Evento

Merrimans' Playhouse Jazz Performance Series presents Alex Levine Trio!

The Alex Levine Trio has cultivated a unique approach to group improvisation based on original compositions by New York based guitarist Alex Levine. The ensemble features Detroit based drummer Stephen Boegehold, and award-winning bassist Francois Moutin (of the Mouton Factory Quintet).

Alex Levine - Guitar
Alex Levine is a guitarist, composer, and improviser, currently living in New York City. He graduated from the University of Michigan jazz studies program in 2012, where he studied with Geri Allen and Frank Portolese, and is an alumnus of the Banff International Jazz and Creative Music Workshop. In New York, he has continued his studies with Miles Okazaki and Henry Grimes. Alex has played with groups led by Francois Moutin, Geri Allen, Marcus Belgrave, Andrew Bishop, and many others, along with leading his own projects, performing concerts throughout the United States and Europe. Alex is a founding member of Polyfold Musical Arts Collective, whose focus is to support the creation, presentation, and ongoing development of creative music, and to foster artistic expression through education and outreach.

Francois Moutin - Bass
"François Moutin's bass chops are practically unparalleled; his facility in the highest register allows him to double melodies and sound almost like a guitar." David R. Adler, All Music Guide Expert Review

Francois Moutin was born in Paris. His early interest in music was encouraged by his parents. At age 5, Francois began studying guitar, then piano by age 11. The acoustic bass became his most lasting passion as a teenager. Also studying mathematics and physics, Francois received a college degree in engineering and earned a doctorate in physics at the age of 24. Then he elected to become a professional musician.

Three years later, as a member of the legendarey Martial Solals Trio, Francois was recognized as one of the finest young bass players in Europe. At 29, he began co-leading the Quintet Moutin with his twin brother Louis, a top echelon Jazz drummer. This project has evolved into the Moutin Reunion Quartet. With this band, the brothers are touring extensively around Europe and the United States. The third album of the Moutin Reunion Quartet "Something Like Now" (after "Power Tree" and "Red Moon"), was released in September 2005.

When he was still living in Paris, Francois worked non-stop with the greatest musicians of this age : Martial Solal, Michel Portal, Antoine Herve, Daniel Humair, André Ceccarelli, Eric Lelann, Jean-Michel Pilc, Christian Escoude. He has also performed with Peter Erskine, Randy Brecker, Niels Lan Doky, Mino Cinelu, Dave Liebman, John Abercrombie, Toots Thielemans, Didier Lockwood, Larry Schneider, Aldo Romano, James Moody, Terry Lyne Carrington, Richard Galliano, Bernard Lubat, Aaron Scott, George Brown, Sunny Murray, Michel Legrand, Archie Shepp, Claude Nougaro, Trilok Gurtu, Bob Berg, Birelli Lagrene, Wladimir Kosma, Marius Constant, Markus Stockhausen, L'ensemble Inter Contemporain. François has performed in every important European Jazz Festival, and he has toured in over 30 countries around the world.

In November 1997, Francois moved his base to New York where he has found steady work in live performance and studio sessions with the premier artists on the New York Jazz Scene. A partial list of their names reads like the yellow pages of Jazz : Franck Wess, Jimmy Heath, Monty Alexander, Benny Powell, Don Alias, Mike Stern, Lew Soloff, Steve Kuhn, Joe Locke, Billy Hart, Jeff Tain Watts, Victor Lewis, Billy Drummond, Richie Beirach, Dave Liebman, Oliver Lake, Harry Belafonte, Odean Pope, James Hurt, Ari Hoenig, Jean-Michel Pilc, Rick Margitza, Franck Kimbrough, Joel Frahm, Greg Tardy, Gene Jackson, Dave Binney, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, Adam Rogers, David Gilmore, Ben Monder, John Hart, Billy Drews, Jamie Haddad, Steve Hass Bob James Francois has also recorded and performed with Arab Music star Simon Shaheen. He is a familiar presence on the stages of such establishments as Sweet Rhythm, Jazz Standard, Birdland, Village Vanguard, Blue Note, Knitting Factory, Zinc Bar, Jazz Gallery, Tonic, Smoke, Lincoln Center, Town Hall, New York Symphony Space, Museum of Modern Art. François has also appeared in some major Jazz Festivals around the coutry like Newport JVC Jazz Festival, Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival in New York, Freihoffer Jazz Festival in Saratoga Spring, Detroit Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz Series, or Kansas City Jazz Festival.

Stephen Boegehold - Drums
Stephen Boegehold is a drummer, composer, and educator based in Detroit, MI. Since earning a B.M. from Wayne State University with a concentration in jazz studies, Stephen has had the distinct privilege of working with musicians and band leaders such as Paul Keller, Cliff Monear, The Four Aces, and Francois Moutin. As a part of the university's big band he learned from and performed with guest artists Joe Lovano and Danilo Perez. He was also afforded the opportunity to perform at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Torino, Italy through a student exchange program. Though primarily self-taught, he spent his time at Wayne State under the guidance and instruction of Sean Dobbins and David Taylor. As an educator, Stephen teaches for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's youth education program and The Detroit School of Rock and Pop.

$10 Advanced, $13 Door, $8 Student
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