Straight Ahead Jazz Music

Amy Levin Quartet - What I Did Over My Summer Vacation

You'd swear this is an old recording of Milt Jackson, maybe Larry Bunker or Dave Pike, or even Gary Burton before his debut with Hank Garland, in some small European club where someone in the front row managed to bring in their great reel-to-reel.

But you'd be wrong on all counts. This is the music of a teen jazz phenom, a player you'd hope to hear from in years to come. Remember the first CD cover of Birelli Lagrene? What was he, 11 years-old? That kind of talent. But as opposed to Birelli, who was channeling Django, Amy is being Amy, channeling nothing but her own heart and soul, her own feelings about the music.

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The recording was done in black and white so to speak, old technology, the kind folks listened to when jazz had a big audience, when despite the room bleed, you could hear the skill and swing and passion of all of the players working as one unit.

What you have here is a soft Basie-type rhythm section with a swinging vibes up front, instead of swinging horns. It's a combination that seeps into your mind, puts a glide in your step, and brightens your day the way jazz used to.

Listen to a clip of her rendition of Charlie Parker's "Confirmation."

Read the CD's liner notes.    Read the Atlanta Jewish Times feature on Amy.

Buy the CD from Amazon.com.