Robert Levin (writer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Levin is an American
writer of fiction and essays.
The author of When Pacino’s Hot, I’m Hot: A Miscellany of Stories & Commentary, The Drill Press, he is also the co-author and coeditor, respectively, of two collections of essays about jazz
and rock
in the 1960s: Music & Politics (with John Sinclair
), World Publishing, and Giants of Black Music (with Pauline Rivelli), Da Capo Press
.
In addition, his fiction and essays have appeared in a number of collections, including: Twenty-Minute Fandangoes and Forever Changes (Random House), Best of Nuvein Fiction, the Word Riot 2003 Anthology, Unlikely Stories of the Third Kind and ...Musings on a Manic Reality.
His comedic short story, “When Pacino’s Hot, I’m Hot,” was a StorySouth
Million Writers Award Notable Story of 2004.
A staunch and sometimes bellicose defender of the Free Jazz
movement of the 1960s, Levin wrote for The Village Voice
(where his regular column played a significant role in establishing an audience for Cecil Taylor
), Rolling Stone
, Down Beat, Metronome, American Record Guide
and Jazz & Pop Magazine (of which he was Jazz Editor).
His article in The Village Voice, “200,000 Invisible Men”—in which he questioned the tactics and ultimate value of the 1963 March on Washington—drew letters to the editor for the better part of a year and was quoted and discussed in a Norman Mailer
Esquire Magazine column.
Levin, described by Nat Hentoff
as “a writer from whom I always learn something,” also wrote some 100 liner notes
for Blue Note Records
, Prestige Records
, Impulse Records, United Artists, etc., and for such artists as Miles Davis
, John Coltrane
, Thelonious Monk
, Sonny Rollins
, Cecil Taylor
and Coleman Hawkins
. Levin has said of his liner notes, many of which were written before he was twenty-one: “They’re all still out there and I wish I could rewrite every last one of them—especially the notes for [Coltrane’s] Blue Train.”
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer of fiction and essays.
The author of When Pacino’s Hot, I’m Hot: A Miscellany of Stories & Commentary, The Drill Press, he is also the co-author and coeditor, respectively, of two collections of essays about jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
in the 1960s: Music & Politics (with John Sinclair
John Sinclair
John Sinclair may refer to:* John Sinclair , Ordinary Lord and later Lord President in the Court of Session* Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet , politician and writer on agriculture and finance...
), World Publishing, and Giants of Black Music (with Pauline Rivelli), Da Capo Press
Da Capo Press
Da Capo Press, is an American publishing company with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers. it had additional offices in offices in New York City, Philadelphia and Emeryville, California...
.
In addition, his fiction and essays have appeared in a number of collections, including: Twenty-Minute Fandangoes and Forever Changes (Random House), Best of Nuvein Fiction, the Word Riot 2003 Anthology, Unlikely Stories of the Third Kind and ...Musings on a Manic Reality.
His comedic short story, “When Pacino’s Hot, I’m Hot,” was a StorySouth
StorySouth
storySouth is an online quarterly literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, criticism, essays, and visual artwork, with a focus on the Southern United States. The journal also runs the annual Million Writers Award to select the best short stories published each year in online magazines or...
Million Writers Award Notable Story of 2004.
A staunch and sometimes bellicose defender of the Free Jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
movement of the 1960s, Levin wrote for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
(where his regular column played a significant role in establishing an audience for Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
), Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Down Beat, Metronome, American Record Guide
American Record Guide
The American Record Guide is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935.Since 1992, with the incorporation of the Musical America editorial functions into ARG, it started covering concerts, musicians, ensembles and orchestras in the US.The magazine prides...
and Jazz & Pop Magazine (of which he was Jazz Editor).
His article in The Village Voice, “200,000 Invisible Men”—in which he questioned the tactics and ultimate value of the 1963 March on Washington—drew letters to the editor for the better part of a year and was quoted and discussed in a Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
Esquire Magazine column.
Levin, described by Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff
Nathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
as “a writer from whom I always learn something,” also wrote some 100 liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
for Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
, Prestige Records
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
, Impulse Records, United Artists, etc., and for such artists as Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
and Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
. Levin has said of his liner notes, many of which were written before he was twenty-one: “They’re all still out there and I wish I could rewrite every last one of them—especially the notes for [Coltrane’s] Blue Train.”
External links
- Shattercolors Author Interview
- http://www.robertlevin.wordpress.com