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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 Ben Rolston on bass. The Alex Levine Quartet released their debut album, Towards The Center, in Fall 2016.

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.

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.

Ben Rolston - Bassist, composer
Ben Rolston is a bass player and composer born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2012, he released his debut album, Fables. Consisting of 10 original compositions, Fables represents a wide palate of stylistic influences, and was well received by audiences and critics alike. The broad vision of music represented on Fables is borne out in the variety of musical projects Rolston has been a part of.

As a bassist, Rolston has had the opportunity to perform in an extraordinarily wide array of musical contexts, including hip hop (Tree City), Americana (The Appleseed Collective) and Balkan Music (Ornamatik). Rolston has traveled the world as a musician, performing at the United States Embassy in Honduras, touring the United States extensively for three years as a member of the Appleseed Collective, and participating in musical and cultural exchanges in Japan and India. As a student, he collaborated with master choreographer Dianne McIntyre, and was hand-picked to attend the artist intensive at Ravinia, where he was able to study with Rufus Reid, David Baker, Nathan Davis, and Curtis Fuller. As a professional, he has performed with such musical luminaries as Marcus Belgrave, John Hollenbeck, Tim Ries, Sean Dobbins, Vincent York, Tad Weed, Ellen Rowe, Andrew Bishop, Dwight Adams, Thaddeus Dixon and Vincent Chandler.

Following in the footsteps of many other young Ann Arbor musicians, he gained a love of jazz at Community High School (under the direction of Mike Grace), honed his musical skills and taste with world class saxophonist Vincent York, and then attended the University of Michigan Jazz Studies Program in order to absorb the teachings of master musicians such as Robert Hurst and Geri Allen.

$15 Advanced, $18Door, $10 Student
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