Linda and Dan

"Over the years as I have worked with different arrangements, I have gained a real appreciation for the Trombone. My friend and arranger Kim Scharnberg writes great parts for the "Bones," which is why I have been so blessed to be working with Dan Levine. He is an amazing player on an instrument that adds so much body to a horn section, and he also plays beautiful, tasteful solos. It's a joy to sing with him and it's a pleasure to be his friend."

Dan Levine

In Dan's own words... "I was born in Brooklyn to a very musical family. My dad was my first teacher. I spent much of my youth haunting my dad's music teaching studios in Brooklyn, Long Island, and eventually, Columbia University. My mother still teaches elementary school music, and all the kids in my family played instruments. I played drums, piano, trumpet and baritone horn before settling on the trombone in high school.

Even though we grew up in the New York metropolitan area, strangely I didn't really catch the full-blown music bug until we moved to a rural farming community (population 600!) in Florida when I was 15-years-old. Suffice it to say the town was not a cultural mecca, but there was, 20 miles up Route 17, Stetson University. The trombone teacher there was a man named Donald Yaxley who was simply one of the best trombone teachers and players ever. I'm pretty sure he reduced me to tears in the first lesson, but luckily things got better from there. I made the Florida Allstate Band, and at age 16 did my first paying gig, which was to blast trombone-quartet Christmas chorales from a bell-tower that was really a large pigeon's nest for the other 364 days of the year. It paid $15 and if I recall, the check was late and they took out taxes... welcome to the music business!

My dad also ran a Big-Band, which did summer concerts at the Daytona Beach Bandshell. There I met the great trumpeter Dave Trigg, who went on to be Natalie Cole's lead trumpet player for many years. My brother also played sax in the band, and now he can be heard nightly doing the solo clarinet work at the Broadway production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.

As interested as I was in music, I still didn't have a clear vision of a career in it, so I began my freshman year at the University of Florida as a pre-med student. In that year, I realized that my fellow students loved calculus and bio-chem the way I loved Miles Davis and John Coltrane. And I realized that whatever it was I was going to do, I'd better love it! So I transferred to the University of Northern Colorado where I happily majored in music and studied with the incredible Buddy Baker.

Dan with Wynton Marsalis, Natalie Cole and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, rehearsing "Midnight Sun," a tribute to Lionel Hampton (which Dan arranged during an all-nighter!).

During college, I began playing professionally in Denver and spent a summer in Los Angeles playing in the "All American College Band" at Disneyland, as well as a summer in the Rockies performing with the Breckenridge Festival Orchestra. While in L.A., I was fortunate to study with one of my idols, Ralph Sauer, the principal trombonist in the L.A. Philharmonic.

In 1985, I hit the road with my first 'big gig.' I did a world tour with Ray Charles. It took us all over the U.S., Europe and Scandinavia. To listen to him sing every night was a major inspiration. In 1986, I settled in New York City where I began freelancing, and still live there today with my wife and 4-year-old daughter. When Art Baron left the Broadway show GRAND HOTEL, I took over the trombone chair there. After that show closed, I did the revivals of MY FAIR LADY and SHOWBOAT. I am currently in the pit at THE PRODUCERS.

For an instrumentalist, having a Broadway pit gig is a terrific thing, and one of the best things about it is that we can sub our chair out. It allows us to stay in circulation. During the last 15 years, I've been fortunate to do world tours and recordings with They Might Be Giants, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, Natalie Cole, and for four years, Frank Sinatra. Other performance and recording credits include Celine Dion, The Essence Awards, Phoebe Snow, Michael Bolton, John Pizzarelli, Cyndi Lauper, Hootie and The Blowfish, Paul Anka, Don Henley, Mel Torme, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Donald Fagen.

David Mann, Natalie Cole and Dan Levine.

About 10 years ago, a filmmaker I knew asked me, 'Do you write music for films?' I had never done such a thing in my life, but I said yes and somehow pulled it off. That was 'Andy Warhol: A Life On The Edge' for A&E. Since then, I've been writing and arranging music for various TV shows, films, bands, and radio. Credits include: 'Sesame Street,' 'Malcolm In The Middle,' Court TV, HBO, Natalie Cole, Disney Films, NPR 'All Things Considered,' and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Recently, Dave Mann and I orchestrated and produced songs for Natalie Cole and Brooke Sheilds for the film THE EASTER EGG ESCAPADE.

It's been my good fortune to perform with some of the greatest voices in music, and now it's happening again as I not only get to perform with Linda Eder, but also to absolutely marvel at her incredible vocal gifts every time we hit the stage. Frank Sinatra said that he learned everything about breath control from watching the trombonist Tommy Dorsey. I assure you that Linda has nothing to learn from me, but I guarantee you I am doing my best to glean whatever I can from her!"

Each of Linda's band members is incredibly talented and individually interesting in his own right. And Dan is no exception! We hope you've enjoyed learning more about his life and career… read on for more details in this exclusive VOICE interview!

VOICE: You mentioned that you played drums, piano, trumpet and baritone horn before concentrating on the trombone. How old were you when you first played a musical instrument and which one was first?

DAN: I took my first drum lesson at age 6 from a drummer on Long Island named Joe Grayson, with whom my dad used to do club dates in New York City and the Catskills.

Dan with his wife, Sara, and Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" at the rap party after "The Daily Show Millenium Special." Dan's trombone can be heard nightly on "The Daily Show."

VOICE: Being from a musical family, did you ever consider starting "The Levine Family Band?"

