From the Vaults, Vol. 4: Duets with Friends

Howard Levy

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As the crowning jewel from Howard's musical vaults, “Duets with Friends” shines with the light of spontaneous creativity. While there are still more unheard treasures, this album is the fourth and last of the "From the Vaults" series.

Paired up with some of Chicago’s greatest musicians- Joe Rendon (congas), Willy Schwarz (tabla & mridangam),

As the crowning jewel from Howard's musical vaults, “Duets with Friends” shines with the light of spontaneous creativity. While there are still more unheard treasures, this album is the fourth and last of the "From the Vaults" series.

Paired up with some of Chicago’s greatest musicians- Joe Rendon (congas), Willy Schwarz (tabla & mridangam), Kelly Sill (upright bass), and Anthony Molinaro (piano), Howard creates deep, grooving, exploratory improvisations, blending Indian, Latin, and Jazz styles together into a unique sonic stew.

Howard Levy - piano and harmonica

Joe Rendon - congas

Willy Schwarz - tabla and mridangam

Kelly Sill - upright bass

Anthony Molinaro - piano

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Duets with Friends Download (.wav)
  • Duets with Friends Download (.wav)

Duets with Friends Download (.wav)

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For those who prefer a more hi-res sound than mp3s, we offer an alternative download choice (44.1khz / 16 bit .wav files), identical in sound to a CD.

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$45.00

20% off.

(Since the "Howard and Jethro" CD is out of stock, this bundle offers 3 physical CDs and 1 album for download. Howard will sign one of the CDs.)

  • From the Vaults Series - Over Howard Levy’s long musical career, the 2-time Grammy Award winner has recorded on hundreds of albums and put out more than 15 of his own. His stylistic and

20% off.

(Since the "Howard and Jethro" CD is out of stock, this bundle offers 3 physical CDs and 1 album for download. Howard will sign one of the CDs.)

  • From the Vaults Series - Over Howard Levy’s long musical career, the 2-time Grammy Award winner has recorded on hundreds of albums and put out more than 15 of his own. His stylistic and compositional range encompasses more musical genres than most people could ever imagine. In 2018, Howard started releasing some of the best music he ever recorded that, for one reason or another, was never put out on CDs. The “Vaults” series contains 4 brilliant recordings done over a 25-year span, in styles including Swing, World Music, Jazz, Latin Jazz, and Blues. Preserved on tape, cassettes, and digital audiotape and then remastered, the excellent sound quality on all 4 recordings enhances the adventurous, surprising, and energetic music- it sounds as fresh now as it did then, bursting with humor, depth and creativity!

Vol. 1 Harmonica Jazz This is the re-release of a cassette album that Howard put out in 1987. It is the first Jazz album ever recorded by a diatonic harmonica player and stands as a milestone in the history of harmonica recordings.

Vol. 2 The NBV Quintet 1980-1983 Howard started this band in 1979. NBV stands for “No Bad Vibes”. Howard composed all the tunes on the album and plays only piano, as the primary focus of the band was the classic sound of trumpet and tenor sax with a rhythm section.

Vol. 3 Howard and Jethro- Super Session of Swing This album documents the exhilarating first concert that Howard and Jethro Burns (great Mandolin player from “Homer and Jethro”) played as co-leaders. Jethro’s hilarious spoken intros are included as an essential part of the Jethro experience.

Vol. 4: Duets with Friends As the crowning jewel from Howard's musical vaults, “Duets with Friends” shines with the light of spontaneous creativity. While there are still more unheard treasures, this album is the 4th and last of the "From the Vaults" series. Paired up with some of Chicago’s greatest musicians, Howard creates deep, grooving, exploratory improvisations, blending Indian, Latin, and Jazz styles together into a unique sonic stew.

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BEHIND THE SCENES

I had a great time talking with conga master José Rendon about his early days as a trumpet player(!), our years as bandmates in Chévere de Chicago, and remembering what it felt like to spontaneously improvise & record the 2 compositions on “Duets with Friends”. Joe’s warmth, wit, and intellect shine through in this conversation.

To celebrate the new album, I had a sit-down with Willy Schwarz, who is a percussion guru, also my long-time musical partner. We talked about the concepts behind the 2 tunes on the album, how we improvised and recorded them.