On Faces & Places, the new release from saxophonist composer, Jed Levy, he takes the listener on a journey through the many perspectives and genres of music that have informed his vision of today’s modern jazz.

Along the way he tells stories and paints musical pictures of both people and places that have inspired him. All done in his own personal vocabulary formed by a diverse career in music which has included intersecting with people like the great pianist Jaki Byard, organists Jack McDuff and Don Patterson, Jam Band Funk with drummer Mike Clark and Charlie Hunter, Afro Cuban music with Chico O’Farrill, Swing with the Cab Calloway Orchestra and performances with The Temptations/The Four Tops.

Joining him on this new release are his stellar NYC working band featuring Grammy Winner LUIS PERDOMO on piano (Tom Harrell, Ravi Coltrane, Miguel Zenon), ALVESTER GARNETT on drums (Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter, Regina Carter) and PETER SLAVOV on bass (Joe Lovano ,Quincy Jones, Paul Winter).

1. EMAIL (7:26)
2. Danza de Berrios (6:00)
3. Calcata (8:17)
4. Twiddle Twaddle (6:23)
5. Coming To Terms (7:38)
6. St. Simons (5:43)
7. Personable (8:14)
8. Tenerife (6:27)
9. Leading Tone (7:12)
10. Haiku (7:03)
11. Partido Tenor (6:42)
12. Postscript (1:55)

This most wondrously engrossing, thoroughly impassioned new recording opens on the resplendent EMAIL and then brings us the joyously playful Danza de Berrios, the languishing Calcata, the gently rousing, drum-fed Twiddle Twaddle and both the late night, smokey club appeal of Coming To Terms and the foot-tapping, finger-snapping hot-to-trot appeal of St. Simons.

Along next is the fervently sculpted Personable and the decadent Tenerife and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the organically rhythmic Leading Tone, a simmering beauty found within the ornate Haiku, the music rounding out on the delightfully breezy Partido Tenor, closing on the heartfelt Postscript.

As a bandleader he has toured Asia, South America and Europe playing concerts and festivals in places as diverse as Port au Prince, Haiti to Kharkiv, Ukraine. Levy has 10 previous CD’s on the SteepleChase and Reservoir Labels as well as over 40 appearances on recordings as a sideman.

His compositional talents, which are prominently featured on this CD, have led to artists like The Headhunters, Don Friedman, Ron McClure, Eddie Henderson, Peter Leitch, Jack Walrath and Mike Clark recording his music.

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