Ear Theatre Vol.1 from PATAHAUS on Vimeo.
Ear Theatre
Official Website: www.eartheatrerecords.com
Listen to Ear Theatre at Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/eartheatre
One of Stewart Levine’s best friends was the late, great record producer Joel Dorn. Joel’s lists of credits, in addition to running the great Atlantic Records Jazz label during its hay day, include Roberta Flack, Les McCan, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Hank Crawford, Fathead Newman, and many others. Stewart and Joel first met when Joel was still a disc jockey in Philadelphia. Although they often lived in different cities, they would talk on the phone almost daily. Their conversations ranged from the ridiculous to the absurd, but always included many tales of the great Jazz musicians that they had both encountered during their careers. They shared the same feeling of having been blessed to have come up during this golden era, and to have had the joy of having worked with, or hung out with these very special people.
Joel was aware of Stewarts past as a Jazz saxophone player, but it wasn’t until he heard Stewarts horn work on Sunny Levine’s productions that he began pressuring Stewart to “Do his own thing.” Joel would often say during one of their phone conversations, “Levine, play me a song. You still take requests, right?” Stewarts response would often be “What do you wanna hear?” Joel would come up with a title, and every now and then, Stewart would comment by quoting the great Lester Young. “I can’t play it man, I don’t know the words”. Joel, who was a virtual dictionary of lyrics, would proceed to beautifully recite the lyric. Stewart would respond by playing the song over the phone to him on the saxophone or clarinet. Joel’s response would often be, “Levine, if I could play like that, I wouldn’t be producing. Make a record, man. Make a record. What do you got to loose? Even if it’s just for me and you.” Stewart would say, “Come on man, all the great records of these songs have been made.” Dorn would insist by saying, “But you have your own noise, and I know you’ve got something to say.” Joel died in December of 2007. This series is dedicated to his memory.
“Keep a light on in the window.” -Joel Dorn