It's always a delight to have local blues pianist Ben Levin come into the studio and not only talk about his career, but also perform on the grand piano in WVXU's Corbett Studio. Ben sat down with me to catch up on Tuesday, December 3rd, and chat about how he feels about playing in Cincinnati clubs while going to school. We discussed upcoming gigs at Mansion Hill Tavern (12/21 from 8pm-midnight) and BrewRiver Creole Kitchen (12/27 from 7-10pm).
Ben also shared the details of being included on Joe Bonamassa's "Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea II" Mediterrean cruise this summer (8/14-19) with stops in Barcelona, Spain; Genoa, Italy; and Cannes, France. The story behind his new single, "Forgot Mrs. Claus," is fun, and Ben was delighted that it has had more than 60,000 hits online so far. He also mentioned accepting the CEA award for Ricky Nye recently.
And then, the magic happened in our Corbett Studio when Ben sat down at the grand piano and performed "Come On Take a Little Walk With Me."
The rest of this week's blues show, Saturday, December 14th at 11pm, is a potpourri of Christmas tunes starting with Aaron Neville, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Koko Taylor, and Lonnie Brooks in the second set. Then you'll hear "Carol of the Bells" by the Marcus Roberts Trio, Houston Person, Joey DeFrancesco, and BB King in the third set. And rounding out this program is holiday music from Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, the Goshorn Brothers, and Tuck Andress's "Little Drummer Boy."