Howard Levy stays busy - between adding new online harmonica lessons here and keeping up with all his students, he still manages to play shows around the world with some very diverse musicians. Just recently he played three unique concerts worth mentioning:

4/4/14: Harmonica Convergence III - Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 

Featuring: Howard Levy, Corky Siegel, Pablo Fagundes, James Conway, Windy City Trio (Ron Agnew, Bud Boblink, and Bill Morris), Marcus Moraes, Kay Kim, Chris Siebold, Kalyan Pathak

"This was the third one of these that I have done at NU. Everyone’s playing was stellar, especially Pablo and Marcos. I had the pleasure of playing Jacob do Bandolim’s 'Santa Morena' with them, which was a joy. I was also the MC of the event. For my featured numbers, I performed the Bach Em Flute Sonata with pianist Kay Kim, as well as a set with Chris Siebold on guitar. We added Kalyan Pathak on tablas for my tune 'Raga Fantasy' and on dumbek for the Macedonian song 'Jovano, Jovanke.' For the finale, Corky Siegel led everyone in a Blues jam. The large audience loved it, and I hope that we can do more of these." - Howard

4/8/14: Howard Levy with the William & Mary Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, William & Mary University

"This was a rare chance for me to play Arabic music on harmonica, something I did a lot in my years touring with Lebanese oud player/composer Rabih Abou Khalil, but which I haven’t done much of in the past 10 years. We started with 'Samai Shat Araban,' a piece I recorded on the Saffron Caravan CD Unfolding, and played a two hour concert of Arabic music from many different countries and traditions. I had an absolute blast playing this music, especially playing the microtonal pitches that are an integral part of the music, while sitting next to Anne Rasmussen on kanun. I LOVE playing with this instrument." - Howard

4/12/14: A Beatles Songbook - Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

"A celebration of both familiar and lesser-known gems from the Beatles' Songbook" 

Featuring: Chris Siebold All-Stars, Howard Levy, Anthony Molinaro, DanceWorks Chicago, the Northwestern Silver Hammers

"This was a great experience, too, and a sold out house. I played my solo harmonica version of 'Girl,' a wild arrangement of 'Blackbird' with pianist Anthony Molinaro, and my Latin arrangement of 'Michelle' with Chris Siebold on guitar and the great Ruben Alvarez on bongos, congas and vocals. He sang in the improvised sonero style and there was a lot of interaction. It was something totally unexpected and the audience went wild. I also played bass harmonica on 'Fool on the Hill' with The Silver Hammers, and played solos with the all-star house band on 'Martha My Dear,' 'Lady Madonna,' and 'Hey Jude.' " - Howard

But that's not all. Howard recently recorded a new CD with his son Miles Levy on drums and Larry Gray on double bass. Titled First Takes, the album is a collection of freeform improvised jams - mostly jazz related, all recorded together on the first take. This album continues to showcase Howard's show-stopping diatonic harmonica playing, but also features his beautiful and often overlooked jazz piano skills as well.

Visit Howard's website Levyland where you can purchase the album as a physical copy or digital download, as well as hear some clips from the songs. For additional information visit the Balkan Samba Records website.