The Charlottesville Jazz Society and WTJU are pleased to present The Howard Levy 4 in concert on Tuesday, May 7th. The concert will be held at Belmont Arts Collaborative on Carlton Road at 8 pm.

Led by the Grammy-Award winning diatonic harmonica master, pianist, and composer Howard Levy, well known for his long-time tenure with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, this powerhouse ensemble delivers musical magic in a range of styles that includes Jazz, Latin, World Music, and Blues. Besides several distinctively reworked
American and Brazilian compositions, the band has a diverse repertoire of original compositions that combine and blend many cultures and rhythms, creating an extraordinary original sound. In addition to Howard, this amazingly accomplished Chicago-based quartet is comprised of guitarist Chris Siebold, the outstanding upright and electric bassist Joshua Ramos, and the exceptional Brazilian drummer Luiz Ewerling.

A prolific recording artist, Howard Levy has released 17 albums under his name and appeared in hundreds more. He was a founding member of Bela The Flecktones and has performed and recorded with an incredibly diverse range of artists including Paquito D’Rivera, Donald Fagen, and Kurt Elling. The revolutionary technique that he developed on the diatonic harmonica transformed it into a fully chromatic instrument for the first time, opening up possibilities for limitless musical exploration while still retaining the cry of the Blues.  Sounding like no other on stage, it has been said of Howard’s unparalleled harmonica playing, “As Art Tatum was to the piano, so is Levy to the harmonica: a hyper-virtuoso whose feats can be admired and studied but never really
replicated.”

The rest of this remarkable band is very much up to the task of complementing a virtuoso like Howard. Chris Siebold, house guitarist for A Prairie Home Companion for four years, has recorded and toured with Chicago’s most eclectic Jazz and fusion groups; Joshua Ramos, one of Chicago’s most in-demand bassists, spent five years with jazz legend Ramsey Lewis, while drummer/composer Luiz Ewerling contributes rhythmic and compositional fire and depth to The Howard Levy 4.