Also highlighting the jazz tracks of While I’m Still Here is the exciting young trumpeter Benny Benack III, who is also a fine vocalist. His confident, bright vocals are enhanced by his scatting, making for a superior listening experience. King is a performer of great energy and enthusiasm, which translates perfectly on this track. One of the highlights of the album is Nicolas King’s rendition of “Live, Love & Laugh” (written with Ronny Whyte), which also features Kojak and Gordon. Other titles vocalized by her are “Someone Falls in Love With You,” “I Won’t Sing a Song About Love” and “Christmas Eve Is Here Again,” all expressed with her flair for incisive interpretation.Īlthough Levy has the ability to write across genres-music and lyrics both- While I’m Still Here succeeds best with jazz. On “While I’m Still Here,” with Daryl Kojak on piano and Howie Gordon on drums, the sweetness in Robert’s vocal underscores why she’s a popular artist with an enviable track record of performance. Roberts has a classic Broadway-style soprano that’s light and clear. To record it, he reached out to singer-actress Jennifer Roberts, who appears on several of the album’s tracks. The title track came early in Levy’s writing, summing up how he felt about the future. So focused was Levy he reveals, “I was determined to have as many songs as possible recorded and I was not going to let a pandemic stop me!” And it certainly did not, much to the delight of the songwriter himself, and those of us who benefit from his perseverance and talent. And so, many of the songs were recorded remotely by singers in one studio and musicians in another. For Levy, it was an aha moment that stirred his creative juices, He began writing song after song, connecting with colleagues who were also home during the imposed isolation.
While im still here mac#
The whole is a joyful collection of tunes-not only a meaningful representation of Levy’s talents, but great listening pleasure, made all the more exciting by the number of A-list musicians and vocalists participating.Ībout the genesis of While I’m Still Here, Levy reports, “After Alex Rybeck and I won the 20 MAC Award for Best Song, Lennie Watts asked if we’d be interested in writing a song that expressed what everyone in the business was feeling… one that they could use for the virtual MAC Award ceremony.” Levy collaborated with Rybeck accordingly and their “Here’s to the Heroes” (not on this CD) emerged as the tune selected, with all of the MAC winners that year performing on it. The result of his determination to keep creating is an eclectic 17-track CD of his work, the aptly titled, While I’m Still Here (SRM Records), his 11th album. Bob Levy, a multi award winning ASCAP songwriter, was one of those not to be sidelined. During the COVID-19 lockdown, with its punishing pandemic restrictions, remarkably many in the music business still found ways to cope, especially in being able to record.
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