Lou Levy (pianist)
Louis A. "Lou" Levy (March 5, 1928 – January 23, 2001) was an American jazz pianist
Lou Levy | |
|---|---|
 Stan Getz & Lou Levy (Amsterdam, 1959) | |
| Background information | |
| Born | March 5, 1928 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, 2001 (aged 72) Dana Point, California |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1947–2000 |
| Labels | Nocturne, Warner Bros., RCA, Atlantic, Verve |
| Associated acts | Supersax |
Biography
Levy was born to Jewish parents in Chicago and started playing piano when he was twelve. His chief influences were Art Tatum and Bud Powell.
A professional at age nineteen, Levy played with Georgie Auld (1947 and later), Sarah Vaughan, Chubby Jackson (1947–1948), Boyd Raeburn, Woody Herman's Second Herd (1948–1950), Tommy Dorsey (1950) and Flip Phillips. Levy left music for a few years in the early fifties and then returned to gain a strong reputation as an accompanist to singers, working with Peggy Lee (1955–1973), Ella Fitzgerald (1957–1962), June Christy, Anita O'Day and Pinky Winters. Levy also played with Dizzy Gillespie, Shorty Rogers, Stan Getz, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Supersax and most of the major West Coast players. Levy recorded as a leader for Nocturne (1954), RCA, Jubilee, Philips, Interplay (1977), and Verve.
Levy died of a heart attack in Dana Point, California at the age of 72.[1]
Selected discography
As leader
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954? | The Lou Levy Trio | Nocturne | reissued on Fresh Sound, 1988 |
| 1955 | West Coast Wailers | Atlantic | Quintet, with Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bill Holman (tenor sax), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums)[2] |
| 1956 | Solo Scene | RCA | Solo piano[3][4] |
| 1956 | Jazz in Four Colors | RCA | Quartet, with Larry Bunker (vibraphone), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Stan Levey (drums)[4] |
| 1956–57 | A Most Musical Fella | BMG/RCA/Cloud 9 | Trio, with Max Bennett (bass), Stan Levey (drums)[5] |
| 1958 | Lou Levy Plays Baby Grand Jazz | Jubilee | Trio, with Max Bennett (bass), Gus Johnson (drums)[6] |
| 1962 | The Hymn | Trio, with Max Bennett (bass), Stan Levey (drums)[7] | |
| 1977 | Tempus Fugue-It | Interplay | Trio, with Fred Atwood (bass), John Dentz (drums)[8] |
| 1978 | Touch of Class | Dobre | Trio, with Fred Atwood (bass), John Dentz (drums)[9] |
| 1982 | The Kid's Got Ears | Jazziz | Three tracks solo piano; three tracks duo, with John Heard (bass); four tracks trio, with Shelly Manne (drums) added[10] |
| 1993? | Lunarcy | Verve | Quartet, with Pete Christlieb (tenor sax), Eric Von Essen (bass), Ralph Penland (drums)[3] |
| 1993 | Ya Know | Verve/Polygram | Most tracks quartet, with Eric Von Essen (cello, bass), Pierre Michelot (bass), Alvin Queen (drums)[11] |
| 1995? | By Myself | Verve | Solo piano[3] |
As sideman
| Date | Artist | Album title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Manny Albam | The Jazz Greats of Our Time – Vol. 2 | Coral | |
| 1957 | Manny Albam | West Coast Delivery – Jazz Lab Vol. 12 | Coral | |
| 1963 | Georgie Auld Quintet | The Georgie Auld Quintet Plays the Winners | Philips | |
| 1963 | Georgie Auld Sextet | Here's to the Losers | Philips | |
| 1962 | Louis Bellson | Big Band Jazz from the Summit | Roulette | |
| 1966 | Tony Bennett | The Movie Song Album | Columbia | Levy on three tracks |
| 1956 | Elmer Bernstein | The Man with the Golden Arm | Decca | |
| 1997 | Dee Dee Bridgewater | Dear Ella | Verve | |
