Lou Levy

Stan Getz & Lou Levy (Amsterdam, 1959)

Lou Levy real name Louis A. Levy (born March 5, 1928 in Chicago , Illinois , † January 23, 2001 in Dana Point , California ), was an American jazz musician and pianist .

Life

Born in Chicago to Jewish immigrants, Levy began playing the piano when he was twelve. At the end of the 1940s he first attracted attention as a pianist for Georgie Auld , Boyd Raeburn and the bebop band of Chubby Jackson , with whom he also toured Europe . In 1948 he joined Woody Herman's orchestra for a time .

Since the 1950s, Levy has made a name for himself around the world, especially as an accompanist for numerous well-known vocalists. He played on many of Ella Fitzgerald's well-known songbooks on the Verve label, accompanied Sarah Vaughan , Anita O'Day , Tony Bennett and Nancy Wilson and was Peggy Lee's regular pianist for almost two decades (1955–1973) ( for example on the album Black Coffee ). Frank Sinatra , with whom he also went on tour in the spring of 1987, he accompanied on his original recording of My Way (1968) and the accompanying album.

In the instrumental field, Levy worked with Benny Goodman , Shorty Rogers , Shelly Manne and above all for many years with Stan Getz , with whose quartet he went on tour in the eighties. In the mid-1970s Levy also took part in the recordings of the band Supersax . Also through his albums under his own name, u. a. with the bass player Eric von Essen , Levy is considered one of the most distinguished jazz pianists of the 20th century.

Discographic notes

Selection of albums under your own name:

• The Lou Levy Trio ( Nocturne Records , 1954)
• Solo Scene (RCA Victor, 1956)
• Jazz In Four Colors (RCA Victor, 1956)
• Lou Levy Plays Baby Grand Jazz (Jubilee, 1958)
• The Hymn (Philips, 1963)
• The Kid's Got Ears (Jazzis, 1982)
• Lunacy (Verve, 1992)
• Ya Know (Verve, 1993)

Web links

• Lou Levy in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Obituary in The New York Times
• Obituary in Los Angeles Times