Udi Levy - Ahava (2011)

Smooth Jazz is always hungry for new high-quality artists, and guitarist/composer Udi Levy fills the bill perfectly with his debut project SMOOTH JAZZ TALES. A native of Israel, where he actually started his active musical career with a rock band, Udi now lives in New York. With numerous performances as an in-demand sideman, as well as dates with his “Udi Levy Quartet” at major NYC jazz venues, he’s definitely keeping himself in the spotlight. When you check out this superb collection of original compositions, you’ll easily hear why he’s getting all these gigs! It’s refreshing, organic, high-caliber guitar jazz, in the footsteps of Wes Montgomery, George Benson, and Norman Brown. Mr. Levy moves deftly from gentle (“Things from the Heart”) to in-the-pocket Smooth Jazz (“We’ll Meet Again”) to funk (“Funktion”) on this disc… always with passion and warmth. SMOOTH JAZZ TALES is a must-have CD from a rapidly rising star! ~ SCOTT O'Brien