Hank Levy

• Birth Name — Henry Jacob Levy • Born — 27 September 1927 • Birthplace — Baltimore, Maryland • Died — 18 September 2001 • Place of death — Parkville, Maryland • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Composer, saxophonist, teacher • Instrument — Baritone saxophone • Associated Acts — Stan Kenton, Don Ellis • Website — hanklevyjazz.com

Levy was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Levy was a saxophone player and briefly played baritone saxophone for Stan Kenton, but he was most known for his composing and arranging, specifically in odd time signatures. His interest in odd meters predated Dave Brubeck's Time Out album. He studied composition with George Thaddeus Jones at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and became interested in odd meters through their use by such composers as Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky. He was also a particularly good composer of counterpoint, which can be heard in such compositions as "Passacaglia and Fugue" (recorded by Don Ellis on Live' at Monterey!) and "Quintessence" (performed, but not recorded, by Stan Kenton). Levy was also a prolific arranger of jazz standards, though few of these arrangements were published during his lifetime. He was especially fond of the music of the stage as it came through bebop: Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern. In his last years, he more frequently turned to bebop originals, tunes by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron. Though these arrangements rarely featured the odd meters he was associated with, and were typically conventional in style, they often displayed a distinctive creativity. Levy began his full-time college teaching career at Towson State University in late 1967, creating The Towson State Jazz Ensemble. By 1970, his hard work and passion for teaching brought the band to national prominence when his Towson State Jazz Ensemble competed and won the outstanding band honors at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. Additional honors went to Levy's lead trumpet player, Tony Neenan, who was voted "Best Lead Trumpet" of the festival. He was Professor Emeritus of Towson University. He was posthumously honored by Towson University in a ceremony on April 13, 2017. Levy died of congestive heart failure in Parkville, Maryland, aged 73, on September 18, 2001.

• "3 Phases of V" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '78) • "90 Degrees Celsius" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Journey Into Capricorn) • "Abovo" time and time (performed by Don Ellis) • "Alone" time (recorded by The Jazz Ambassadors on The Legacy of Hank Levy) • "Along Came Ritchie" time, time and time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz) • "Ambivalence" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Birthday in Britain) • "Anti-Ergophobia" time and time (performed by Don Ellis) • "Antea" time (recorded by Don Ellis) • "A Peek Into A New Time Zone" time and time (recorded by The Jazz Ambassadors on The Legacy of Hank Levy) • "Blues, Between and Betwixt" time and time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Birthday in Britain and Live at Butler University) • "Bop City Revisited" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on 2 + 2 = 5) • "Chain Reaction" time (recorded by Don Ellis on Connection (Columbia, 1972)) • "Chiapas" time, time, and time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Live at Redlands University and Double Feature: Vol. 3) • "Decoupage" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Kenton '76) • "Down and Dirty" time and time (recorded by Stan Kenton on 7.5 on the Richter Scale) • "Down Home Cookin'" • "Early Riser" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '76) • "Enter Stage Left" time • "Fringe Benefit" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Live at Butler University) • "Fun Time" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz) • "Hank's Opener" time and time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Live at Brigham Young University) • "Indra" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Live at Butler University) • "Interchange" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '80) • "Journey into Capricorn" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Journey Into Capricorn) • "Latin Implosion" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '81) • "Lighthouse Point" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '77) • "Of Fourths and Fifths" time (performed by Stan Kenton) • "Of Space and Time" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Birthday in Britain) • "Pavanne" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz) • "Pegasus" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Journey Into Capricorn) • "Pete is a Four-Letter Word" time and time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Fire, Fury, and Fun) • "Poopsie's Penthouse" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on 2 + 2 = 5) • "Profile of a Lead Trumpet Player" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '81) • "Quiet Friday" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Fire, Fury, and Fun) • "Quintessence" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '77) • "Reflections of Richard" time and time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz) • "Rock Odyssey" time and time (recorded by Don Ellis on Don Ellis at Fillmore (Columbia, 1970)) • "Samba Bajada" time (recorded by Don Ellis on Tears of Joy (Columbia, 1971)) • "Samba Siete" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Live at Butler University and Double Feature: Vol. 3) • "Shenandoah Junction" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '86) • "Sound Piece" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '80) • "Southern Exposure" time • "A Step Beyond" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Live at Brigham Young University) • "Stillness Runs Deep" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on 2 + 2 = 5) • "Terracotta" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '78) • "Time For A Change" time (recorded by Stan Kenton on Kenton '76) • "Tribute" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '77) • "Warp Factor V" time (recorded by Towson State University Jazz Ensemble on Jazz '78) • "Whiplash" time and time (recorded by Don Ellis on Soaring (MPS, 1973)) • "With the Old Man in Mind" time (recorded by The Jazz Ambassadors on The Legacy of Stan Kenton)