Nephew Stewart Levy leads the estate with two new versions of the classic jazz hit
Los Angeles, CA: The jazz classic hit, Whiplash by Hank Levy, will see two new versions released on October 6th, 2014, headed by the Hank Levy Estate CEO, Stewart Levy. The new tracks were recorded Sunday, July 27th at Sheffield Recordings Ltd. in Phoenix, Maryland and Roeder Studio in Monkton, Maryland. The recordings were engineered and produced by Richard Roeder and features many of the original players from the debut release of Whiplash in 1972. The Hank Levy Estate will release the single as a radio edit plus a full performance recording of Whiplash prior to the film's release.
The tracks will debut alongside the theatrical release of Whiplash the film, starring Miles Teller and JK Simmons—written and directed by Damien Chazelle. The film gives attention to Hank Levy's legacy, specifically the song “Whiplash," which is not only featured in the film but also serves as the movie's title. The opportunity for Levy's hit song “Whiplash" being chosen for use in the film, came through the films' music supervisor and music consultant, Anna Granucci, who was working on the short-to-feature from early pre-production stages alongside Chazelle in the Spring of 2012.
“I felt this was a wonderful opportunity to preserve and commemorate my Uncle Hank's music and to authenticate his music using the Hank Levy Legacy Band," Stewart Levy comments. “So why did I choose to record two versions of the song “Whiplash"? First, I wanted a modern take on the original score as written by Hank Levy. Second, I wanted a two-minute abridged version so that people could have a taste of an authentic and modern alternative to the song, “Whiplash". Both recordings were performed by the Hank Levy Legacy Band, the official band of Hank Levy Jazz, LLC. In fact, many of the players in the Hank Levy Legacy Band studied music under Hank, further authenticating these recordings of Hank's music."
About Hank Levy
A Baltimore native, Hank graduated from Baltimore City College, where he led his first band. In 1953, Hank played baritone saxophone in the legendary Stan Kenton Orchestra for six months, which led to a lifelong friendship with Kenton. The 1960s were a critical decade for Hank Levy. Out on the West Coast, one of the tunes that helped the Don Ellis Band tear up the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 was Hank Levy's “Passacaglia and Fugue." Two years later, after the death of his father, Levy sold the family beef business and convinced Towson State College to start a jazz program, with him as director.
In 1972, with the help of Stan Kenton's Creative World production company, the ensemble put out their first of several albums, with all material written and arranged by Levy and the album still sounds relevant to this day. The compositions were of sufficient quality that several of them were recorded by the Ellis and Kenton bands. The Towson group lacked the soloist depth of these professional organizations but compensated with a crisp, powerhouse delivery. Many of the Towson players later ended up in the pro bands of Kenton, Ellis and others, beneficiaries not just of Levy's writing talent but of an offhand teaching style that charmed his students. Hank wrote a number of large scale compositions, including his Opus for Overextended Jazz Ensemble, which was premiered by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1971. A video documentary on his life and work, A Head of Time: Ahead of Time, was completed in 2000, made by Audio Visual Artist's Productions. The owner of the company, Dick Slade, became an admirer when he heard Hank's arrangements on a Kenton album in 1972. Hank retired in 1989 after 21 years as head of the Jazz Studies department. He died of congestive heart failure. His wife, Gloria, predeceased him in 1996.
Los Angeles, CA: The jazz classic hit, Whiplash by Hank Levy, will see two new versions released on October 6th, 2014, headed by the Hank Levy Estate CEO, Stewart Levy. The new tracks were recorded Sunday, July 27th at Sheffield Recordings Ltd. in Phoenix, Maryland and Roeder Studio in Monkton, Maryland. The recordings were engineered and produced by Richard Roeder and features many of the original players from the debut release of Whiplash in 1972. The Hank Levy Estate will release the single as a radio edit plus a full performance recording of Whiplash prior to the film's release.
The tracks will debut alongside the theatrical release of Whiplash the film, starring Miles Teller and JK Simmons—written and directed by Damien Chazelle. The film gives attention to Hank Levy's legacy, specifically the song “Whiplash," which is not only featured in the film but also serves as the movie's title. The opportunity for Levy's hit song “Whiplash" being chosen for use in the film, came through the films' music supervisor and music consultant, Anna Granucci, who was working on the short-to-feature from early pre-production stages alongside Chazelle in the Spring of 2012.
“I felt this was a wonderful opportunity to preserve and commemorate my Uncle Hank's music and to authenticate his music using the Hank Levy Legacy Band," Stewart Levy comments. “So why did I choose to record two versions of the song “Whiplash"? First, I wanted a modern take on the original score as written by Hank Levy. Second, I wanted a two-minute abridged version so that people could have a taste of an authentic and modern alternative to the song, “Whiplash". Both recordings were performed by the Hank Levy Legacy Band, the official band of Hank Levy Jazz, LLC. In fact, many of the players in the Hank Levy Legacy Band studied music under Hank, further authenticating these recordings of Hank's music."
About Hank Levy
A Baltimore native, Hank graduated from Baltimore City College, where he led his first band. In 1953, Hank played baritone saxophone in the legendary Stan Kenton Orchestra for six months, which led to a lifelong friendship with Kenton. The 1960s were a critical decade for Hank Levy. Out on the West Coast, one of the tunes that helped the Don Ellis Band tear up the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 was Hank Levy's “Passacaglia and Fugue." Two years later, after the death of his father, Levy sold the family beef business and convinced Towson State College to start a jazz program, with him as director.
In 1972, with the help of Stan Kenton's Creative World production company, the ensemble put out their first of several albums, with all material written and arranged by Levy and the album still sounds relevant to this day. The compositions were of sufficient quality that several of them were recorded by the Ellis and Kenton bands. The Towson group lacked the soloist depth of these professional organizations but compensated with a crisp, powerhouse delivery. Many of the Towson players later ended up in the pro bands of Kenton, Ellis and others, beneficiaries not just of Levy's writing talent but of an offhand teaching style that charmed his students. Hank wrote a number of large scale compositions, including his Opus for Overextended Jazz Ensemble, which was premiered by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1971. A video documentary on his life and work, A Head of Time: Ahead of Time, was completed in 2000, made by Audio Visual Artist's Productions. The owner of the company, Dick Slade, became an admirer when he heard Hank's arrangements on a Kenton album in 1972. Hank retired in 1989 after 21 years as head of the Jazz Studies department. He died of congestive heart failure. His wife, Gloria, predeceased him in 1996.
