 |
"I do like playing in different styles, but I wanted to hone this record," Duke Levine says of his first album in a decade. (Globe Photo / Josh Reynolds ) |
Pop Music
He's been called a barroom Mozart and Boston's master of twang. Duke Levine is the most in-demand guitarist in the city's roots-music scene, but if asked to describe himself, he extends a big dose of humility.
"I'm just trying to get more disciplined," he says in his Malden home, a simply furnished dwelling that betrays no obvious sign of his musical profession until one enters his basement studio and sees vintage guitars lined up against the wall.
Levine is known as the consummate sideman. He has backed Peter Wolf, Otis Rush, and Mary Chapin Carpenter on tour. He played with Shawn Colvin at the Boston Pops. He's done sessions for Aimee Mann, Kathy Mattea, Sleepy LaBeef, Ellis Paul, Dar Williams, and the list goes on. And he's done many soundtracks, including "Passion Fish" and "Lone Star," making him Boston's Ry Cooder in that respect.
But the sideman is now stepping out. He just started his own band and posted this comic message on his MySpace page: "OK, so I finally booked some shows for myself. Thanks to all who asked/hounded/or otherwise goaded me into it."
Levine, a Worcester native, celebrates the release of a new, all-instrumental record, "Beneath the Blue," at Atwood's Tavern in Cambridge on Tuesday. It's his fourth album (and first in a decade) and is a deliberate attempt to shy away from the flashy hot licks that he often lays down in concert.
Although Levine generally plays with his head down and without any flamboyant physical gestures, he can burn with any guitar hero you might name. But the new disc is Levine in a mellow mode, as he inscribes quiet, more painterly licks revealing the trippy side of surf-rock, country twang, and melodic jazz.
The title track, with its tropical motif, feels like something from Elvis Presley's "Blue Hawaii," while there's filigreed jazz soloing on original song "Trio," and gently beautiful versions of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and the Beatles' "Flying" from their "Magical Mystery Tour" disc.
"It's more of a mood album," Levine says of "Beneath the Blue." "I do like playing in different styles, but I wanted to hone this record. And I didn't use any effects. I wanted to see what I could get without relying on a bigger palette."
Levine, 45, who first came to Boston in the mid-'80s to study at the New England Conservatory with guitarist Mick Goodrick, is almost sheepish when talking about himself. He's still most at ease in his sideman role. He can usually be found in local clubs such as the Lizard Lounge (as part of the Dennis Brennan Band every Wednesday), Toast (sitting in with David Johnston on many Tuesdays), and Toad, where he plays with Jimmy Ryan & Hayride. He has virtual carte blanche to sit in wherever he goes. He also won the "Unsung Hero" award at the Boston Music Awards last year.
"I have played with many guitarists in my time," says Peter Wolf, who often jumps up to join Levine in his many incarnations. "And many of them were real good - and a few who even were exceptional. But only a few I would say are masters. Duke, in my humble opinion, falls into the latter category, a true master of the art."
"Duke brings a one-take sensibility to everything he does," adds Brennan. "It's an old-school sensibility - pre-recording machine and borne out of the necessity to sound good the first time your neighbor heard your song on the back porch."
Levine grew up listening to Duane Eddy, the Beatles, Merle Haggard, and the Paul Butterfield Band. "And lately," he says, "I've been delving more into the jazz of Grant Green and Barney Kessel. I'm working more on mechanics, though much of what I do is spontaneous. And I'm also listening to more soul music by Bobby Womack, and I'm in another Merle Haggard phase."
Haggard performed at the
"Peter has turned me on to so much music - soul music, blues, and country," Levine says. "He's listening all the time and can appreciate what's good about something even if it's not his thing."
Levine owns 25 to 30 instruments ("I lost count"), but his favorites are his 1953 and 1963 Telecasters and his 1963 Stratocaster. He also has vintage Vox and Marshall amplifiers, further examples of his old-school purity. But his sound is uniquely his, a smooth distillation of roots styles from achingly sweet, bent-note blues to surging rockabilly and precisely fingerpicked jazz runs. Or he can just flat-out rock when he feels like it. Every night is different.
"In the first two or three notes of a song, I can tell if it's Duke playing or not," says bassist Mike Rivard, who is in Levine's new band and anchors the monthly Club d'Elf nights (sometimes featuring Levine) at the Lizard Lounge. "Duke's taste is impeccable, but he also plays the song rather than having his own agenda. He reminds me of David Gilmour [of Pink Floyd]. You can sing his solos rather than having them be technical exercises."
Levine's real name is Robert, but he substituted Duke because of his father. "Dad told stories, and he made up characters and I was Duke when he did that," says Levine, the youngest of five children. He started learning guitar at age 8, and after graduating from high school in Worcester, he performed in the regional band Crockett. He then went to the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Goodrick (who has played in Gary Burton's band) and Bob Moses. Levine also performed in Moses's world-music group, Mozamba, which included Stan Strickland and Billy Martin, who later joined Medeski Martin and Wood.
Levine's first national gig was backing Mary Chapin Carpenter at the Grammy Awards in 1995. "Not only had I never done TV, but I had never played with anyone of that magnitude," he says. He got the gig after her managers saw him with the Boston duo the Story and called him out of the blue. "That's typical of the sideman role. One thing leads to another," he says.
He stopped touring with Carpenter a few years ago to concentrate on local projects. His comrade in strings Kevin Barry replaced him in Carpenter's group and has become part of Levine's solo band and his twang partner in Brennan's group. They make a formidable one-two punch. "I've known Kevin since 1990. The first time we played we had an instant connection," Levine says.
Adds Barry, "Duke and I came from similar backgrounds, and we both grew up listening to the same music."
Levine's new album may be unusually mellow and just a snapshot of his craft, but it won't be his last project. He hints that his next record "may be more rowdy."
"I didn't want to alienate anyone with the new record," he adds modestly. "I just wanted to make the kind of record that I like listening to."
Steve Morse is a freelance writer in Cambridge and can be reached at spmorse@gmail.com.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
