Reedman Dan Levinson’s Back (and Ready to Play)!

Dan Levinson has been one of the most prolific reedmen on the jazz circuit over the past four decades, both as a leader and sideman, as his busy schedule has taken him around the world to perform. His tributes to Benny Goodman have brought him countless accolades over the years, and his ensembles vary considerably in style and repertoire, running the gamut from ragtime to early jazz and swing.

His career nearly came to a crashing end in 1998 when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. A surgeon at New York City’s Mt. Sinai Hospital came up with a treatment that not only saved his life, but his career as well.

Over the ensuing years, the radiation therapy gradually took a toll that led to surgery on his jawbone to avoid a fracture and prevent recurring infections. Two years ago, he managed to break a leg while roller skating with daughter Aven. By 2025, playing his instruments had become increasingly difficult and required some 11 hours of surgery that included inserting a titanium plate in his mouth and a two-week stay in the hospital.

What Dan has gone through regarding these health issues over the past 27 years is well-documented in Bill Hoffman’s article featuring Dan’s Facebook posting in this issue. The good news is that after being inactive for over five months, Dan reports that “music has been the best medicine throughout this ordeal,” and that he is now “ready, willing, and able” to get back on the band stand.

Career Highlights 

Dan Levinson moved to New York City from California in 1983. He attributes whatever success he has achieved in his 38 years as a professional musician to the mentoring he received from two veterans who took the time to further his career. He says the late Rosy McHargue taught him most of what he knows about music and life. From a six-year association with pianist Dick Hyman, he learned the business side of the profession. Today he is filling that mentoring role for many up-and-coming musicians who have sought him out seeking advice and direction.

Growing up in the Los Angeles area, Dan studied piano and guitar, but says, “I really didn’t have the discipline to learn them.” In his mid-teens, he discovered early jazz listening to records borrowed from the Santa Monica Public Library. One was a 1950 RCA recording of The Best of Dixieland, and the tune that really got his attention was Livery Stable Blues by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.

That prompted him to return to the piano to learn ragtime, but he acknowledged he couldn’t read music very well. He took trumpet and clarinet lessons and settled on the latter, which he considered the easier of the two instruments. But his interest was primarily in the theater, and he became at drama major at New York University.

On a visit home, his father suggested they go to hear 82-year-old saxophonist Rosy McHargue who was leading a band at a Santa Monica steakhouse. To 19-year-old Dan, Rosy was a celebrity who had been around when jazz was in its infancy. Rosy had met Bix Beiderbecke, knew Benny Goodman, recorded with Frankie Trambauer, and been a member of the Ted Weems and Kay Kyser big bands.

“Rosy didn’t treat me the way I see some musicians treating people in the audience, giving them an impersonal greeting and quickly moving on. Rosy invited me to his apartment to listen to records. Later on, he tried to talk to me about being a musician, but everything he said was encouraging. He wasn’t optimistic about the state of the music, saying, ‘In the old days, if you played your instrument well, you could make a living, but it’s not that way now.’ Well, I found a niche, and I’m making a living.”

Learning from Dick Hyman 

Back in New York City, he practiced the clarinet constantly and visited all the clubs that featured traditional jazz. Along the way, he struck up a friendship with ragtime pianist Max Morath. Shortly before Dan was due to graduate from NYU, Max told him that Dick Hyman was looking for an assistant to catalogue Dick’s huge record and tape collection, file correspondence and run errands.

Dan took what appeared to be a fairly routine job, but said, “Because Dick was away much of the time, my function became much more significant. I was the one who held down the fort, mailing out publicity material, filling record orders and even copying music. Dick is a great businessman, and if there was a problem, he always came up with a solution. He was especially good at dealing with other musicians.”

This association continued for six years, interrupted by a year traveling through 17 countries in Europe, six months in New Orleans, and tours with Leon Redbone. Dick also counseled Dan that he should learn to play the saxophone. “Reluctantly, I got an alto sax and took lessons. A year later, I got my hands on a C-melody sax, and now I play all the saxophones from soprano down to baritone.

“I gave up any thoughts about pursuing a career in the theater. My heart wasn’t in it. From the start, I was fortunate that I was working constantly as a musician. I was young and enthusiastic—the new kid on the block—and that seem to appeal to people.”

Encourages Young Musicians

Dan knows from experience it is important to encourage young musicians. One night at Eddie Condon’s club some 40-plus years ago, he met trombonist Dan Barrett who offered to share his extensive record collection with the then 19-year-old clarinetist and also got him to do some arranging. Banjoist Eddy Davis is another who promoted Dan, often inviting him to sit in with his band. Dan lived in Eddy’s old apartment on Washington Square in Greenwich Village—just above the apartment once occupied by Eddie Condon—for nearly thirty years.

Dan gets great satisfaction in reaching out to young musicians to share his knowledge and experience as a jazz musician. “I don’t see helping a younger person as a threat to my livelihood. They are the future of this music. Many don’t take the time to research the history and tradition of music, and they no longer have direct links to the people whose music they play. But when they are exposed, their minds are like sponges.”

Certainly a prime beneficiary of Dan’s largesse is vocalist Molly Ryan. The two met at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, and Dan admits it was love at first sight. “I was never a very good singer, but the lyrics of the songs I play are as important as the music is to me, so I used to sing them. I don’t need to anymore because I’ve been married to my favorite singer since 2008. She’s my voice,” the always-dapper Dan Levinson said with a smile.

Reflecting on all he has been through over the past three decades, both good and bad, Dan said, “It’s been a challenge. The prospect of not being able to do what I was put on this earth to do was unfathomable to me. The day this past April when I blew into my clarinet for the first time in over three months and heard a SOUND was truly one of the happiest days of my life. I’ve acquired a few more battle scars and have earned the right to sing the blues…or at least to PLAY them!

Visit Dan Levinson online at www.danlevinson.com.