Search - Lou Levy :: Lunarcy

Top notch Jazz

R comme Ralingue | Bordeaux, France | 07/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Lou Levy when he played with Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan. Then I lost sight of him. I listened to his beautiful solo record (by myself, Verve, 1996) and lost sight of him again. Until last year, when I heard that he had died five years ago ! I was upset. Really upset. And I said to myself that I had to listen to the other cds he'd made. Lunarcy is a Quartet featuring Lou Levy on piano, Pete Christlieb on tenor sax and flute (on the Dolphin only), Eric Von Essen on bass and cello (on Pathetique only) and Ralph Penland on drums and percussion (on Carnival only). I just wanted to say that this album is magnificent and I'm not fond of superlatives. Lou's touché is unique (he's really got his own, and from the first notes you can say who's playing). The compositions are great, the musicians are sensitive and inventive. On Pathetique, Pete Christlieb does a fantastic job and then, Levy plays his solo, doing pretty well for a tune as difficult as this. This is really an unusual record (it came out in 1992 and still, you can listen to this one repeatedly. It's not like those smooth jazz or superficial neobop records that you end up selling after two or three listenings... ). Lunarcy is for souls knowing the complexity of life..."