| 1978 | Ruth Brown | You Don't Know Me | Dobre Records | |
| 1955 | Conte Candoli | Conte Candoli | Bethlehem | |
| 1976 | Pete Christlieb / Warne Marsh | Apogee | Warner | |
| 1976 | Pete Christlieb | Self Portrait | Bosco | With Warne Marsh |
| 1977 | June Christy | Impromptu | Interplay | Supervised by Bob Cooper |
| 1981 | Al Cohn | Nonpareil | Concord Jazz | Released in 1992 |
| 1958 | Bob Cooper | Coop! The Music of Bob Cooper | Contemporary | |
| 1991 | Bob Cooper Quartet | For All We Know | Fresh Sound | |
| 1959 | Herb Ellis w/ Jimmy Giuffre | Herb Ellis Meets Jimmy Giuffre | Verve | |
| 1963 | Herb Ellis w/ Stuff Smith | Together | Epic | |
| 1989 | Art Farmer | Central Avenue Reunion | Contemporary | |
| 1958 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert | Verve | Released in 1988 |
| 1958 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Swings Lightly | Verve | |
| 1959 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook | Verve | |
| 1959 | Ella Fitzgerald | Get Happy! | Verve | |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella in Hollywood | Verve | |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Returns to Berlin | Verve | |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald | Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! | Verve | |
| 1957 | Herb Geller | Fire in the West | Jubilee | |
| 1955 | Stan Getz, Shelly Manne, Leroy Vinnegar, Conte Candoli | West Coast Jazz | Norgran/Verve | |
| 1957 | Stan Getz | The Steamer | Verve | |
| 1957 | Stan Getz | Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds | Verve | Levy on four tracks |
| 1958 | Stan Getz | The Great English Concert 1958 | Jazz Groove | Six (of eleven) tracks with Getz (others feat. Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge with nearly the same rhythm section) |
| 1957 | Stan Getz | Award Winner | ||
| 1957 | Stan Getz | Getz Meets Mulligan | ||
| 1959 | Stan Getz | Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan / Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio | Verve | Levy on the two tracks with Getz and Mulligan (see also Gerry Mulligan |
| 1981 | Stan Getz | The Dolphin | Concord Jazz | |
| 1981 | Stan Getz Quartet | Spring Is Here | Concord Jazz | Released in 1992 |
| 1957 | Terry Gibbs and Bill Harris | Woodchoppers' Ball | Premier Albums | |
| 1957 | Terry Gibbs | A Jazz Band Ball (Second Set) | Mode | |
| 1959 | Terry Gibbs Dream Band | The Sundown Sessions, Vol. 2 | Contemporary | Live recording, released in 1987 |
| 1959 | Terry Gibbs Dream Band | Flying Home, Vol. 3 | Contemporary | Live recordings, released in 1988. Levy on four tracks |
| 1959 | Terry Gibbs Dream Band | One More Time, Vol. 6 | Contemporary | Live recordings, released in 2002. Levy on four tracks |
| 1982 | Terry Gibbs & His West Coast Friends | My Buddy | Atlas | |
| 1955 | Lionel Hampton and Stan Getz | Hamp and Getz | Norgran | |
| 1958 | Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge | The Great English Concert 1958 | Jazz Groove | Five (of eleven) tracks (others feat. Stan Getz with nearly the same rhythm section) |
| 1958 | Coleman Hawkins Septet | Lover Man et al. | (various labels) | Live recordings; two tracks with Levy from the Jazz Festival in Antibes, France: "Undecided" and "Indian Summer"; first released maybe in 1987 or earlier |
| 1960 | Coleman Hawkins & Friends | Bean Stalkin' | Pablo | Live recording from Paris, France, released in 1988; four (of six) tracks with a sextet feat. Levy and Benny Carter |
| 1948f | Woody Herman and His Orchestra | Woody Herman Second Herd | Capitol | |
