchell, Sinatra, Ray Charles, Spike Jones, Stan Freberg ...
Sounds Like
On a good day, hopefully a lot like people who have influenced me. But I'll leave that to reviewers. Of more interest ...
Quotable quotes that float MY boat - from my musician friends (and a few I never got to play with)
"Aside from my family, playing creative music is my only reason for being on this earth." ~ Arnie Lawrence
"There is no such thing as a limited instrument, only limited musicians." ~ Howard Johnson
"Quit playing what you think I want you to play!" ~ Gil Evans
"If it sounds good, it is good." ~ Duke Ellington
"Intuition has to lead knowledge; but it can't be out there on it's own. If it's on it's own, you're gonna flounder sooner or later." ~ Bill Evans
"I'm too old to pimp and too young to die, so I'm just gonna keep on playing." ~ Clark Terry
"Whatever tempo you play it at, that's the right tempo." ~ Thelonius Monk
"Never play anything the same way twice." ~ Louis Armstrong
"A musician is influenced by hundreds of people and things, and all show up in his work. To fasten on any one or two is ridiculous." ~ Bill Evans
“When you’re dead, you’re done.” ~ Louis Armstrong
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PETE'S LATEST ORGAN TRIO CD!
Available on line both as a physical CD and Digital Download at
PETE LEVIN TRIO, LIVE @ MOODY JAZZ CAFE FOGGIA, ITALY
PETE LEVIN TRIO - ON THE ROAD
Teatro Sociale: Stradella, Italy Dec 5
Teatro Sociale: Stradella, Italy Dec 5
Stazione Birra: Roma, Italy Dec 9
Stazione Birra: Roma, Italy Dec 9
Tatterton's: Bologna, Italy Dec 6
Stazione Birra: Roma, Italy Dec 9
Teatro Sociale: Stradella, Italy Dec 5
PETE LEVIN TRIO
PETORANELLO GARDENS AMPITHEATER: PRINCETON, NJ
JUNE '08
DEACON BLUES
After years of being a "synthesizer specialist", this project is a meaningful return to my first keyboard love, the Hammond Organ. I've been playing it for years, live and in the studio, but have never used it this way on one of my own albums. Mostly in the traditional organ trio format, the CD features brilliant guitar work by two good friends, Joe Beck and Mike DeMicco. The incredible Danny Gottlieb has the drum chair, and my brother Tony Levin is sitting in on bass for a couple of tunes, including playing lead on a beautiful Jimmy Giuffre ballad. It's an exciting project for me. I did a New York metropolitan area promo tour fronting a quartet with Joe Beck, Hot Tuna's Harvey Sorgen on drums, and Ernie Colon on percussion, finishing in NYC at the Knitting Factory. (Photo & video below) The quartet has some small gigs this month followed by the Quarry Jazz Festival in Woodstock, NY on August 3rd.
All that talent & beauty in one place ... amazing! (And they all look like me. How 'bout that!)
Making MySpace Friends - just a note;
It's great making new friends here on MySpace and catching up with many old friends. Making the world smaller is what the Internet does best. But I'm not here to just "collect" friends. So here's the deal:
I'm going to deny your add request if I don't know you and ...
your profile is blocked, or
you show only a screen name and hide your real name, or
there's profanity on your page (posted by you or your Myspace 'friends'), or
your page glorifies drugs, drinking, scantily clad babes, etc.
I'm not being judgmental about your page, but I need to be comfortable with it to post a comment there. If you need any of that qualified, we're not going to be friends anyway, so save your energy. I'm just telling you.
Pete
Woodstock, NY January '08
SHOTS FROM THE ROAD
With Rondi Charleston @ Catalina - Los Angeles, CA May '09
Pete, Rondi, Jay Leonhart, Joel Frahm, Alvester Garnett, Dave Stryker
Kal David & The Real Deal
Rochester Ribs & Blues Festival 7/10/08
Alexis P. Suter @ Bearsville Theater - Woodstock, NY March '08
Photo: Lisa Burklund
Pete Levin Quartet
Pete, Joe Beck, Harvey Sorgen, Ernie Colon
Knitting Factory, NYC
Photo: Andrew Lepley
... same gig, but you can watch us move and sweat.
Tony Levin Band - with special guest Tod Rundgren
Pete, Jesse Gress, Tod, Tony, Larry Fast, Jerry Marotta
NAMM Show, Anaheim, CA January 2007
Tony Levin Band - vocalizing
Pete, Jerry Marotta, Tony
Someplace in Europe ...
BIO
Multi-keyboardist, composer/arranger PETE LEVIN has been on the New York music scene since the 70's, recording and touring internationally with hundreds of artists. He has just completed his 8th solo CD, DEACON BLUES, a mainstream jazz, organ trio project. Pete currently tours with his own group and with The Tony Levin Band, promoting Tony's latest CD release, RESONATOR. He lives in Woodstock, NY.
