Jazz Clarinetist Walt Levinsky

You may not know him, but you have heard him.

Walt Levinsky (b. April 18, 1929 / d. Dec. 14, 1999) was a terrifically talented musician whose genius escaped the glare and hubbub of the “fame machine” by his own choice. A standout talent on the clarinet, alto saxophone &  flute, Walt was dubbed “the most talented musician that ever came to this school,” by the Woodwind instructor at the Music Conservatory where he trained in Anville, PA. [wikipedia]

Even before becoming a full-time professional, Walt started right near the top, with the Les Elgart Orchestra. His first full-time position was replacing the  noted Buddy De Franco in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He left Dorsey to enlist in the U.S. Air Force during The Korean War and played with the renowned Airmen of Note.

Walt settled in the New York City area in 1954, upon mustering out of the  Air Force. In 1956, Benny Goodman added Walt to his orchestra for a set of appearances at The Waldorf Astoria. Walt was the lead saxophone player but was also tapped by Goodman as his backup player on clarinet solos. If Benny couldn’t play, he trusted Walt to deliver the “Goodman sound.”  Walt toured, briefly, with Benny Goodman‘s orchestra but he hated all the flying. Strange for an Air Force guy, huh?

Eschewing the life “on-the-road,” Walt began a life-long involvement as a session musician on the highest of high-end recordings. He worked with pretty much all of the best: Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, often contributing arrangements in addition to his playing.

Walt was always in demand by the best in the industry for recordings and major appearances.  He is credited over-and-over on recordings by the best of the reed-men like Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan. From his work with Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, Walt became a fixture on recordings in the Bossa Nova and Samba styles. A master of his instrument as well as all styles of music, he played on a number of Cal Tjader‘s tracks and ventured into Acid and Fusion Jazz.

Levinsky joined the NBC staff orchestra and in 1962 became a member of Skitch Henderson‘s Tonight Show Band. Enjoying the regular work so close to home, with talented musicians, Walt stayed with the band when Doc Severinson took over as leader, and appears on most of Severinson’s recordings. In the 60s, Walt left NBC join MBA Music, a producer of theme show music and commercial jingles. This gave him an opportunity to really utilitze his composing and arranging talents. Among his many compositions for television is the theme music for The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.

Perhaps the highest professional accolade any clarinetist could ever earn came to Walt Levinsky in 1962. Artie Shaw, the noted perfectionist, was recreating his all-star 1938 Orchestra and needed someone to be Artie Shaw. Artie went straight to Walt Levinsky and there are some who say that Walt played Artie better than Artie did.

Although Walt played in some 5,000 recording sessions, he only produced one album as the headliner: Walt Levinsky and his Great American Swing Band (featuring Lynn Roberts). On the Kenzo Records label, it is a terrific CD and it really swings. The production values are top-notch and the band he has assembled is just terrific. Here are two tracks from the CD, which do not sound nearly as good on Youtube as they do on the original source material:

#1 – Let’s Dance + Bugle Call Rag

#2 – Wang Wang Blues

Some tunes from my “special mix”

I have made a pair of CDs as a sampler of some of my favorite performances and I have given copies to each of my brothers and a couple of friends. It is an eclectic mix of current, and some ancient, performers and tunes. You will find Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter mixed in with a tune from Earth Wind & Fire. There are multiple performances of some of my favorite songs (like Stardust).  I wanted to share with people close to me some of the music from which I draw so much pleasure, and to possibly introduce them to someone they may not have heard before.

I have decided to post my “liner notes” from these CDs to share some of my personal thoughts on music I am listening to.  Here is Disk 1:

the jazzmonger’s Jazz & Big Band Mix 3

Disk 1

1.   When I Fall In Love – Chris Botti – Edward Heymann; Victor Young        NEW

This young trumpeter is classically trained but specializes in old standards, Big Band classics and smooth jazz. He has partneredwith such talents as Sting, Paula Cole, Andrea Bocelli & Mary J. Blige to create some memorable performances. Everything this guy does is high production values and musically sound. You can’t go wrong with a Chris Botti album.

2.   They Can’t Take That Away From Me – Diana Krall – George Gershwin; Ira Gershwin      NEW

Diana has become one of the few mega-stars of the jazz. For a long time she specialized in jazz classics and old standards. Since her marriage to Elvis Costello, she has put out an album of personal compositions and other all new material. All her early albums are great.

3.   ‘S Wonderful – Bill Charlap – George Gershwin; Ira Gershwin             NEW

Bill Charlap performs and records mostly with a small combo. He likes very upbeat arrangements of classic standards, as you will see here in this stepped up tempo version of a classic Gershwin tune. I have seen him live and it is a great show. Never heard a bad track from this guy.

4.   At Last – Etta James – Harry Warren; Mack Gordon                        OLDIE

Try not to think of Jaguar motor cars when you hear this song. They used it in their commercials for a couple of years. It also was used to great effect in the movie Pleasantville as Bud is driving Margaret in a classic ’50s Buick convertible down a leaf-strewn road to Lover’s Lane. Nice! Etta James is one of the really terrific and powerful voices of popular music in the ’50s and ’60s. She still performs live today. Her other really big hit was Sunday Kind of Love.

