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Rob Levit

Guitarist, composer and educator Rob Levit has been described by the Ottawa International Jazz Festival as "...one of the finest young guitarists on today's jazz scene." He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including the 2000 Chamber Music America New Works: Creation and Presentation (Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project) Award, the Jazz Composers Alliance/Julius Hemphill Prize, and four consecutive Maryland State Arts Council Individual Arts Awards. Inspired by great composers as diverse as Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Sam Rivers and Pat Metheny, Levit's music integrates world, rock, jazz and classical sources with improvisation to create an exciting fusion of sounds. His band, the Rob Levit Group, has performed at the Kennedy Center, Montreal Jazz Festival, the Knitting Factory, and the Ottawa International Jazz Festival. Levit Produces, records, and releases his own music on the Symbol System label--a label devoted to fostering collaboration, creativity, and economic self-sufficiency. He also gives workshops on all aspects of jazz and improvisation.

Guitarist, composer, educator, and band leader Rob Levit, a native of Richmond, Virginia, resides in Annapolis, Maryland. He received his master's degree in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory in Boston. While there, his group, a quintet comprised of trumpet, flute, guitar, bass, and drums, was signed to Brownstone Recordings and recorded the compact disc, Singularity. Released in October 1994, the disc received acclaim in New England and nationally. In his year end column, jazz critic Bob Blumenthal of the Boston Globe recognized him as a rising jazz star. The Rob Levit Group was nominated "Best Jazz Act" by the Boston Phoenix . Subsequently, it was chosen as the opening act for Arturo Sandoval in the Boston Globe Jazz Festival , one of the most prestigious American jazz festivals. The group's performance received positive reviews in the area's two primary newspapers, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. Singularity was featured on Chronicle, a popular television newsmagazine, as a recommended compact disc. In addition, one cut from the CD was selected by the Massachusetts Governor's Alliance Against Drugs for a public service announcement.

In 1995, Levit moved to New York City where he formed a new group featuring saxophonist Chris Cheek, percussionist John Mettam, and bassist Stephan Crump. Together they recorded two CD's of Levit's original compositions, Afterimage and East River View. In 1996, the Rob Levit Group was Artist-In-Residence at the University of Virginia and Collegiate School as part of an east coast tour. In July 1997, the group performed at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival where Levit was described as "...one of the finest young guitarists on today's jazz scene." In July 1998, the group played on the mainstage of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

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141
Album Review

Rob Levit: Touch the Spirit

Read "Touch the Spirit" reviewed by Budd Kopman


Rob Levit is an amazing guitarist and a deep, feeling musician. Uncertain Path (Symbol System, 2004) revealed his electric side alongside a band, and now Touch the Spirit explores his solo relationship with the acoustic guitar, both steel and nylon, with a bit of electric thrown in. Levit is also a bit of a Renaissance man--he painted the album art. Openly indebted to such guitarists as Tim Reynolds, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny, he also specifically mentions Keith Jarrett (and ...

314
Album Review

The Rob Levit Trio: Uncertain Path

Read "Uncertain Path" reviewed by Craig W. Hurst


Rob Levit is a talented Annapolis, Maryland based guitarist and composer. His trio recording Uncertain Path is a collection of ten original compositions and three arrangements of tunes by Sting, Bob Marley and Wayne Shorter.

Levit's compositions represent a varied cross section of styles and creative inventiveness that keeps the listener's ear hooked. The opening tune, “Singularity," is an angularly melodic 32-bar samba that prominently features both Levit and drummer Frank Russo. Another tune that draws attention is the title ...

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Multiple Reviews

Rob Levit: Uncertain Path & Anatomy of Ecstasy

Read "Rob Levit: Uncertain Path & Anatomy of Ecstasy" reviewed by David Rickert


Rob Levit Uncertain Path Symbol System Records 2004

Many musicians who explore a wide variety of musical styles are unable to combine them into a coherent whole. Not Rob Levit though, a guitarist who is able to seamlessly blend all sorts of influences from blues to funk to heavy metal into a coherent whole. Thus Uncertain Path is an ironic title for an album that is so focused.

Levit contributes most of ...

228
Album Review

Rob Levit Trio: Uncertain Path

Read "Uncertain Path" reviewed by Elliott Simon


If “guitar" was a musical style, Rob Levit would be at the top of it. On the one hand, he is a jazz guitarist who can take a basic melody and turn it outside in to explore its inner beauty or reveal its seamy underbelly. Then again, he can rip off some of the fastest licks this side of anyone or draw out a single perfect blue note until the tension rises to a feverish pitch. He is also equally ...

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119

Recording

Rob Levit Creativity CD Now Downloadable

Rob Levit Creativity CD Now Downloadable

Source: All About Jazz


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Website

Guitarist Rob Levit Free Downloads at AAJ: "Singularity" and "The Traveler"

Guitarist Rob Levit Free Downloads at AAJ: "Singularity" and "The Traveler"

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz is offering two consecutive days of guitarist/composer Rob Levit's music as free downloads. Today's download, “Singularity" appears on Uncertain Path (2004) and tomorrow's “The Traveler" appears on his 2005 release, Touch the Spirit.

Click here to download both tracks from Rob's page @ AAJ

About Rob Levit

Guitarist, composer and educator Rob Levit has been described by the Ottawa International Jazz Festival as “...one of the finest young guitarists on today's jazz scene." He is the recipient ...

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Jazz Times "Before settling in Annapolis, Md., Rob Levit spent time in New York playing with top-shelfers like Chris Cheek and Stephan Crump. He is a modern, versatile plectrist who reminds me of Pete McCann, and his trio disc Uncertain Path (Symbol System), with bassist Amy Shook and drummer Frank Russo, is a solid summary of his talents as an improviser and composer."

Abstract Logix “As an instrumentalist I didn't always appreciate the level of hard work and sophistication that went into creating electronic music. I was one of those idiots knocking it without ever trying it. It’s been eye-opening to learn how to manipulate the myriad of possibilities into some intelligent or at least listenable form. It’s also helped generate new ideas for my jazz improvisations."

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Primary Instrument

Guitar

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Touch the Spirit

Symbol System Records
2006

buy

Uncertain Path

Symbol System Records
2004

buy

Singularity

From: Uncertain Path
By Rob Levit

The Traveler

From: Touch the Spirit
By Rob Levit

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