DAN: I never really considered it, although we did a lot of playing at our house, especially when guests were over... Mom would play piano and sing, Dad played bass, Uncle Julius played the violin, and I'd play the drums.

VOICE: What or who influenced you to concentrate on the trombone?

DAN: My father was always a huge fan of Tommy Dorsey, Urbie Green, and Jack Teagarden, so I heard those records played around the house. I had braces on my teeth in the 8th grade which made playing the trumpet quite difficult, so I switched to baritone horn, and finally to trombone in high school.

VOICE: What was it like playing with your brother in the Big-Band your father ran?

DAN: We had a ball. He has great leadership and presentation skills as well as a terrific rapport with the audience, and that influenced me. It was great to see my little brother, who was just a kid, playing so well. We would play summer concerts in the bandshell right on the boardwalk in Daytona Beach.

VOICE: Why did you choose to attend the University of Northern Colorado?

DAN: I met one of the low-brass teachers, Jack Robinson, when he was doing a clinic at Stetson University in Florida. He told me about the school, and after a bit of research, I realized it was a good fit for me. The trombone teacher there, Buddy Baker, was fantastic. He had a Big-Band and Jazz background as well as the Classical training, so the education was very well-rounded. And after all these years, I still can't play as well as him!

VOICE: How did you get involved with Ray Charles?

DAN: I was living in Los Angeles after my cruise-ship gig, and quite discouraged with the whole scene. By chance, I met the great bass-trombonist Dana Hughes at a rehearsal, and he mentioned there would be a "cattle-call" audition for the Ray Charles band the very next day. I was already in a bad mood about the music business, and then got a ticket on the way to the audition, so I uncharacteristically bullied my way in front of what seemed to be 76 trombonists and played the audition really loudly with a lot of anger. Little did I know this is what appealed to Ray!... So the rest is history!

Jon Bon Jovi and Dan — dig the long hair, Dan!

VOICE: What were your favorite stops on the world tours you've done?

DAN: I have so many fond memories, but a few standouts would be Rome, Oslo, London, Japan, San Sebastian Spain, Joe Cocker singing with Ray in Lyon, playing a trombone solo with Jon Bon Jovi's band in front of about 25,000 people at an outdoor show in Linzer, Frank at Madison Square Garden... Some of the greatest experiences on the road are so unexpected, and for me they usually involve meeting local folks who show you around and are just incredibly friendly.

VOICE: Can you tell us more about the experience of being a pit musician on Broadway? What is the process of getting a chair? What has been your favorite Broadway gig?

DAN: These days, playing in a pit orchestra has become a more coveted job than it once was. That is because of the decline of the recording industry in New York, especially for people who play acoustic instruments. Getting a chair most typically involves first subbing for other players who have a steady show. If you do it well enough and for long enough, conductors and music contractors might remember you when it is time to put together an orchestra for a new show. THE PRODUCERS has been by far my favorite pit gig. I work with fantastic players every night, and after four years I still find something to laugh at on a nightly basis!

VOICE: What was it like performing with Frank Sinatra?

DAN: It was wonderful and I miss it. He was such a heavy-duty musician, and his presence was so powerful that you couldn't help but to play your very best when you were on the stage with him. And, of course, he had all of those incomparable arrangements. One of my favorites was "Street Of Dreams." He said all he needed to on just one page of music. Another was the Johnny Mandel arrangement of "In The Still Of The Night." Masterful.

Dan and Barry Danielian on stage at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, Massachusetts, where Linda performed with Michael Feinstein in August 2005. As seen in this picture, the audience was on their feet for a standing ovation even before Linda finished singing "Almost Like Being In Love/This Can't Be Love."

VOICE: If you weren't a musician, would we be calling you "Dr. Levine?" Or do you think there is another path you would have taken?

DAN: Well, that was my original intention. But the luckiest people get to do what they are really passionate about, and for me, that is music.

VOICE: What do you do for fun?

DAN: I try to go mountain biking whenever I can.

VOICE: Mountain biking in New York City could be a challenge!

DAN: Yes, mountain biking in the city is quite limited. When I was less busy as a player and before parenthood, I would get out of the city quite often with a couple of cohorts and do quite a bit of off-road riding in Jersey and upstate New York, and the races were on the weekends. I would also travel with the bike. I had a three-week job in Maui, and the bike came with me! Now I ride up in Rockland and Ulster County when I can.

VOICE: How and when did you meet Linda?

DAN: I met Linda for the first time when I was asked to fill in on the trombone chair in October of 2004.

VOICE: What was your reaction the first time you heard her sing? What song was it?

Dan at a recording session for Linda's new CD.

DAN: My reaction was like that of most people: I was completely blown away. The first time I performed with her was not with her band, but as a member of the orchestra for "Broadway Under The Stars" a few years back. She sang "Impossible Dream" and it was astounding.

VOICE: What is your favorite Linda song?

DAN: I really love when she sings standards, and she also really knocks me out every time she sings "If I Had My Way."

VOICE: What is it like being "on the road" with Linda and the guys?

DAN: It's always a great time. Linda is terrific and each member of the band is such a virtuoso on their instrument, so to hear them and make music with them is "why I do this." It's also a very funny and politically aware group, so the conversations are never dull. We have a ball out there.

VOICE: Do you have any funny stories from your time on the road that you'd like to share?

DAN: What happens on the road stays on the road!! I could not imagine any other business where I could have laughed so often and so much. I guess it attracts a lot of characters.