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Howard Levy

Howard Levy (born July 31, 1951) is an American multi-instrumentalist. A keyboardist and virtuoso harmonica player, Levy "has been realistically presented as one of the most important and radical harmonica innovators of the twentieth century."[1]

Not to be confused with Howard Levi.

Howard Levy

(1951-07-31) July 31, 1951
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Musician, composer, record label owner

  • Harmonica
  • keyboards

1970s–present

In 1988, Levy was a founding member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones,[2] with whom he won a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the song "The Sinister Minister". He also won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 2012 for "Life in Eleven", a song written with Béla Fleck for the Flecktones' album Rocket Science (2011). He has worked with Arab-fusion musician Rabih Abou-Khalil, Latin jazz saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, Donald Fagen, and Paul Simon.

Gear[edit]

Levy favors an equal temperament tuning and plays harmonicas customized by Joe Filisko.[4]

Joseph Jefferson Award, Best Original Music for a Play (1986)

Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental, "The Sinister Minister", Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (1997)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition, "Life in Eleven" (2012)

Carnival of Souls (Silver Wave, 1995)

The Old Country (M.A., 1996)

(Tone Center, 1999) with Jerry Goodman, Oteil Burbridge, and Steve Smith

The Stranger's Hand

Cappuccino with Fox Fehling (, 2004)

Balkan Samba

Secret Dream (Balkan Samba, 2005)

Howard Levy & Paul Sprawl (Balkan Samba, 2005)

Time Capsules (Balkan Samba, 2009)

Tonight and Tomorrow (/Chicago Sessions, 2009)

CD Baby

Silver & Black (, 2009)

Enja

Concerto for Diatonic Harmonica & Orchestra (Balkan Samba, 2010)

Alone and Together (Balkan Samba, 2010)

Steering by the Stars (Stonecutter, 2010)

Out of the Box (Balkan Samba, 2012)

Matzah to Menorah (Balkan Samba, 2012)

First Takes (Balkan Samba, 2014)

Tango and Jazz (Balkan Samba, 2016)[6]

[5]

Art + Adrenaline with Chris Siebold (Balkan Samba, 2018)

As leader or co-leader


With Béla Fleck and the Flecktones


With Rabih Abou-Khalil


With Samo Salamon

Official website

Live Chevere Review and Photos at JazzChicago.net