Levy mixes jazz and faith

When Benjamin Levy looks back on Friday evenings in his hometown of Savannah, Ga., he remembers two things: going to Sabbath services with his family and listening to jazz on the car ride home.

For the fourth-year, pre-med music major, the two have always been linked. From the lilting mysticism of the Jewish services to the soothing jazz on the car radio, he feels a deep connection to his religion through music.

“One of the reasons I got really into Judaism was because of the music in the services,” he said, sitting back in his Lawn room where posters of jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis grace the walls. “It just makes for an incredibly emotional experience. I feel closer to God somehow. I know that sounds cheesy, but for me, music has always been connected to Judaism.”

To share his Jewish roots with the University community and to promote the arts on Grounds, Levy started the Jewish Concert Series two years ago. The series, sponsored by the Hillel Jewish Center, has spotlighted Jewish music and composers, including three Jewish jazz acts. The first concert, a “Jazz Sabbath” service with John D’Earth’s Free Bridge Quintet, brought Friday evening services to life at Old Cabell Hall, with D’Earth’s quintet arranging traditional Jewish music for a modern jazz group. Levy then worked to bring to Grounds the group Dzaesmin from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. This fall, he introduced the University community to Masada, a widely acclaimed jazz group with Israeli and Middle Eastern influences.

The series has been a success. With 400 in the audience at the first Jazz Sabbath to 700 at the recent Masada show, Levy said he hopes to keep up the positive response to the Jewish Concert Series.

“I walked around the next day,” he said, reflecting on the sold-out Masada concert. “And I was just radiant.”