| 1957 | Quincy Jones | Go West, Man! | ABC-Paramount | Levy on three tracks |
| 1956 | Peggy Lee | Black Coffee (reissue) | Decca | The four additional tracks for 12" LP release with Levy |
| 1963 | Peggy Lee | Mink Jazz | Capitol | |
| 1965 | Peggy Lee | Pass Me By | Capitol | |
| 1955 | Stan Levey | This Time the Drums on Me | Bethlehem | |
| 1957 | Stan Levey | Stan Levey Quintet | Mode | |
| 1976 | Warne Marsh | All Music | Nessa | |
| 1984 | Warne Marsh Quartet | A Ballad Album | Criss Cross Jazz | |
| 1978 | Charles McPherson | Free Bop! | Xanadu | |
| 1977 | Sam Most | Flute Flight | Xanadu | |
| 1957 | Gerry Mulligan w/ Stan Getz | Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz | Verve | see also Stan Getz |
| 1954 & 1956 | Lennie Niehaus | Zounds! (Vol. 2 & 3: The Octet) | Contemporary | 1958 LP release of both octet sessions prev. issued on 7" and 10" |
| 1957 | Lennie Niehaus | I Swing for You | EmArcy | |
| 1960 | Anita O'Day | Incomparable! | Verve | |
| 1979 | Anita O'Day | Mello'day | GNP Crescendo | Levy also arranger |
| 1955 | Shorty Rogers & His Giants | Martians Stay Home | Atlantic | Released 1980 |
| 1955 | Shorty Rogers | Martians Come Back! | Atlantic | |
| 1955 | Shorty Rogers | Way Up There | Atlantic | |
| 1956 | Shorty Rogers | The Big Shorty Rogers Express | RCA Victor | |
| 1957 | Shorty Rogers | Wherever the Five Winds Blow | RCA Victor | |
| 1958 | Shorty Rogers | Portrait of Shorty | RCA Victor | |
| 1960 | Shorty Rogers | The Swingin' Nutcracker | RCA Victor | |
| 1959 | Sonny Stitt | Sonny Stitt Blows the Blues|Verve | ||
| 1959 | Sonny Stitt | Saxophone Supremacy | Verve | |
| 1959 | Sonny Stitt | Sonny Stitt Swings the Most | Verve | |
| 1960 | Sonny Stitt | Previously Unreleased Recordings | Verve | Released in 1973 |
| 1980 | Sonny Stitt & His West Coast Friends | Groovin' High | Atlas | With Art Pepper |
| 1975 | Supersax | Live in '75 – The Japanese Tour Vol. 2 | Hindsight | Released in 1999 |
| 1977 | Supersax | Chasin' the Bird | MPS/Pausa | |
| 1979 | Supersax | MPS/Pausa | ||
| 1983 | Supersax & L.A. Voices | L.A. | Columbia | |
| 1983 | Supersax | Stone Bird | Columbia | |
| 1993 | Bennie Wallace | The Old Songs | AudioQuest | Levy on two tracks |
| 1985 | Pinky Winters | Let's Be Buddies | Jacqueline | With Monty Budwig |
References
- Ratliff, Ben (31 January 2001). "Lou Levy, 72, Versatile Pianist For Top Singers in Jazz World". The New York Times.
- Ruhlmann, William. "Conte Candoli / Lou Levy: West Coast Wailers". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Ramsey, Doug (May 1, 1998). "Lou Levy: Lunarcy". JazzTimes. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Myers, Marc (June 10, 2015). "Lou Levy: Jazz in Four Colors". allaboutjazz. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Yanow, Scott. "Lou Levy: A Most Musical Fella". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- "Lou Levy: Plays Baby Grand Jazz". freshsoundrecords.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Dryden, Ken. "Lou Levy: The Hymn". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Dryden, Ken. "Lou Levy: Tempus Fugue-It". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- "Lou Levy: My Old Flame". freshsoundrecords.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Yanow, Scott. "Lou Levy: The Kid's Got Ears". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Yanow, Scott. "Lou Levy: Ya Know". AllMusic. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
External links
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