Valerie Levy’s Music Resume’
I’ve been playing guitar and singing since I was about 13 years old and used to perform in my
Junior High School Follies. I performed in plays at a young age at my local community center but
that stopped when I graduated high school and had to get a job. Fast forward…still kept up
singing and playing my guitar but not so much in public.
In 2000, my husband Dan and I moved from New Jersey to Dunnellon, Florida and I couldn’t
believe he moved me here after we had lived 35 minutes from Manhattan. We used to go in to
New York once a month and stay for 2 days and have a ball. Anyway…I basically could not get
used to the culture here and was quite depressed. But…I got involved with the Chamber of
Commerce and became their President and then also got involved with Jazz Up. In 2003, I
auditioned for a Dixie Land Band Called the Good Company Jazz Band and got the job as vocalist.
I was thrilled and we played Jazz Up 2003. We got various weddings and parties around town
and I stayed with this band for about 2-1/2 years. They all retired so since I was still involved with
Jazz Up, in 2005 I hooked up with Joe Michel’s Jazz Quintet. I sang with that band for about 5
years and then that band disbanded. So here I was without a band. I met the drummer from a
band called Opus 3 and told him I was looking for another band. He sent his piano player to my
house to audition me. I played with them for 2 years and we did many gigs….weddings, company
parties, etc. I met Bob Cubbage in 2011 and we hit it off right away. Our first gig together was
George Gould’s wedding. We’ve been playing together ever since. We’ve done Jazz Up, Victorian
Days and charity events such as the 25th Anniversary of Habitat for Humanity in Ocala. We’re still
Bob Cubbage’s Musical Resume
-
For some reason, I have never created a resumé of my musical background. I don’t know why; perhaps I was never called upon toprovide one. Of course, in the competitive world of music in New York (or Nashville, or L.A., et al), the best resumé would take second place to simply auditioning for the job. Moreover, when I landed an apprenticeship at Mark Century Corporation, to learn the art of commercial production, as well as master editing, the fact that I had absolute pitch, as well as a feeling for the rhythms in human speech, carried much more weight than the fact that I was a piano major at Denison University. Anyway, here is some of my musical background, in a nutshell.I began playing at the age of three. My mother used to relate the story of my performing “Pistol Packin’ Mama” with one finger. I began serious piano lessons at the age of nine. When I was twelve, my piano teacher insisted that I audition for the Preparatory Division ofJuilliard School of Music. I was there for one year. Later, I was a piano major at Denison. During the late 60s, I began playing production piano for stock theatre. Some of the more memorable productions were “The Fantasticks,” “Camelot,” and “Company.” In later years, the work that I spent memorizing these scores, as well as others, would hold me in good stead when I performed at such venues as the Sherry Netherland and One Fifth.What is really important about my musical background is the fact that it provided an introduction to the world of audio production. Studio musicians, as a rule, are pretty fussy about who works on their recorded masters. In my case, the fact that I had worked at Mark Century as a master editor and was performing at a major piano lounge, gave me a great deal of credibility. And the more I worked, the better I became until I found myself in demand by numerous artists, record companies and music publishers – all this without any advertising or marketing. In fact, I was probably the only production facility with an unlisted phone number!At this time, I am devoting my energies to restoration of all of my analogue master tapes, as well as performing the service music at anEpiscopalian church on Sunday mornings. I am also a production pianist for several vocalists. This is in addition to helping my wife manage our farm.