5.   That’s The Way of the World – Jeff Golub – Charles Stepney; Maurice &Verdine White                 NEW

We jump to the really modern with a song made popular by Earth Wind & Fire, the exceptional music and performance machine that was primarily the product of the genius of Maurice White. EWF charted fifteen hit singles and twenty-six gold and platinum albums. In addition, they put on one of the most entertaining stage performances in the history of music. Although Maurice stopped performing with the group in 1995 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, brother Verdine White, Phillip Bailey and others still give one of the greatest shows ever. Get the original version of this great song and listen to the lyrics. “Child is born, with a heart of gold, Way of the world makes his heart grow cold…..”

6.   Stardust – Nat ‘King’ Cole – Hoagy Carmichael; Mitchell Parish          Big Band

Now we come to the greatest popular song ever written. Lyrics with a haunting message about lost love coupled with the syncopated rhythms of Hoagy Carmichael. Play this one over a couple of times in a row and just enjoy the magic of rhyming free-verse pushed through Hoagy’s unique musical phrasing. Not to mention the excellent talents of Nat ‘King’ Cole. Nat’s may very well be the definitive version of this great song. His enunciation, clear phrasing and impeccable timing make the most of Hoagy’s distinctive rhythms.. Stardust is going to show up again in this collection. One should not go too long without hearing it.

7.   Begin the Beguine – Artie Shaw – Cole Porter                    Big Band

Cole Porter, almost as good as Hoagy, may be the most popular composer of popular music. If you like clever lyrics (I do) set to the most memorable tunes (I do), the kind that really stick in your head, then Cole Porter is your man. Artie Shaw is about the only exception to my rule against buying and playing the music of people who were “jerks” in real life. I don’t play Sinatra, or Miles Davis. (Or Motley Crue, for that matter.) Artie had trouble getting along with people. He was married to Ava Gardner in her real prime and walked away, so he was obviously somewhat crazy. In fact, Artie was married eight times so he was even worse at being a husband than me. Musically, he was not only talented but a genius and an all-around good guy. He defied convention in hiring Billie Holiday and refused to take his orchestra anywhere that would not let her perform. He was the first to regularly include strings in his orchestra. He helped launch the careers of Buddy Rich, Mel Torme, Helen Forrest and Tal Farlow. Artie quit performing at the height of his career at the relatively young age of 44. His version of Cole Porter’s Begin the Beguine is considered the definitive performance.

8.   You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To – Julie London  – Cole Porter                  BIG BAND

Not sure how I ended up with two Cole Porter songs back-to-back, except he was pretty prolific and the attempt to alternate instrumental with vocal sort of took preference to spacing out songwriters. This is a nice little tune, but it is in here because it so fits the style of the beautiful Julie London. Come on, guys, you remember watching Julie London every time she was on Ed Sullivan. If you don’t recall her, do yourself a favor and watch this video. You will hear her sing Sway and see a great photo montage.

. Or watch this live performance from a concert in Japan, late in her singing career, and tell me how that guy managed to keep playing the bass:

. Julie appeared on TV in the ’70s as nurse Dixie McCall in the hit series Emergency.

9.   AS – Najee – Stevie Wonder                            NEW

Here is another taste of the new. Najee is a very versatile jazz-man who specializes in the wind instruments, especially the flute. He has several excellent albums. This song is off Songs From the Key of Life which is all Stevie Wonder tunes from his album of similar name. Najee does it as a bouncy jazz tune with a sizable orchestra. Get the Stevie Wonder version and listen to the lyrics. Very thought provoking.

10. Hey There – Rosemary Clooney – Jerry Ross; Richard Adler               BIG BAND

What a great performer lovely Rosemary was. Not only was she a talented singer, and host of a popular TV show for a while, she was also a pretty good actress who was in a number of very popular films. Next time you are watching White Christmas, notice how tiny her waist was. This was one of her biggest hits. Adler & Ross wrote many top hits (Steam Heat, Hernando’s Hideaway, Whatever Lola Wants) and also successful Broadway shows (Pajama Game, Damn Yankees).

11. The Ring – Keiko Matsui – Keiko Matsui                           NEW

This is new stuff, and Keiko is usually stocked in the “New Age” section of your local music purveyor. She is a talented pianist and composes most of her own music. She tends toward complex melodies. She has whole albums that make excellent background music for reading, cocktail parties, writing, painting or any kind of artistic endeavor. If you like this tune, at all, you can’t go wrong with one of her albums. I have three.

12. Fly Me to the Moon – Peggy Lee – Bart Howard                          BIG BAND

Ah, Peggy Lee. One of the best and this is one of her really big hits. Peggy had a very rough childhood and was singing professionally from a very early age. She was central to a number of big bands, including Benny Goodman at the tender age of 21. She is considered one of the 20^th Century’s major influences of singing style. No less a light than Duke Ellington said, “If I’m the Duke, then Peggy’s the Queen.” Peggy was also a very talented songwriter. Just a few of the hits on which she collaborated are: Fever, It’s a Good Day, Johnny Guitar, What’s New, He’s a Tramp and The Siamese Cat Song. The latter two from the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp.

