Aaron Levin

Aaron Levin is a drummer, electronic musician, and writer based out of the Bay Area. Born in Berkeley, Aaron grew up in Los Angeles, CA. As a child he studied piano, clarinet, and saxophone until he decided to quit music forever and become a drummer. After drawing initial inspiration from the great classic rock drummers, he discovered the music of John Coltrane propelled by master drummer Elvin Jones. From that moment on Aaron developed a deep love for Jazz, particularly the bebop, hard bop, and free jazz of the 50s & 60s as well as the Funk & more inspired Fusion experiments of the 70s. As a teenager Aaron played in a variety of groups in Southern California ranging from punk to hard rock to jazz and funk as he continued to refine his skills.

After graduating high school, Aaron moved up to the Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley where he would receive his B.A. in Philosophy & minor in Creative Writing in 1999. Here he played as part of the UC Jazz ensembles lead by such luminaries as Jon Jang and Darol Anger while studying writing with master poets Thom Gunn & Ishmael Reed. During this time he also booked a weekly night of live jazz & funk on Thursdays at Larry Blake's in Berkeley. Hosted by his band The Groove Junkies, this showcase of local improvisers quickly became a staple of the thriving Bay Area "Acid Jazz" scene of the 90s. In his spare time he also began focusing more on electronic music, specifically becoming a devotee of Akai's line of MPC workstations and producing beats for local hip-hop artists.

Since graduation Aaron has stayed active in music as a performer and producer in numerous projects ranging from nationally touring rock bands, to live hip hop acts, to experimental improv and electronic groups. His music has been featured on MTV (Real World & Road Rules), in video games (Dance Dance Revolution), and in TV commercials worldwide. He has shared bills with such diverse acts as saxophonist Steve Coleman, rapper Common, and rock wizards The Fucking Champs. Some of the more notable projects he has been part of are The Groove Junkies, Boyjazz, Cartoon Justice, Pegataur, Earth Blind, Sound Etiquette, The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble, and Joshua Allen's Deconstruction Orchestra. Behind the drumset he has supported many key members of the Bay Area improvised music scene such as Nick Obando, Eli Wallace, Rent Romus, Karl Evangelista, Mika Pontecorvo, Joshua Marshall, Andrew Jamieson, Joshua Allen, and many other talented performers.

Today Aaron lives in the East Bay and continues to look for new opportunities to make new sounds.

Awards

Best New Jazz on Bandcamp Dec 2016, Avant Music News Best of 2016 Honorable Mention.