Josh Levinson was born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.  At an early age he studied piano with his mother and later at High School he studied trumpet at John Dewey High School.  After graduation, he attended college, and Levinson studied with John Castellano at Sounds of Joy (now the Drummers’ Collective), which was an important piece in the fabric of his musical learning. 

 

Levinson’s first gigs were with the soul/funk band The Whole Damn Family led by Kevin Williams.  He then went on tour with Mickey Murray and the Magic Machine, a funk band out of New York City.   Levinson also played with local meringue bands and developed his jazz licks at the University of the Streets in the East Village, playing with musicians like “C” Sharpe and Tommy Turrentine.  He played in an ensemble led by Ron Carter at City College, where he also got the chance to perform with guest artists Gil Evans and Freddie Hubbard.

 

In the late 80s and early 90s, Levinson’s led jazz groups at small New York clubs, including The Angry Squire, A Hundred Eighty Degrees, and Pat’s.  Musicians who have played his tunes include Jorge Sylvester, Jeb Patton, Mike Holober, Uri Caine, Rob Bargad, Alex McCabe, Shingo Okudeira,  Yoichi Kobayashi, Yosuke Inoue, and Mike Fahie, Mark Turner, and many others.

 

For the past fifteen years Levinson has been teaching music to middle school students in the South Bronx.  He continues to practice and write the music that he fell in love with and still considers the greatest music in the world and is inspiring the next generation of future musicians.

 

Levinson’s deep love of jazz is represented in his compositions.  Josh Levinson’s goal is to write, arrange, and play tunes that welcome, engage and draw the listener in.  He has successfully achieved this concept with his first CD, Elevations, and continues this premise with his second and most current CD, Chauncey Street, that offers the listener 11 original compositions that feature danceable grooves and memorable melodies that are addictive and inviting.

 

Listeners will notice the way inventive melodies and harmonies emerge from a personal sound that has its roots in the history of jazz, particularly the post-bop straight-ahead drive exemplified by Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Horace Silver.  Levinson’s goal is always to swing like the Art Blakey band and inspiration for him.  He saw them many times in New York City, where he has spent all of his life living and playing.