Since the 70s, keyboardist/composer, Pete has been part of New York's jazz, pop, and electronic music scene. He grew up with classical music, majoring in French horn at Boston University and later at Juilliard in New York, where he also began playing Hammond Organ with New York jazz and pop groups while doing recording work on French Horn. In 1974 he got a call to play horn with legendary jazz arranger Gil Evans, and Gil made him a regular. A year later Pete brought a Moog synthesizer to an Evans gig. Gil loved it and Pete's role was permanently changed. initiating the band's long transformation to the electronic/accoustic hybrid sound that won 2 Grammys. Among the first to explore synthesizers during the 70s, Pete became a sought-after sideman for recording and live performances. As a writer and musician he worked on film scores, jazz and pop records, and hundreds of TV and radio commercials. As production techniques changed during the 80s, Pete became a "programmer", orchestrating with electronic instruments under computerized MIDI control. In this new millenium - while he continues to use computer technology and a mixture of new and vintage synthesizers - he has largely returned to his keyboard roots, perfoming mainly on piano and organ.
Over the years, interspersed with Gil Evans, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox and Jimmy Giuffre Four tours, Pete has done arranging and electronic music for feature films including MISSING IN ACTION, LEAN ON ME, SILVER BULLET, THE COLOR OF MONEY and STAR TREK. He composed orchestral scores for the independent film, ZELIMO and a theatrical production of THE DYBBUK, created the electronic music score for Linda Rodgers' award-winning "Surgical Audiotape" series, created the official band/chorus arrangement of the U.S. Infantry song and composed the anthem for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit, performing it in the U.N. General Assembly. His favorite collaboration was with his brother, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Steve Gadd - "THE CLAMS", a Spike Jones tribute band - that produced a top-40 hit single "CLOSE TO YOU", now a cult classic. In 1989 Pete released his first solo jazz album, "Party In The Basement", for Gramavision Records. This was followed by "Solitary Man", two unique jazz Christmas CDs, The New Age of Christmas for Atlantic and Masters In This Hall for Gramavixion, both done with drummer Danny Gottlieb. Through the 90s, Pete recorded a series of electronic albums for Alternate Mode Records.
there you are :) i found wifi! out in the middle of nowhere, at the ranch of all places. here for the day for a 90th bday party of some relative removed, etc... hope to get on a horse today! pics if i do.
To all music friends, we at Syncretic Srl. are desperately looking to put together 5.000 euros to allow Christine Hopper, great Soft Machine’s bass player Hugh Hopper’s wife, to pay for his husband’s funeral. Hugh died after nearly one year of suffering for leukaemia, leaving his wife Christine and daughter Rosa in a very bad economic situation. Christine asked for our help and we feel that we have to do all we can to contribute to offer Hugh a last farewell. Anybody willing to contribute is welcome!!! The money collected will be given directly to Christine on the 24th of June: as you understand, we haven’t much time left but, in any case, I hope that you will do your best!!! Thanks! For Info: 347 9018466 or 346 1715110
HEY PETE, Thanks for the add... Stop by and view our tv show 'Media Factory Show TV' on our web site. We hope you become a fan of the show. Musically, Peter and Chic
JOIN PETER AND CHIC ON STAGE AT NETSHOWS STAGE A New Music Community for Music Lovers PROFILE - PROMOTE - UPLOAD – VIEW Netshows Stage is not a lonely hearts club but a growing community of musicians and music lovers. It's purpose is to promote and showcase through profiles and features.
I'm the fastest bass player in the world between 56 and 57 years old over 6 feet tall between 230 and 235 pounds born a Capricorn in New York in January 1953 with a 14 inch penis. OK, I'm bragging about my height!!!! Sorry!
♫♪♪ Hi From THE OFFICIAL BLEU OCEAN MUSIC PAGE! Thanks for your Friendship . And your posts . Do keep in touch and have a great week and weekend full of music and fun . PS DROP ME A POST ANY TIME From your Drummer Friend . BLEU OCEAN www. bleu-ocean.com I ENJOYED Your Site ! PS Come and hear my 2 NEW Videos I put on this week thou youtube .At our redbank after party and let me no what you think of them thanks Keep me posted . THE OFFICIAL BLEU OCEAN MUSIC PAGE! The Place where my Music lives Today
Hey there, Pete! Long time no hear; How are you?.. And what have you been up to these days? I've moved from Portland, OR down to Monterey.. I know it's been forever and a day, and I'm sorry! But.. I've actually and finally posted a New Blog :) Hope you'll stop by to read it? oox Catherine B.