"Seldom
will you hear club jazz as beautifully recorded
as Live at Avalon and the Graves by the
Lost Trio (plus Adam Levy). It's also exceptionally
beautiful music, with Bay Area saxist Phillip
Greenlief steering away from the hot bluster
and conceptual intellectuality at which he also
excels in favor of a gentle lyricism that trips
along just above the level of your heartbeat.
He clearly wants to make sure you can hear the
subtlety of Adam Levy's touch — Levy's
one electric guitarist who lends every note
and chord its own shading. The selections lean
toward standards, but not always the ones you
expect: Mel Tillis and Nino Rota nudge up against
Billy Strayhorn with zero friction, thanks to
the millstream swing of drummer Tom Hassett
and bassist Dan Seamans. And all four are together
tonight. Buy the CD (a double); you'll be glad
you did."
— L.A.
Weekly
(from an advance listing for the Lost Trio plus
Adam Levy, live at Rocco).
"I
suppose many people would call Levy's style
'laid-back.' I'd call it guitar for the mind
and soul. It wraps you up and makes you feel
good and surely that, in the end, is what it's
all about. Rating: ****"
— Jazz
Guitar International
(from a review of Trio Putanesca — Live
at Yoshi's)
"Levy's
guitar exudes Jimmy Raney-like perspicuity."
—Tower Records' Pulse!
(from a review of Phillip Greenlief/Adam Levy/Dan
Seamans — Who Ordered the Fish?)
