Alonzo Hamilton Levister (November 1, 1925 in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

– December 6, 2016 in Alcobaça) was an American

third stream Third stream is a music genre that is a fusion of jazz and classical music. The term was coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller in a lecture at Brandeis University. Improvisation is generally seen as a vital component of third stream. Schull ...

composer, arranger, music producer and jazz pianist, the son of a Greenwich, Connecticut, and New York City cook for well-known families, and a Mount Vernon, New York, minister.

Life and work

Alonzo Levister grew up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and commenced his music studies at the late age of 21 at the

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

(1946). In 1949, he went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he was accepted by

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

, who had taught

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, to study music theory and composition as a private student. Following his studies in Paris, he was a student at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

(1951). During the early 1950s he wrote music for several dance companies and choreographers such as

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ma ...

and

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human con ...

. In 1955 he worked with

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

and his company

Debut Records Debut Records was an American jazz record company and label founded in 1952 by bassist Charles Mingus, his wife Celia, and drummer Max Roach. This short-lived label was an attempt to avoid the compromises of working for major companies. Intended ...

, arranging for artists such as Don Senay on "The Edge of Love", "Fanny" and "

Makin' Whoopee "Makin' Whoopee" is a jazz/blues song, first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical ''Whoopee!''. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical. The title refers to celeb ...

", and with Ada Moore on "Lass from the Low Country". His suite ''Manhattan Monodrama'' appeared in 1956 also from Debut Records and included

Louis Mucci Louis Raphael Mucci (December 13, 1909, Syracuse, New York - January 4, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. Mucci began as a baritone horn player and was appearing in professional settings by the time he was ten years old. As a teenager he swit ...

John LaPorta John Daniel LaPorta (April 13, 1920 – May 12, 2004) was a jazz clarinetist and composer. Early life and education A native of Philadelphia, LaPorta started playing clarinet at the age of nine and studied at the Mastbaum School in Philadelphia, ...

, and

Teddy Charles Teddy Charles (April 13, 1928 – April 16, 2012) was an American jazz musician and composer, whose instruments were the vibraphone, piano, and drums. Career Born Theodore Charles Cohen in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, United States, he s ...

. One of the tracks was "Slow Dance", later recorded by

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

, with

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

on the album ''

Traneing In ''John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio'' is the third studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane. It was issued in early 1958 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7123. It was recorded at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey. In ...

''. In 1957 he wrote the arrangements for the album ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'' featuring ''Prestige All-Stars''. In 1958 he composed a short, jazz-flavored

Chamber Opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...

called ''Blues in the Subway'', promoted by

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

at the Loew's Sheriden Theater. In the early 1960s he was involved in writing commercial jingles, as well as writing the music with

Oscar Brown Jr. Oscar Brown Jr. (October 10, 1926May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor. Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both the Illinois state legislature and the U. ...

for "Slave Story" and writing the music for a musical version of Alice in Wonderland that was mounted at the Sheridan Square Playhouse in Greenwich Village. One of his commercial jingles, for Prell shampoo, won him the Clio Award for the best musical theme of the year. In the same period, he orchestrated the Broadway Musical ''Kicks and Co., which starred Burgess Meredith as "Mr. Kicks" . He also worked as an arranger and producer for Jobete, the publishing company for

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

, and he was a composer and writer for

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

. In 1968 he was one of the composers for the Broadway Musical "New Faces of 1968" in which his future wife of 50 years, Gloria Bleezarde, was a member of the cast, along with her close friend Madeline Kahn.New Faces '68 [Original Broadway Cast Album] by Drg, Original Broadway Cast , 21471907025 , CD , Barnes & Noble
/ref> They retired to Nazaré, Portugal, Nazaré, Portugal. Alonzo was previously married to Lucille Levister, née Weinstein, with whom he had a son, Kurt Levister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levister, Alonzo Musicians from Greenwich, Connecticut Third stream musicians 1925 births 2016 deaths American expatriates in Portugal People from Nazaré, Portugal