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Jazz Articles about Yosef Gutman Levitt
About Yosef Gutman Levitt
Instrument: Bass, acoustic
Yosef Gutman Levitt: Shir Yedidot
by Mike Jurkovic
There is a restive, Christmas-time sound of new hope and expectations running throughout Shir Yedidot that is hard to fathom at first, given that the repertoire moves effortlessly from Chabad nigunim (Hasidic wordless melodies) into original compositions. It is as if the gifted trio--leader/bassist Yosef Gutman Levitt, pianist and ECM recording artist Yonathan Avishai (Joys and Solitudes, 2019; with trumpeter Avishai Cohen Playing The Room, 2019) and oudist Yagel Haroush. Haroush also adds depth and texture playing the kamancheh (Persian ...
Continue ReadingYosef Gutman Levitt's Joy in Collaboration
by Geno Thackara
Maybe Yosef Gutman Levitt just never needs to sleep. Amidst the demands of life and family, the worldly bassist somehow consistently manages to produce three or four albums a year, largely of original material, and each distinct enough that it never seems to be coasting on a formula. It also helps to have a globe-spanning cast of friends with a wealth of their own creativity to bring to the table. With a rotating list of chief collaborators, this is a ...
Continue ReadingTake Five With Bassist / Composer Yosef Gutman Levitt
by AAJ Staff
Meet Yosef Gutman Yosef Gutman Levitt, born in 1979 in South Africa, grew up on a farm in Knoppieslaagte. His musical journey began with piano lessons, which he later abandoned for skateboarding. At 16, inspired by the work of Jaco Pastorius, he picked up the bass guitar. He earned a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he honed his skills and collaborated with notable musicians like Lionel Loueke. After graduating magna cum laude, Yosef moved ...
Continue ReadingOmri Mor / Yosef-Gutman Levitt: Melodies of Light
by Mike Jurkovic
It is quite rare in a culture and society driven by autocrats, hits, likes, blogs and podcasts, that recordings as ethereal, yet born of the ageless earth, as Melodies of Light come around to release us from the daily ugly. Spontaneous music of this hypnotic, mysterious beauty and elusive grace give us pause to reflect on where we are, individually and collectively, and to seek a better way. It haunts. It comes at the listener from some timeless ...
Continue ReadingYosef-Gutman Levitt & Tal Yahalom: Tsuf Harim
by Gareth Thompson
In early Hasidic writings, magical and supernatural concepts rooted in the mystic were common. Such notions held that human acts, including musical activity, could affect the godhead and thus the whole world. By the late eighteenth century, these Jewish religious teachings saw music as something inward, a form of contemplation with the soul. Yosef-Gutman Levitt was born in South Africa and was inspired by Weather Report to learn the bass. After moving to New York, he strived to ...
Continue ReadingYosef Gutman Levitt: Upside Down Mountain
by Jerome Wilson
Yosef Gutman Levitt's acoustic bass guitar serves as the lead instrument on this album. The music he plays with his trio here is full of simple melodic beauty and draws from several folk traditions. This work has a sparse, contemplative joy which bears kinship to the recordings of Ralph Towner. Levitt shows an eloquent command of his instrument, running down insistent folkish melodies alongside Omri Mor's sympathetic piano and Ofri Nehemya's basic drum rhythms on “Wedding Song" and ...
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