Joel Levine - The Whistleblower (2017)

Joel Levine: recorder; Chevy Chevis: vocals; Evelyn Simpson: vocals; Chris Williams: vocals; Diane Monroe: violin; Tom Guarna: guitar; Anthony Wonsey: keyboards; Michael Wooten: keyboards; Daniel Winshall: bass; Lenny White: drums & synthesizer.

Composer Joel Levine speaks a unique voice with the recorder with his debut release The Whistleblower on the Iyouwe label. The 13 song disc, Levine's first as a solo artist, finds the Toronto based recordist joined by singers and instrumentalists including legendary drummer and multi-Grammy award winner Lenny White.

Levine says, “I grew up in Philly where I began to play the recorder in the early '60s but when the time came to move on to another instrument, as most students do, I stayed with the recorder. Everything changed when I heard Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, especially Coltrane. I wanted to play that music on the recorder— which, as far as I could tell, nobody ever had. I wanted to speak using the voice of the recorder."

The Whistleblower's soulful and swinging collection includes four original compositions by Levine, two originals by Lenny White and seven songs by an eclectic mix of artists including “The Black Angel" by Kenny Barron, George Duke's “Love", Gil Scott Heron's “Peace Go With You Brother","Come Unto Him" from Handel's Messiah and “Trouble In Mind", a classic blues, by Richard M. Jones, just to name a few. Produced by Lenny White, the project assembled New York and Philadelphia's session artists like Chris Williams, Chevy Chevis and Evelyn Simpson on vocals as well as some burning solos by guitar virtuoso Tom Guarna and pianists Anthony Wonsey and Michael Wooten. White provides some swinging drums including behind Levine's solo on “Love" by George Duke.

As Levine states, “The vibe is eclectic and the sound is new. Lenny's role as a producer on the CD enabled me to present the recorder in a way it's never been heard before, the listener is going to hear more of this instrument than they ever thought was possible."