Rodney Charles Levitt (September 16, 1929 in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

– May 8, 2007 in

Wardsboro, Vermont Wardsboro is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 869 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Wardsboro, Wardsboro Center, West Wardsboro and South Wardsboro. History The town was settled circa 17 ...

) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trombonist, composer, and bandleader. Levitt studied composition at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, where he took his BA in 1951. He was in the orchestra at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

from 1957 to 1963, and played with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

(1956–57),

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direc ...

(1957),

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

(1958), and

Sy Oliver Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader. Life Sy Oliver was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his ...

(1959-60), and also worked with

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...

in 1959 when his orchestra accompanied

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. In 1960, he played with

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

and

Mundell Lowe James Mundell Lowe (April 21, 1922 – December 2, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician. He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the ''Billy Jack'' soundtrac ...

, with

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

in 1961, and with

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...

in 1962. He recorded four albums as a leader of an octet in 1963-6,6 and continued to work with this combination into the 1970s, when he also played with bassist

Chuck Israels Charles H. Israels (born August 10, 1936) is an American jazz composer, music arranger, arranger, and double bass, bassist who is best known for his work with the Bill Evans#After LaFaro's death, Bill Evans Trio. He has also worked with Billie Ho ...

. Later in his career he worked with

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and

Blue Mitchell Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and Blu ...

, and wrote music for

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

with a company he ran from 1966-1989. In the late 1970s he taught at

Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

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CUNY , mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind , budget = $3.6 billion , established = , type = Public university system , chancellor = Fél ...

, and

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. He died of Alzheimer's in Wardsboro, aged 77.

Discography

As leader

*'' The Dynamic Sound Patterns'' - Riverside RLP 471 (1963) *''Insight'' - RCA Victor LPM 3372 (1964) *''Solid Ground'' - RCA Victor LPM 3448 (1965) *''42nd Street'' - RCA Victor LPM 3615 (1966)

As sideman

With

*''

World Statesman ''World Statesman'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1956 and released on the Norgran label.Dizzy in Greece ''Dizzy in Greece'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1956 and 1957 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1957) *''

Birks' Works ''Birks' Works'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie recorded in 1957 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1957) With

*''

Themes from Mr. Lucky, the Untouchables and Other TV Action Jazz ''Themes from ''Mr. Lucky'', ''The Untouchables'' and Other TV Action Jazz'' is the second album by American jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe with theme music from detective, legal, and police television programs. The album was recorded in 1960 for RCA ...

'' (RCA Camden, 1960) With

*''

Beyond Mobius ''Beyond Mobius'' is an album by pianist Cedar Walton recorded in 1976 and released on the RCA label.

'' (RCA, 1976) - arranger and conductor With

*''

Dance to the City Beat ''Dance to the City Beat'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Kai Winding featuring performances recorded in late 1958 and early 1959 for the Columbia Records, Columbia label.Payne, DKai Winding discographyaccessed July 11, 2016 The album feat ...

'' (Columbia, 1959)

Footnotes

References

*"Rod Levitt", '' Grove Jazz'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Levitt, Rod 1929 births 2007 deaths American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Musicians from Oregon Riverside Records artists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trombonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians