In The City With Jodie Levinson
Bruce Von Stiers
Recently I heard the music of a very talented young woman who not only sings wonderfully but has some damn fine songwriting skills. The young woman I am talking about is Jodie Levinson. She has a terrific album out called In The City.
Jodie grew up in New Jersey , otherwise known as the Garden State . While growing up, Jodie excelled in dance, theater and group singing. Studying under a top New Jersey vocal coach, Jodie furthered her musical talents. But it was at Skidmore College in Sarasota Springs , New York that Jodie began to excel. She was the lead performer and director of the all female a cappella group, The Skidmore Accents. Later Jodie formed her first band, Grace Over Glass. Besides performing at local Sarasota Springs hot spot, Café Lena, Jodie and her band played at New York City venues like The Cutting Room and The Bitter End.
The band also recorded an EP with the help of Jodie's music professor. And then Jodie met Zack Schwartz and collaborated with him on some songs. Some of those songs made their way onto the In The City album. A couple of years ago Jodie happened to meet Matt Pendergast. He had been a song remixer for Cirara and Britney Spears among others. With Matt's help, Jodie recorded her first single, Matter of Taste. This song also featured Zack Schwartz.
From there, Jodie went to work as a lyricist for Lisa Ratner, a producer/ composer who has done things with Barbra Streisand and other top acts along with heading up East West Music. It was with Lisa's help that Jodie put everything together for a complete album. The result of the collective effort of Jodie and Lisa is the In The City album.
Jodie's music as depicted by MySpace Music is blues/pop/rock. The press information for the album says that it contains “up-tempo blues-and-jazz influenced pop.” I'd tend to go along with the second description.
On the album Jodie does all the lead vocals and most of the backing vocals. She also plays the piano and Wurlitzer. Shellz does the rap on one song. Zach Schwartz does backing vocals on one song along with acoustic and electric guitar. Lisa Ratner is on piano, electric piano, organ, percussion and drum programming. Matt Pendergast is on piano, organ and bass on a song. Stuart Berk plays guitar on one of the songs and Andrew Jones is on drums for the same song. Jamie Stern plays drums too.
Quand Va T'il Arriver (When Will He Come) is a light and lyrical song. This is the first track on the album and right away highlights Jodie's mellow, jazzy vocal sound. It also shows how Jodie's command of the French language blends well into the fabric of the song.
The second song on the album is You Make Me Smile. A light toe-tapper, this definitely falls into the blues-jazz category ala Rickie Lee Jones.
Lazy Sunday is sultry and sexy. It has the rap by Shellz tucked into the middle of it.
Books, Tea is a soft and gentle song that begins with ocean waves sound effects and beautiful acoustic guitar.
Grass Ain't Green is a melodic, toe-tapping tune with strong piano and bass backing Jodie's vocals.
Matter of Taste is a moderate song with fluid vocals and great music.
Rough Boys is a light but slightly tough blues ballad. There is some terrific organ music in it to set the tone for the song.
Strangers has smooth yet heart wrenching vocals in a love lost lament.
The title track, In The City, is a light and fun tune with toe-tapping music and cool vocals.
Jodie closes the album with a lyrical yet moody song called Like The Rain.
Jodie Levinson has taken a first step toward major stardom with this album. It is only a matter of time before Jodie becomes as well known as Rickie Lee Jones and other top tier blues and jazz performers.
In The City can be found at CDUniverse, CDBaby, amazon.com, iTunes and other online and traditional music retailers.
Jodie's official web site offers up samples from the album along with a few music videos. Jodie's site is www.jodielevinson.com .
© 2011 Bruce E Von Stiers