April 2006 CDs
Touch the Spirit
Touch the Spirit is one of the most masterfully creative guitar albums I've ever heard. This shouldn't surprise me, given that Rob Levit is the genius behind it. His 17th CD of his own original compositions explores a vast array of possibilities unabashed, right out in the open, and yet I the listener am captivated.
He'll play with a rift over and over, investigating its textures, and I sit here and let him do it, because the next thing I know he's taking me on a trip somewhere I've never been before.
In the title cut I hear shades of sitar; in the fourth, The Traveler , I know I must be in Spain. It's not that it's international, it's just that it's such a bountiful harvest! I'm aware of influences from classical rock, world and jazz, but he doesn't get stuck in any of them. The whole thing is his creation, from the composition and arrangement to the guitar, vocals and percussion, even the artwork on the cover.
Celebrated for his prowess as a guitarist, composer, educator and band leader, Virginia-born Levit holds a master's degree in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory in Boston.
His first CD, Singularity , came out in 1994 to national acclaim. Jazz critic Bob Blumenthal of the Boston Globe recognized him as a rising star, and the Boston Phoenix nominated
The Rob Levit Group "Best Jazz Act." The group received strong reviews as the opening act for Arturo Sandoval in the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, one of the most prestigious American jazz festivals. Singularity was featured on a popular television newsmagazine, and one cut 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 and recorded two CD's of his original compositions, Afterimage and East River View .
In 1997 the Rob Levit Group performed at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, and when they played on the main stage of the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1998 Levit was described as "...one of the finest young guitarists on today's jazz scene."
Levit's musical and compositional approach, called Symbol System, seeks to unify classical, rock, world and modern jazz traditions to create an exciting fusion of sounds.
Levit Produces, records, and releases his own music on his own label, devoted to fostering collaboration, creativity, and economic self-sufficiency. He also speaks and gives workshops on all aspects of jazz, improvisation and creativity for diverse audiences. He is truly a hero for our time, an excellent role model.
—Chiwah
Confederacy Style
Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Post Falls
The Blackfoot Confederacy drum brings together some of the most respected singers in pow-wow country, singing proudly together around the drum. If you have a weakness for Native chanting, this is top-notch and it will open you up wide.
This CD originated as part of a commitment to preserving the traditional songs and the unique singing style of the four great nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy—the Blackfeet, the Siksika, the Kainai, and the Piikani—for future generations. It brings us eight traditional war dance songs, a sneak-up song, a contest song, a couple of intertribal songs, and a song from the Chicken Dance.
The Blackfoot Confederacy is one of the proudest and strongest alliances in the history of Native America. This, their second album, owes its existence to the determination of the younger singers to continue singing together under the guidance of the elders.
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