Trio Globo emerges as a totally original voice in contemporary acoustic jazz. With rhythmic influences derived from travels in six continents, Trio Globo has a combustible spontaneity rooted in jazz, classical and sacred music. Grammy award-winning cellist Eugene Friesen , harmonica virtuoso and pianist Howard Levy (formerly of The Flecktones), and world-renowned percussionist Glen Velez are true originals reinventing their instruments in new music which is both personal and global.

Several years ago, my friend Richard Van Kleeck, director of concerts at Northwestern, introduced me to pianist Anthony Molinaro. I played with him as a special guest for a concert of his at Northwestern’s Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. We played some originals and standards together, mostly with me on harmonica, and one piece with both of us playing piano. It was a big hit with the audience, and we decided to keep it going. This was the beginning of an association that has led to more concerts in the US and Europe and the release of our first cd, “The Molinaro /Levy Project-Live”. We recorded it at The Green Mill in Chicago and at 2 colleges in New York State. The cd is available online from www.nineteeneight.com. This is Anthony’s record label, named after one of the pieces on the cd, “Nineteen-Eight”, which, appropriately, is in 19/8 time.

For concert bookings in the US, please visit www.anthonymolinaro.com. In Europe, contact Raimund Kast at kulturbuero.kast@t-online.de.

Taking its shape from the famous acoustic swing bands featuring Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, this quartet is Howard’s latest musical venture. It features Howard on harmonica with two guitarists: Chris Siebold and Pat Fleming, and Larry Kohut on bass. It’s all Acoustic- no amps, sometimes no monitor speakers or PA. Because of the perfect balance between the instruments, the band has performed with no amplification at all in
smaller rooms.

The Players and Their Instruments
Pat uses a Dell Arte guitar that resembles in look and sound the guitars played by Django. Chris uses National Steel or Dobro-type guitars with steel resonators embedded in the top. Together, the two guitarists achieve a unique sonic blend. Larry (one of the most in-demand bassists in Chicago who tours with artists like Kenny Werner, Lynne Arriale, and Vinnie Colaiuta) plays acoustic bass. Howard, of course, plays harmonica, sometimes using the coffee mug for his patented trombone plunger-mute sound. He also plays
occasional hand percussion.

The Music
Stylistically, the music ranges from early Jazz and swing tunes like
“Nuages”, “Lady be Good”, and Jelly Roll Morton’s “Sidewalk Blues”, through Delta Blues, Beatles and Dylan tunes, Eastern European and Middle Eastern music, Yiddish Songs, Bluegrass, Brasilian music- no stylistic limits, but always unity of sound. There are some original compositions as well, and all four musicians are featured as soloists.

Listen to Cheveré's Puchos Pretzels

What is Chévere?

Chévere is Chicago's leading Latin/Jazz/Funk/Blues Band, mixing Afro- Cuban, Brasilian, Jazz, Blues, and just about everything else together into an exciting and unique collage of sound. Characterized by high- voltage percussion and compelling original compositions, Cheveré has performed in and around Chicago and the Midwest for over 20 years.

The band has played many large outdoor festivals, including several appearances at The Chicago Jazz Festival and Summerfest. The core of the band has stayed together for over 20 years, giving the band an almost telepathic ability to interact spontaneously onstage. The band has an impressive array of virtuosic melodic soloists, and the percussion section, deeply rooted in traditional folkore and religious music from Cuba, the Carribean, and Brazil, is heavily featured on almost every tune.

Chévere is:

Alejo Poveda
Drums and percussion
Founder and leader of the band, Alejo is from Costa Rica. He toured extensively in South and Central America before moving to Chicago in the 1970's. He founded Chévere as a percussion ensemble in 1977.

Howard Levy
Piano, Harmonica, Mandolin, Music Director, composer, and arranger of much of the band's music
Howard joined Chévere in 1979. He is most well known for his work with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, Kenny Loggins, Paquito D'Rivera, Trio Globo, etc. Howard, a Grammy Award Winner and 2-time Nominee, has had a life-long passion for Afro- Cuban and Brasilian music.

Steve Eisen
Saxes, Flute, and Congas
Steve, an original member of Chévere, is one of the leading sax players in the midwest. For years he has played and recorded with many of the music industry's top artists.

Ernie Denov
Guitar
Ernie composes some of Chévere's best- loved tunes. He has been one of Chicago's top guitarists for many years, performing with many Chicago groups and leading his own bands as well. He currently tours with Mars Williams' Liquid Soul.

Chris Cameron
"Chicago Hambone"- Hammond B-3 Organ, Fender Rhodes, keyboards
Chris, one of Chicago's leading studio keyboard players, brings his mastery of the electric keyboards, great sense of humor, and a dynamic, bluesy solo style to the mix of Chévere. Chris also produces and records with Sonia Dada.

