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American musician (1927-2001) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Jacob "Hank" Levy (September 27, 1927[1] – September 18, 2001) was an American jazz composer and saxophonist whose works often employed unusual time signatures. He is best known as a big band composer for Stan Kenton and the Don Ellis Orchestra, as well as the founder and long-time director of Towson University's Jazz Program.
Hank Levy | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Henry Jacob Levy |
| Born | September 27, 1927 Baltimore |
| Died | September 18, 2001 (aged 73) Parkville, Maryland |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, saxophonist, teacher |
| Instrument | Baritone saxophone |
| Website | hanklevyjazz |
Levy was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.[1] Levy was a saxophone player and briefly played baritone saxophone for Stan Kenton, but he was most known for his composing and arranging, specifically in odd time signatures.[1] His interest in odd meters predated Dave Brubeck's Time Out album. He studied composition with George Thaddeus Jones at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and became interested in odd meters through their use by such composers as Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky. He was also a particularly good composer of counterpoint, which can be heard in such compositions as "Passacaglia and Fugue" (recorded by Don Ellis on 'Live' at Monterey!) and "Quintessence" (performed, but not recorded, by Stan Kenton).
Levy was also a prolific arranger of jazz standards, though few of these arrangements were published during his lifetime. He was especially fond of the music of the stage as it came through bebop: Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern. In his last years, he more frequently turned to bebop originals, tunes by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron. Though these arrangements rarely featured the odd meters he was associated with, and were typically conventional in style, they often displayed a distinctive creativity.
Levy began his full-time college teaching career at Towson State University in late 1967, creating The Towson State Jazz Ensemble. By 1970, his hard work and passion for teaching brought the band to national prominence when his Towson State Jazz Ensemble competed and won the outstanding band honors at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. Additional honors went to Levy's lead trumpet player, Tony Neenan, who was voted "Best Lead Trumpet" of the festival. He was Professor Emeritus of Towson University. He was posthumously honored by Towson University in a ceremony on April 13, 2017.[2]
Levy died of congestive heart failure in Parkville, Maryland, aged 73, on September 18, 2001.[3]
While Levy was director in 1975, the Towson State Jazz Ensemble recorded 2 + 2 = 5, an album of six of his compositions for Music Minus One, which specializes in recordings leaving out the part for one instrument so a musician can play along. The recording comprised Levy compositions, all but one in odd meter: "Bop City Revisited", "Poopsie's Penthouse", "A Quiet Friday", "Pete Is a Four-Letter Word", "Bread and Watrous", and "Stillness Runs Deep". Personnel on the recording who also have performed with the Hank Levy Alumni Band include Steve Ashcraft (drums) and Ray Disney (trumpet).
Today, Levy's music is performed by the Hank Levy Legacy Band based in Towson, Maryland. The band was founded in 1992 following his retirement from full-time teaching. The band has recorded two live CDs: Hank At Home (2000) and An "Odd-Time" Was Had By All (2004), both distributed by Sonority Records.
The 2014 jazz film Whiplash takes its title from Levy's composition which originally appeared on the 1973 album Soaring by Don Ellis and portions of which are played throughout the course of the film.
A handful of Levy's works are still in print through various distributors. His most well-known works, those recorded by Stan Kenton and originally published through Creative World, are now distributed by Sierra Music Publications, headed by Robert Curnow, another Kenton composer.
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