PUTNEY, Vt. – Next Stage Arts presents The Howard Levy 4 plus Eugene Friesen on Saturday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney, Vt. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are available discounted in advance at www.nextstagearts.org, or at the door.
Led by Grammy Award-winning harmonica virtuoso, pianist, and composer Howard Levy, The Howard Levy 4 is a dynamic Chicago-based ensemble that effortlessly blends jazz, blues, Latin, Brazilian, and world music into an exhilarating live performance. Joining Levy are guitarist Chris Siebold, bassist Joshua Ramos, and Brazilian drummer Luiz Ewerling – each an acclaimed musician whose artistry contributes to the group’s expansive, genre-defying sound.
The quartet performs imaginative arrangements of American and Brazilian classics alongside an eclectic collection of original compositions that weave together diverse musical traditions with virtuosity, spontaneity, and joy.
Levy is widely recognized as one of the world’s most innovative harmonica players, having pioneered a groundbreaking technique that transformed the diatonic harmonica into a fully chromatic instrument while preserving its unmistakable blues character. A founding member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Levy has released 17 albums as a bandleader and appeared on hundreds more, collaborating with artists ranging from Kenny Loggins and Paquito D’Rivera, to Donald Fagen and Kurt Elling.
His talents extend equally to the piano, where his lyrical improvisations and technical mastery complement his celebrated harmonica playing. The Chicago Tribune once observed, “As Art Tatum was to the piano, so is Levy to the harmonica: a hyper-virtuoso whose feats can be admired and studied but never really replicated.”
Guitarist Siebold has performed extensively with many of Chicago’s premier jazz and fusion ensembles, and served as a house guitarist for A Prairie Home Companion. Bassist Ramos, formerly of the Ramsey Lewis ensemble, is one of Chicago’s most in-demand musicians, while Ewerling’s Brazilian heritage infuses the group’s music with vibrant rhythms and infectious energy.
Opening the evening is four-time Grammy Award-winning cellist Eugene Friesen, whose expressive musicianship has made him one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary cello. As a performer, composer, and educator, Friesen has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Dave Brubeck, Toots Thielemans, Dar Williams, Will Ackerman, Dream Theater, Paul Simon, and the Paul Winter Consort.
A longtime champion of improvisation, Friesen is also a founding member of Trio Globo with Howard Levy and Glen Velez. His performances combine technical brilliance with emotional depth, while his educational work – including his acclaimed “CelloMan” program—has inspired audiences and students around the world. He currently serves as artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City and is a professor at Berklee College of Music.
Together, The Howard Levy 4 and Friesen promise an evening of fearless musical exploration, crossing cultural boundaries and stylistic traditions with extraordinary skill, imagination, and heart.
This performance is sponsored in part by AARP Vermont and the Vermont Blues Society.