Rozanne Levine

ALTO CLARINET; CLARINET; BAMBOO FLUTE; COMPOSITION

Rozanne Levine was introduced to the jazz/new music community as a performer with William Parker and Patricia Nicholson Parker's Centering Music/Dance Ensemble during the late 1970’s. Her work with the Parkers is documented on the Eremite release, “Through Acceptance Of The Mystery Peace/The Music Of William Parker”. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990's she performed in saxophonist/clarinetist Mark Whitecage's Glass House Ensemble, playing both clarinet and Whitecage's sound sculptures. In 1993 she rejoined the Parkers as a founding member of their New York-based Improvisors Collective, performing in the Collective Orchestra and with Collective members in smaller ensembles as well as at Collective Festivals. During her 3-year tenure with the Collective she formed two ensembles , Crystal Clarinets and the Clarinet Choir, which performed at Roulette and the Tri-Centric Festival in New York City and The Buttonwood Tree in Connecticut.

In 1999 Levine and Whitecage formed a touring duo, RoMarkable, to showcase their acoustic and electronic forays. They performed at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, NY, toured the US in the summer of 2002 and were featured at the “Converge” art/science series at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ as well as at The Bop Shop in Rochester, NY and The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, CT. They performed in Portland, Oregon at various clubs and festivals with the Bi-Coastal Orchestra in 2004 and 2005. RoMarkable will be performing at several venues in New Mexico in August 2012 with guests, flutist Mary Rose and bassist Joseph Salack.

Ms. Levine currently leads Chakra Tuning, with Mark Whitecage, clarinetist Perry Robinson and violinist/vocalist Rosi Hertlein. The music of Chakra Tuning weaves in and out of melodies, exploring rhythms, moods and inner space in a transforming, unfolding journey. Rozanne Levine’s compositions form the thematic material from which the musicians improvise, each artist adding their distinct voice to the mix. Ms. Levine draws inspiration for her compositions from myths from China to New Zealand, cosmologies and spiritual traditions both east and west, and current events, out of which she and her band mates weave a musical tapestry. Bird whistles, ocarinas, half horns, Native American rattles, percussion, Rozanne’s photographs, and storytelling play a part in the group sound. Chakra Tuning embarked on a 5-state U.S. tour in March 2011, and has appeared at 28 Hours of Innovative Art, Roulette, Tonic, and the Yippie Museum Cafe in New York City, and at the First Annual Hudson County Performing Artists’ Showcase in Union City, NJ. The group released their highly-praised debut CD, Only Moment, in 2009, on Ms. Levine and Mr. Whitecage's label, Acoustics.

Ms. Levine also performs with Mark Whitecage and The Bi-Coastal Orchestra, a group of East and West Coast musicians that includes guitarist Scott Steele, pianist Bill Larimer and drummer Robert (Mike) Mahaffay. In 2005 they released their debut CD, “BushWacked - A Spoken Opera” on the Acoustics label.

She has performed with Anthony Braxton, The New Reed Quartet, Jason Kao Hwang, Jackson Krall, Theo Jorgensmann, Blaise Siwula, and Who Knows?, among others. She appeared in Johnny Reinhard's Microtonal Festival and appears annually in vocalist Nicki Mathis' Many Colors of a Woman Jazz Concert, and she has been a staple of various Clarinet Choirs.

Ms. Levine is also a noted photographer and has given several concerts where her photographs were integrated into her scores and exhibited. The Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania awarded her a commission grant for both her music and photographs. A gallery of her performance photographs is on the internet at www.erjn.it/gallery/levine.htm

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