Former Berklee College Of Music students, bassist Yosef-Gutman Levitt and guitarist Lionel Loueke, are set to release their first album together. First single, Kol Dodi, distills the West African/South African spirit and energy of the forthcoming album.
The album, Soul Song, is released on 2LP, CD and download, 23rd June 2023.
When South African-born bassist Yosef-Gutman Levitt made the journey to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music, he encountered a number of like-minded souls there. One of them, a guitarist originally from the West African nation of Benin, had come to Berklee from Paris. His name: Lionel Loueke. After moving to New York, the two continued to nourish their musical bond on a weekly gig in Brooklyn.
Their paths diverged: Loueke became one of the most sought-after musicians of his time, signing to Blue Note and joining the bands of Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock, among others. Levitt left the music business, got married, started a family, found success as a tech entrepreneur, and moved to Jerusalem in 2009 following a spiritual rebirth. By 2018, he returned to music and began to refine a distinctive voice on the five-string acoustic bass guitar, his musical calling card, heard to great effect on his debut trio album Upside Down Mountain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq0Wvz6HZ6I&authuser=1
Reuniting after many years, Levitt is excited to share his new album with Loueke, Soul Song.The album reflects a mutual love of music played from the heart, with melodies clearly and lyrically expressed. Pianist Omri Mor and drummer Ofri Nehemya complete the marvelous quartet lineup. The tracks are primarily Levitt originals co-written and arranged with producer Gilad Ronen. Levitt plays mainly upright bass, preferring to accompany Loueke rather than attempt to share the lead melodic role. “Lionel is bringing himself to the music, he’s coming as a player,” Levitt explains. And what you give a player like Loueke is all the room he wants.
Yosef-Gutman Levitt & Lionel Loueke – Soul Song
release date: 23rd June 2023
label: Soul Song Records
formats: 2LP / CD / DL , cat: SS008
Tracklist
1. Chai Elul
2. Soul Song
3. Myriad
4. Song Of The Sea
5. The Tender Eyes of Leah
6. Amud Anan Duet – Pillar of Cloud
7. Torah Tsiva
8. Kave El Hashem – Hope
9. Devotion
10. Tikun – Amend
11. Kol Dodi
12. Desert Song
13. Hashkama – Up Early
14. Amud Anan – Pillar of Cloud
Line up:
Lionel Loueke – Guitar
Omri Mor – Piano
Ofri Nehemya – Drums
Yosef Gutman – Bass
Produced and Arranged by Gilad Ronen