Elliott
Levin
http://www.radical3over2.com/elliott/levin.html
Have
you seen this man walking the streets of Philly? His signature single dread
emits musical spores over sidewalks, music halls, and coffeehouses. Elliott
is the ubiquitous Philadelphia musician. He has played with everyone...reading
his poetry into his flute, literally, improvising with Charles Cohen, Rick
Iannacone, and New Ghost, the list is long. A discography appears below.
Elliott
studied music and creative writing at the University of Oregon. He also
studied extensively with Michael Guera (former saxophonist with the Philadelphia
Orchestra), Cecil Taylor (pianist/composer/improvisor), and Claire Polin
(flutist/composer).
Elliott
has performed with groups including Cecil Taylor's Ensemble, Harold Melvin
& the Blue Notes, Odeon Popes' Sax Choir, Scram!, New Ghost, Atzilut
(Fourth World), and Talking Free Bebop. He has collaborated in performance
with poets Miguel Algarin, Gloria Tropp, Mbali Umoja, Marty Watt, and Frank
Messina & Spoken Motion among many others. Venues have included Carnegie
Hall, Lincoln Center, The United Nations, The U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Yale
University, The Greek Theater, Watts Towers, Lollapalooza! and scores of
galleries, clubs and theaters. In 1999, he performed at the Crossing Borders
Festival in the Hague, the Sexial Jazz Festival in Lisbon and Portugal,
The Alternative Festival in Prague, and the Sonic Logos Festival in Philadelphia.
Elliott
has received awards from New American Radio (New York), The Cityof Los
Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts
and the California Endowment for the Humanities.
A prolific
poet, Eliott's work has appeared in L.A. Weekly, Blue Beat Jacket (Japan),
The Painted Word, Po' Fly, Vital Pulse, Poets & Prophets, and Intervals:
The Poems of Musicians (Beehive & Sisyphus Press). A book of Poetry
by Elliott Levin was published in 1996 (Heat Press, Los Angeles).
From
Frank Messina's spokeface.com:
Born
in 1953, Elliott Levin is a Philadelphia born and based jazz musician and
poet. For ten years he toured the world with Harold Melvin & The Blue
otes, as saxophonist in The Sound of Philadelphia band. His poetry has
been published in several periodicals including the LA Weekly, Blue Beat
acket (Japan), The Painted Word, Po' Fly, The Nile, Vital Pulse, Ozone,
and Poets & Prophets. He regularly performs jazz and poetry with Gloria
Tropp, Miguel Algarin, Cecil Taylor's groups Phthongas and Unit Core Ensemble,
New Ghosts, Interplay and Talking Free Be-Bop. His original music and poetry
was recorded for broadcast throughout the USA as part of the New American
Radio Series. Frank met Elliott in the summer of 1994 at the Lollapalooza
festival in Philadelphia where Frank was booked as one of the featured
spoken word artists. Elliott joined Frank and Courtney Love the night before
at a local bar for some raucous stage antics and then reconvened the next
day on the concert stage for some poetic and musical mayhem. Spoken Motion
has never been the same since. Elliott appears on Cecil Taylor's latest
album, Live in Berlin, on FMP Records.
UPCOMING
RECORDINGS:
Live
in Berlin/ Cecil Taylor's Ensemble (F.M.P.)
Alan
Silva's Vision Orchestra (Eremite)
CURRENT
RECORDINGS:
The
Motion of Emotion/ Elliott Levin Quartet (CIMP LTD, 1998)
A
Fine Intensity/ Elliott Levin-Tyrone Hill Quartet (CIMP Ltd, 1999)
Souletide/
Elliott Levin-Tyrone Hill Quartet (CIMP Ltd, 2000)
Animus:Live
at the Tin Angel (Animus, 1999)
New
Ghost: Live Upstairs at Nick's (New Ghost)
Olduvai
Music (Tiwa Records)
Iltar
(Tiwa REcords)
Poetry
in Philadelphia (Welcome Worlds Cassettes)
A
Gift of Ghosts (New American Radio)
Postcards
from the Edge... On the Road (New American Radio)
The
Fourth World (Jack Kessler Productions)
If
It Dropped In Your Neighborhood You'd Look Up Too! (West Philadelphia Compilation
-Starfish Productions).
