A Celebration in Words & Music for Heat Press
Elliott Levine - a Philadelphia born & based poet & musician. He studied musical & literary composition @ the University of Oregon. He has done further studies w/ Michael Guerra of the Phila. Orchestra; Cecil Taylor, pianist, composer, poet; Claire Polin, flutist composer; & Odean Pope, saxophonist, composer. Elliott has performed throughout the world w/ such groups as the Cecil Taylor Ensemble, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, New Ghost, Interplay, Talking Free Be-Bop, Odean Pope's Saxophone Choir, Don Preston's Akashic Ensemble, Cee-Knowledge & The Cosmic Funk Orchestra, Alan Silva's Sound Vision Orchestra. He has collaborated in performance w/ many poets including Miguel Algarin, Bob Holman, Gloria Tropp, Reg. E. Gaines, John Sinclair, Butch Morris' CHORUS OF POETS, Wil Perkins, Frank Messina & David Amram. His original music & poetry can be found on the recordings: OLDUVAI MUSIC ("Or-Om-You'll-Us" 1978), & ILTAR ("Ewe-Doh-Noh-What-Fo'-Kiss" 1979), on TIWA Records. He was the associate producer, composer, & performer for the compilations: POETRY IN PHILADELPHIA (1989), & MUSIC FROM PHILADELPHIA (1990). As producer, composer, performer, in 1990 & 1992, he created two internationally broadcast features for New American Radio.

Don Preston- keyboards. - started playing (J)azz in the army in Trieste Italy w/ Herbie Mann. When he returned to Detroit he worked w/ Elvin Jones & Tommy Flanagan on bass for 2 years. After moving to Los Angeles he played w/ Nat King Cole, Shorty Rogers & Lou Rawls. He then became an original member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention & went on to record & perform w/ Meredith Monk, John Lennon & Peter Erskine. Preston has also scored 24 feature films including Apocalypse Now. Preston has also worked w/ The Los Angeles Philharmonic & The London Symphony. Preston performed w/: Art Davis, Carla Bley, Charlie Hayden, Charles Lloyd & Don Ellis. Don performed & recorded w/ Elliott Levin.

 Erin Aubrey Kaplan ( performing the poems of Eric Priestly)

is a contributing writer to the New York Times opinion page & a former weekly op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times, the 1st African American in the paper's history to hold the position. Kaplan 1st appeared in a monthly independent news-magazine called Accent L.A., a small publication dedicated to a large mission of providing thoughtful, literate, alternative coverage of (B)lack Los Angeles. From 1987 to 1992 @ Accent, Kaplan authored everything from book reviews to commentary & began developing a voice @ once broadly political & deeply personal, a voice that would become something of a hallmark. She began working full-time as a journalist in 1992 for the Los Angeles Times, for a short-lived but much-heralded section called City Times that was created in the aftermath of the civil unrest to expand meaningful coverage of the central city. Kaplan essentially continued the mission begun by Accent L.A., covering the Crenshaw district, South Central & events affecting L.A.’s disparate (B)lack communities & (B)lack communities @ large.

 Jeff Rodgers - (performing the words of Charles Bivens). Poet Jeff Rogers has been an Angeleno since 1983 when he dropped out of college & drove from Michigan to LA for adventure & illumination. His book Right Wrong Night Song was recently published by World Stage Press. Find his work in The Coiled Serpent: Poets Arising From the Cultural Quakes & Shifts of Los Angeles & numerous print & online journals, or catch his frequent performances around LA or virtually. Lefthandedjeff.com 

 Paul Calderon - a writer, filmmaker, poet & educator. A native of Los Angeles, he attended UCLA after serving in the Air Force, & earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy, w/ an emphasis on metaphysics. He then earned an MFA @ the American Film Institute. He has been teaching film @ West LA College as an associate professor. He describes his poetry as an exploration in the musicality of language & sound.( performing the poems of Wil Perkins).
 

 Chris Garcia - percussion, continues to receive critical accolades, popular acclaim, commissions & invitations as a multi instrumentalist, & composer w/ over 1200 performances in 47 states, in 28 countries on 5 continents either playing drum set, marimba, percussion of India or breath, string & percussion instruments of MesoAmerica w/ a who's who in the world of (J)azz, rock, avant garde classical, & folkloric &/or classical music of China, India, Japan, Mexico, Mesoamerica. His compositions for woodwind quintet, pedal harp, classical guitar, percussion ensemble, & chamber ensemble continue to be performed in the Americas, & Europe.

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Wuz Happenin' @ The 'new' World STAGE Feb 2023 - Concert Series / L...

Just Jazz Presents: ELLIOTT LEVINE @ The 'new' World STAGE Sat Feb ...

ELLIOTT LEVIN Presented by Just Jazz @ The 'new' World STAGE Sat Fe...