Name: An Evening of Holiday Blues and Jazz: The Ben Levin Quartet Featuring Art Gore
Start: 2025-12-13T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-12-13T22:00:00-05:00
Location: Caffè Vivace - Cincinnati, OH

An Evening of Holiday Blues and Jazz: The Ben Levin Quartet Featuring Art Gore

Ben Levin — piano/vocals
Art Gore - drums
Aron Levin - guitar/vocal
Walter Cash Jr. — bass
Special Guest Sonny Hill
Ben Levin is a pianist/vocalist based in Cincinnati, OH. He has released five albums on the Vizztone Label Group and has received three Blues Music Award nominations, including Best Piano Player of the Year (2023, 2024).
Ben Levin recently released his fifth VizzTone album, a Christmas present wrapped in the blues: Ben Levin Presents A Holiday Blues Revue. For years, Levin has been inspired by classic holiday blues recordings from artists like Freddy King, Charles Brown, and Amos Milburn, among others. He recorded his first holiday-themed track in 2019 and has been building towards this album ever since. This album features many guest artists and many different blues styles.
As Ben puts it: “I am honored to have been able to feature so many great artists on this album, and they each contributed perfectly to these unique styles and sounds: Lil’ Ed showcases pure Chicago blues inspired by his uncle J.B. Hutto, Sonny Hill channels soul from the chitlin’ circuit, Candice Ivory highlights how to defy genres, blending blues and jazz, and Lil’ Jimmy Reed brings out the deep blues of Baton Rouge.”
Art Gore's drumming style is characterized by signature driving cymbal beats, crisp, sharp snare accents, and well-placed bass drum "bombs." During his six-decade career, he has performed and recorded with such artists as George Benson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lonnie Liston Smith, Pharoah Sanders, Woody Shaw, Larry Young, Bobby Watson, Freddie Hubbard, John Scofield, Hank Marr, J.J. Johnson, Joey Defrancesco, Kenny Dorham, Hank Crawford, James Moody, and Ahmad Jamal, to name a few. Dr. Lonnie Smith has said of Art, "Art has the kind of rhythm and drive that's always right there."
Art Gore was born into a family of musicians, which began his early exposure to music. By age sixteen, he was playing professionally. After graduating high school, Art attended Berklee College of Music and was drafted into the armed forces for two years. His musical development continued by playing with the First Armored Division Band and orchestra and leading his groups.
After serving in the military, Art attended the Berklee College of Music, where he studied with renowned drum instructor Alan Dawson and later at the New England Conservatory of Music under Vic Firth. In 1972, Art joined Dr. Lonnie Smith, leading to traveling and recording with the Grammy-winning guitarist and vocalist George Benson.
Upon leaving George Benson's band, Art began working with Lonnie Liston Smith. Art's recordings with Lonnie were some of the most important of his early career. Many jazz enthusiasts consider one of the recordings, "Expansions" (RCA 1975), a jazz-fusion classic. "Voodoo Woman," one of the compositions that Art recorded with Lonnie, is included in the Recommended Recordings of the Decade for the Smithsonian Collection of Jazz in the Seventies.
A $15 drink/food minimum is charged per person in the party, per set, if the total for beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum.
Important Notices:
If you do not check in by 15 minutes into the start of the set, we reserve the right to resell your seats with no refund.
Tickets for this performance are non-refundable. If you are unable to attend, a one-time transfer to a future show of equal value will be accepted. The transfer must be requested 24 hours before the start of the performance.