Joe Rendon
Congas, percussion, and vocals
The leading congero in Chicago, Joe brings his deep knowledge of traditional Afro- Cuban percussion and chants as well as his virtuosity and ability to adapt the congas to any style of music. Joe has performed with Paquito D'Rivera, Andy Montanez, Irakere, and many other Latin artists.

Ruben Alvarez
Timbales, percussion,drums, and vocals
In addition to his electrifying playing, Ruben is also a noted Latin Music educator who has traveled to Cuba many times to deepen his knowledge of Afro- Cuban music and culture. He currently has a band with Chuchito Valdes, son of the great Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes. He is also a bandleader, and has toured with many top artists.

Eric Hochberg
Bass
Eric has played with Lyle Mays, Terry Callier, Ken Nordine, Kurt Elling, Paul Wertico, among others. He is also a bandleader, producer, singer, trumpeter, and composer.

Mark Ohlsen
Trumpet
In addtion to his charismatic lead trumpet playing, Mark is also a skilled recording engineer and arranger. A veteran of many jazz big bands, he also has played the Blues and Funk circuit, touring with Big Twist and The Mellow Fellows, The Chicago Catz, and others.

www.CheveredeChicago.com

I started my musical life on the piano at age 8, and immediately began to improvise and compose. From age 9 to 12, I took piano lessons and music theory on Saturdays at The Manhattan School of Music. My piano teacher was a very precise prize-winning pianist named Jean Graham who insisted on proper form and fingering. Her instruction and what I learned in Theory classes laid a solid musical foundation that helped me for years to come. I also absorbed a lot from my fellow musicians, and got many chances to perform pieces at the weekly concerts.

Later, I studied pipe organ at my high school for 2 years. This introduced me to the greatness of Bach, and I have continued to play and love Bach's music ever since. I was also an usher at a chamber music concert series in Manhattan for a two years, and got to hear most of the world's great string quartets and soloists.

I didn't play classical music for a while after that. I was too busy with Jazz and harmonica, sax, flute, mandolin, etc. In my 20's I got interested in the harpsichord. I was very lucky to be good friends with Richard Bruné, a great instrument maker who let me practice on the instruments in his Evanston workshop. I especially liked English Renaissance music, which was almost entirely theme and variations - like Jazz. And the Evanston Bach Week concerts rekindled my love for the music of Bach, with a performance of The Musical Offering making an especially deep impression.

Around that time, I composed a short string trio for a family of string players whose father, Dale Newton, was a violist in the Chicago Symphony. It was my first try, and they liked it, though it was never performed in public. Many years went by before my next attempt at "classical" composing.

In 1994 I was commissioned by The Rembrandt Chamber Players of Chicago to write a piece for harmonica and their group (violin, viola, cello, flute, and oboe) We premiered it in May 1995, and you can hear the 3rd movement of that piece here.

This piece seeks to utilize all the properties of the harmonica - percussive, lyrical, virtuosic, bluesy, - and integrate them into a piece for a classically- oriented chamber group. The title is a somewhat ironic comment on the complex harmony that can exist between cultures and the political realities that throw so many people into conflict with one another. Stylistically, the music reflects my many musical interests.

The third movement begins with the harmonica playing a series of rapid ostinatos, interupted by comments from the strings, Then the harmonica plays more ostinatos that serve as beds for ensemble passages. The piece swings into high gear for the conclusion, a series of exciting fiddle tune - style melodies reminiscent of Appalachian, Eastern European, Japanese, and Balinese music, all mixed together with a Middle-Eastern belly dance solo section. It ends with a Blues shuffle. This movement reflects my excitement over the fact that so many musics go together, and hopefully so many cultures and peoples can function together, creating a rich blend of distinct and vibrant parts. Audio clips

Last summer (2000), I was music director of Bachanalia, the opening night concert of The Ravinia Festival north of Chicago. For that night, I performed the Bach Em Flute Sonata on harmonica with harpsichordist Steven Alltop, and arranged and performed the Keyboard Partita #5 in Bb on harmonica with trombonist Michael Mulcahy from the Chicago Symphony, Steven Alltop, and tap dancer Lane Alexander.

"The evening's tour de force arrived with a glorious tap dance by Lane Alexander, his clicks and clacks accompanied by Levy's sublime trio. To hear Levy's extraordinarily refined harmonica lines ws pleasure enough, but to behold Alexander's graceful accompanying dances was to witness one great art form inspiring another." - Chicago Tribune

For the finale, I arranged Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" for all the artists - a banjo player, 2 Chinese musicians, a brass quintet, an 8-voice choir, myself, and an Argentinean bandoneon player.