13. After Hours – Ronny Jordan – Ronny Jordan                     NEW

Ronny is one of the new jazz-men. He normally records with band rather than small combo. This tune is from the album The Antidote,which is a good album overall but this is the cream. I really like this song. His style tends toward fast, bouncy, big sound jazz.

14. I’ll Be Seeing You – Jane Monheit – Irving Kahal; Sammy Fain                      WW II

Jane Monheit is a terrific young talent. If you like this song, at all, do yourself a favor and go online or get to a store with listening stations and hear more of her work. Her version of Over the Rainbow is the only one that gets mentioned in favorable terms when compared to Judy Garland’s. The production values are always top-notch on her recordings and, when played on really good equipment, you won’t believe how clear her voice is. I have seen her live, in a small venue, and it was really terrific. She appears with a small combo of very talented musicians. She is now married to the leader who does all the arrangements. Monheit is a BIG talent. This song is one of those tunes that was popularized during World War II because of its message. Listen to it thinking about a young war bride singing it to her man who has gone off to fight. I’m not joking when I say it brings a tear to my eye.

15. Liza (All the Clouds’ll Roll Away)  – Bill Charlap – George Gershwin; Gus Khan                   BROADWAY

Bill Charlap again, and again he is stepping up the tempo. This song was the closing number of the Broadway show Show Girl, a Florenz Ziegfeld production that introduced Ruby Keeler as its star. In addition to the singing and dancing of Ruby Keeler, a real beauty, the cast included Jimmy Durante and Eddie Foy, Jr. and the orchestra was conducted by Duke Ellington. How would you like to see THAT performance live? The song also became a recording hit for Al Jolson who married Keeler shortly before the show opened and used to join the final chorus to serenade her from the audience.

16. Someone to Watch Over Me – Linda Ronstadt  – George Gershwin; Ira Gershwin                     BROADWAY

Staying with Gershwin for one of my absolute favorites. Are you surprised to hear Little Linda singing this kind of song? Don’t be. This little dark-eyed doll can sing anything, from her barefoot days with the Stone Ponies, through her haunting version of Roy Orbison’s Blue Bayou, to her Canciones de Mi Padre album of traditional Mexican songs, she can handle it all. Here, she is teamed with the incomparable Nelson Riddle and his full orchestra. It is a two-disk album called Round Midnight and it is terrific from start to finish. The highest production values possible and Linda shows reverence for all these old standards. The song is another one of those where the lyrics say so much. Yearning young love, this time unmistakably a girl. If you want to hear, and see, a fantastic performance of this song by a talented young lady get the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus. The message of the song actually figures into the story line, and watching this young girl ‘s performance is really amazing.

17. Raise the Roof  –

18. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons – Nat King Cole – Derek Watson; William Best                     BIG BAND

Can’t beat “the real King” to close out Disk 1. I wanted something soft and smooth for the sign-off and this guy can always deliver that. Nicely backed up by a small combo, Nat’s uniquely smooth voice and clear phrasing are just nonpareil. You will note, Nat is the only male singer who made it into this collection. That is no accident.

The Palomar is a Fountain of Musical Knowledge and History

George Spink hosts The Palomar at http://thepalomar.blogspot.com. It is an impressive compendium of reviews, photos, audio & video clips and music history. The Palomar benefits from numerous contributors, from all over the world, who offer personal experiences and remembrances. Do yourself a favor and take a look at this great site.

One recent post re: the song At Last is a good example of the comprehensive knowledge shared at The Palomar. The song is mostly thought of in its classic performance by Etta James, which has been featured in several movies (including Pleasantville) and a series of Jaguar commercials. Beyonce, who stars as Etta James in the upcoming film Cadillac Records serenaded Pres. & Mrs. Obama with the song at one of the recent Inaugural Balls.

Here is just part of the post:

… it saddens me that Glenn Miller‘s version of “At Last” has been
lost in the shuffle in recent years. Top 40 stations wouldn’t touch it
with a ten-foot pole! Most disc jockeys and most reporters don’t have a
clue that Harry Warren and Mack Gordon wrote this song for Glenn Miller
in 1941. You hear a snippet of it in “Sun Valley Serenade” (1941) and
the entire version with Pat Friday and Ray Eberle at the beginning of
“Orchestra Wives” (1942). It remains one of my favorite Miller songs
after all of these years.

Pat Friday	Ray Eberle

(The site then features audio clips of the followinperformances)

“At Last” – Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle (1942)
from Glenn Miller: A Legendary Performer Album

“At Last” – Glenn Miller with Pat Friday and Ray Eberle
from Orchestra Wives (1942)

“At Last” – Ray Eberle and His Orchestra
from Ray Eberle Plays Glenn Miller Favorites (1957)

“At Last” – Etta James (1960) – Chess Records

“”At Last” – Beyoncé from Cadillac Records (2008)
in which she portrays Etta James.

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