Jazz Articles

Rob Levit: Touch the Spirit

by Budd Kopman
June 1, 2006

Rob Levit is an amazing guitarist and a deep, feeling musician. Uncertain Path (Symbol System, 2004) revealed his electric side alongside a band, and now Touch the Spirit explores his solo relationship with the acoustic guitar, both steel and nylon, with a bit of electric thrown in. Levit is also a bit of a Renaissance man--he painted the album art. Openly indebted to such guitarists as Tim Reynolds, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny, he also specifically mentions Keith Jarrett (and ...

The Rob Levit Trio: Uncertain Path

by Craig W. Hurst
December 9, 2004

Rob Levit is a talented Annapolis, Maryland based guitarist and composer. His trio recording Uncertain Path is a collection of ten original compositions and three arrangements of tunes by Sting, Bob Marley and Wayne Shorter.

Levit's compositions represent a varied cross section of styles and creative inventiveness that keeps the listener's ear hooked. The opening tune, “Singularity," is an angularly melodic 32-bar samba that prominently features both Levit and drummer Frank Russo. Another tune that draws attention is the title ...

Rob Levit Trio: Uncertain Path

by Elliott Simon
August 23, 2004

If “guitar" was a musical style, Rob Levit would be at the top of it. On the one hand, he is a jazz guitarist who can take a basic melody and turn it outside in to explore its inner beauty or reveal its seamy underbelly. Then again, he can rip off some of the fastest licks this side of anyone or draw out a single perfect blue note until the tension rises to a feverish pitch. He is also equally ...