James Levy
Jazz Piano
jimlevy@gwu.edu
ext. 46246
Phillips Hall B-108
Bachelor of Music (Theory and Composition), 1983, The George Washington University (Phi Beta Kappa);
Master of Music in Music Theory, 1993, University of Maryland
Professor James Levy teaches piano, jazz improvisation, and musicianship and is the pianist in the G.W.U. Faculty Jazz Quintet. The group hosts Jazz Jam sessions every Friday at noon when classes are in session. Prof. Levy started the Jam sessions in the mid-1980s and over the years the guests have included such Jazz luminaries as Tito Puente, Monty Alexander, Andrew White, John Hendricks and the Dave Liebman Quartet. James Levy also directs King James and the Serfs of Swing (aka the GWU Jazz Band), a 12-piece band that plays jazz of the 1930s, with an emphasis on Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The Serfs have performed at many area events, were featured in the convocation in honor of Vaclav Havel, and performed at the Villanova University Jazz Festival.
For the past fifteen years, Prof. Levy's performing activities have included performances in virtually all the area jazz clubs. As the organist/choir director at Rockville United Church, he has led the choir in performances of his own compositions at The National Cathedral. He has also composed music for theater and television and his title music for "To The Moon and Beyond" was heard on most of the nation's PBS affiliates. In 2004 "ET Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," a rock opera for which he wrote both libretto and music was presented at the Takoma Theater (funded, in part, by a grant from the Montgomery County AHC). He also teaches part-time in the District of Columbia Public School system.