Ron Levy (born Reuvin Zev ben Yehoshua Ha Levi, May 29, 1951) is an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930 ...

musician and composer. Levy was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

, United States. He primarily plays piano and organ. Levy grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, and began playing the piano after seeing

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

in concert at age 13. He later switched to playing a Hammond organ. After gaining experience playing in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

nightclubs, Levy was hired by

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

in 1968. After an eighteen-month association, Levy joined B. B. King's backing band. Throughout the years, Levy has performed and recorded with a wide range of blues, funk, and

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 m ...

musical groups, notably including

Roomful of Blues Roomful of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the ''Chicago Sun-Ti ...

(1983 – 1987) and Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom (1988 – 2014). After learning and refining his studio chops with Hammond Scott's Blacktop Records in New Orleans, Levy became the in-house record producer and co-founder, A&R for Rounder Records' Bullseye Blues

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, where he was nominated nine times for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

as producer. He then recorded and produced 16 albums for his own label Cannonball Records from 1997 to 2000. He has since released numerous albums on his own imprint Levtron.com Records. Levy wrote in 2013 the book, ''Tales of A Road Dog - The Lowdown Along the Blues Highway'' (self-published by Levtron.com). Today, he teaches, records, produces and performs with his soul-jazz-blues Hammond organ based group, Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom Trio.

Discography

* ''Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom'' ( Black Top 1034, 1986) * ''Safari to New Orleans'' (Black Top 1040, 1988) * ''B-3 Blues and Grooves'' (Bullseye Blues 9532, 1993) * ''Zim Zam Zoom: Acid Blues on B-3'' (Bullseye Blues 9570, 1996) * ''GreaZe is What's Good'' (Cannonball 27104, 1998) * ''Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom Live!'' (Levtron 201, 2001) * ''Green Eyed Soul'' (Levtron 202, 2002) * ''Finding My Way'' (Levtron 203, 2003) * ''After Midnight Grooves'' (Levtron 204, 2004) * ''Best of Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom: B-3 Organic Grooves'' (Levtron 205, 2004) compilation of #201/202/203 * ''VooDoo BoogaLoo'' (Levtron 206, 2005) * ''Funky Fiesta!'' (Levtron 207, 2012) * ''Rumbango!'' (Leytron, 2018) With

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

* ''

Live in Cook County Jail ''Live in Cook County Jail'' is a 1971 live album by American blues musician B.B. King, recorded on September 10, 1970, in Cook County Jail in Chicago. Agreeing to a request by jail warden Winston Moore, King and his band performed for an audie ...

'' (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

S-723, 1970; CD reissue: MCA 11769, 1998) * '' Live in Japan'' (ABC-King

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the Wa ...

GW-131, 1971 LP CD reissue: MCA 11810, 1999) * ''

L.A. Midnight ''L.A. Midnight'' is the twentieth studio electric blues album by B.B. King released in 1972. It features two extended guitar jams with fellow guitarists Jesse Ed Davis and Joe Walsh ("Midnight" and "Lucille's Granny"). It also features Taj Maha ...

'' (ABC X-743, 1972; CD reissue: Beat Goes On/BGO 853, 2009) * '' Guess Who'' (ABC X-759, 1972; CD reissue: MCA 10351, 1991) With

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

* ''Glazed'' (Black Top 1035, 1986) With

* ''Live at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel'' (Varrick 024, 1987)

References

External links

Official website
1951 births Living people Electric blues musicians American blues pianists American male pianists American jazz pianists American jazz keyboardists Jewish American musicians Musicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Massachusetts 21st-century American pianists 21st-century organists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century American keyboardists 21st-century American Jews {{US-pianist-stub