LEVINE HENRY

The trumpeter Henry Levine, one of several musicians granted the exciting nickname of "Hot Lips," enjoyed a kind of smorgasbord of musical happenings within a playing career that lasted more than half a century. He started out on the smaller cornet as a child and, although born in England, was actually raised in the United States. As a teenager he was already on-stage in Dixieland bands in New York City, including working regularly with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. In 1927, still not quite 20 years old, Levine performed with Vincent Lopez prior to a hop over to his country of birth. Working out of London, Levine's hot lips were now asked to cool off slightly to put across the sound of dance band messiah Ambrose. From the late '20s, the trumpeter was back on Broadway, associated with the pit orchestras and backing up many stars of the day such as crooner Rudy Vallée. These activities led to a staff position for NBC, the type of employment that has in other careers meant a tapering off of involvement with creative music such as jazz. Not so for Levine, who in 1940 began leading a special group devoted to the genre for the network, the Chamber Society of Lower Basin Street. As a bandleader, Levine revealed a knack for clever names, crowning another of his recording projects Henry Levine & His Barefoot Dixieland Philharmonics. He enlisted in the Army in 1942, leading a band in Sicily and Italy and then picking up the thread of his bandleading activities upon returning to New York City. After a period of freelancing, Levine was on the move to various parts of the United States. For a time he worked as a musical director for a television station in Cleveland. In the mid '50s, he headed down to Florida, fronting hotel bands in Miami. Some of Levine's groups also worked in Las Vegas hotels prior to his retiring.
© Eugene Chadbourne /TiVo