Howard Levy: Reinventing the Harmonica
From: David Schulman
Series: Musicians in their own words
Length: 07:22
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- Howard Levy: Reinventing the Harmonica
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- David Schulman
Howard Levy's house in Evanston, Illinois is filled with musical instruments. Ocarinas. Percussion. And, especially, HARMONICAS. When he was a teenager, Levy took a dimestore harmonica and figured out how to play a full chromatic scale. His harmonica virtuosity has since landed him gigs with everyone from Tito Puente to Garrison Keillor to Bela Fleck. Independent producer David Schulman went to Evanston to talk with Levy for his series "Musicians in their own words." Levy offered to drive David to his house. But the interview didn't go as planned. Once they got into Levy's car, he turned the key ... and picked up a harmonica ...
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Piece Description
Howard Levy's house in Evanston, Illinois is filled with musical instruments. Ocarinas. Percussion. And, especially, HARMONICAS. When he was a teenager, Levy took a dimestore harmonica and figured out how to play a full chromatic scale. His harmonica virtuosity has since landed him gigs with everyone from Tito Puente to Garrison Keillor to Bela Fleck. Independent producer David Schulman went to Evanston to talk with Levy for his series "Musicians in their own words." Levy offered to drive David to his house. But the interview didn't go as planned. Once they got into Levy's car, he turned the key ... and picked up a harmonica ...
Broadcast History
first aired on WATC, January 2009
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Howard Levy's house in Evanston, Illinois is filled with musical instruments. Ocarinas. Percussion. And, especially, HARMONICAS. When he was a teenager, Levy took a dimestore harmonica and figured out how to play a full chromatic scale. His harmonica virtuosity has since landed him gigs with everyone from Tito Puente to Garrison Keillor to Bela Fleck. The harmonica also helped him earn a living in the 80s, when he recorded hundreds of advertising jingles. As Levy himself puts it, There's nothing like a harmonica to say, "cheap beer and greasy food." Independent producer David Schulman went to Evanston to talk with Levy for his series "Musicians in their own words." Levy offered to drive David to his house. But the interview didn't go as planned. Once they got into Levy's car, he turned the key ... and picked up a harmonica ...
OUTRO:Harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy. Our feature was produced by David Schulman as part of his series, "Musicians in their own words."
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Megan Sukys
Posted on July 01, 2009 at 07:51 PM | Permalink
Entertaining Mix of Information and Music
The mix of music and Levy's interview is engaging.
Levy clearly loves the harmonica and I came away with a real appreciation for the instrument's range. There moments in his car and his house give me a sense of being right there with him. Levy is an entertaining guy.