Stamp
Productions
"I recently hired Danny T. Levin to play horns on a record I am producing (and mixing today). It is mind blowing how much he brought to the project in just a few hours. Delivered way more than I asked for and really brought it to a whole new level."
"...and crucially trumpeter Kris Tiner and multi-instrumental brass player Danny Levin. The latter pair's wild interplay gives the material a loose, carnivalesque quality that saves it from becoming an overly intellectual exercise in free-jazz revisionism"
Andy Hermann, Downbeat Magazine Feb. 2019
"LA session musician Danny T. Levin voices a symphony of unusual horns; the euphonium, trombonium and coronet punctuates the tracks,” Leave a Light On,” “Sometimes You Wake Up in Charleston” and the album opener, “Ain’t Done Yet.”
"The album isn’t all gloom, though, and there are some bright moments such as instrumental tracks like “New View,” which features the horns of Danny T Levin, or “ZaapZ,” which sees Levin moving over to Rhodes and bass."
"The trumpet and flugelhorn accents of Danny Levin were a special factor, lending lots of soulful heft to the tunes...The quiet ballad "Nothing But a Miracle" was enhanced by Levin's buttery flugelhorn lines, supporting Birch's crystalline vocal. The lost love ballad "Fire Escape" was another example where Birch utilized a bare bones arrangement to highlight her warm vocal tones with Levin, this time on trumpet, adding tart counterpoint...A heart-stirring vocal, over just guitar, opened "Forgiveness," before a searing Levin trumpet bridge brought it all into a gospel-colored rocking conclusion... The easy pop-soul of "Photograph" was the final encore, with Levin's fluglehorn providing a link to the a capella, gospel-clapalong coda that turned the old rock venue into a congregation."
"...horns that provide a soulful demeanor"
"...a beautiful horn arrangement ..."
"But within this framework, they are pushing harder than ever before: witness the cooing "ooh-la-la" backup harmonies in "Life's a Dream", or the outbreak of horn charts at the song's bridge. Three-quarters of the way into "Things Fall Apart", a mariachi trumpet wanders in, seemingly from a Calexico album."
"...amazing horns and keys player, Danny Levin"
"...which featured an exceptional solo from trumpeter Danny..."
"coming across as a BIG track with some excellent sleazy trumpet playing"
"... subtle innovations..."
"...Danny T. Levin, whose horn playing brought weight to the breezy pop sensibilities of “Right Side” and “Don’t Let It Happen.”
"The horns that blare out in the middle of “Life’s A Dream” or the trumpet solo in the middle of “Things Fall Apart” are totally unexpected and add such a rich texture to the songs"
"...full of lush horns..."
"Went to see Diane Birch...and her band was incredible (special shout out to the super cool trumpet player)"
"Danny T. Levin adding depth with his euphonium"
"For example, Danny Levin added a conquering trumpet solo to “Things Fall Apart"
"and includes an all star cast of Danny Levin on trumpet... "
"Elements of gospel, doo-wop and – thanks to the flexible trumpet work of fellow keyboardist Danny Levin – New Orleans’ second line are also in evidence"
"My favorite part of the song has to be the horns…I never expected them and they sound AWESOME"
"Love those horns!"
"...the brass section acts as a nice seasoning that gives the song an upbeat flavor"
"fun horn bleats...great horns!"
"The DD Horns, a project out of Los Angeles led by trumpeter Danny T. Levin and saxophonist David Moyer, create a sound that’s reminiscent of the soulful grooves purveyed by another sax/trumpet duo – the great Nat and Cannonball Adderley. But Nat and Cannonball never covered Vampire Weekend. Levin and Moyer do so here skillfully."
"...horn-section mastermind Danny T. Levin (who played on Iggy’s Post Pop Depression)"
"It's not hard to listen to this music, which makes them all the more inviting. This comes through in their covers or in their original compositions and makes DD Horns' debut album something definitely worth copping."
"They're a group that shows great promise, giving us all something to look forward to this March. Check out their performance of Levin's composition, "Salty Salty"..."
"The most noticeable is the horn section (Danny Levin on trumpet and David Moyer on saxophone) that kicks in during the chorus of “ne me quitte pas mon cher/ne me quitte pas” and the bridge of “I love Paris in the rain” make it the loveliest song on the album."
"...a keening, locally sourced flugelhorn"
"Many times I have leapt back to the words "epic" or "huge" in description of what I am hearing. These moments appear in the refrain of the opener "Choke Parade" with its triumpant horns and strings blasting over the vocals and chopped drums underneath."
"But the scenery is merely fleeting glimpse as the melodies developed with talent from the six protagonists cling to the brain and do not seem to want to leave. The beauty of the arrangements made, overseen by the expertise of Danny T. Levin, there is certainly no stranger."
HipHopCore.net , translated from french by Google Translator
"When the powerful horns chime in paired with Henson’s trembling voice, it gets me every time."
"“Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us” begins with quiet strums and blossoms into a ten-piece string section and French horns that strike at the listener’s core"
"According to Eaton, the results were “much more exciting” and varied than the band’s last LP (Nice & Nicely Done, Bar None) because of this newfound focus. Not to mention the occasional brass outburst by Danny Levin, a sometime Rilo Kiley collaborator."
"a chunk of neo-soul with a vehement horn section."
"“Blak and Blu” is replete with highlights. The ebullient, horn-driven opener “Ain’t Messin’ Around” is an energetic statement of purpose..."
"The lead single, “Ain’t Messin’ ‘Round,” is rock/blues solid gold with its peppy horns reminiscent of a Stax smash."
"Despite the harmonious, sweet horns and Clark’s matching croons, opener Ain’t Messin’ ‘Round is in your face like an unsportsmanlike touchdown dance"
"Here she once more perks up the EP with more of her upbeat pretty pop and insures its uniqueness by including the horns of Danny T. Levin. This tune took her to the final round of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the pop category and earned her a semi-finalist spot in the 2010 International Songwriting Competition."
"It is a joyful pop song with Regina playing the marimba and Danny T. Levin the trumpet"
"I enjoy the horns in the track"
"Levin’s horn-work also accents the tune “Things Fall Apart”, along with Roger Manning (Jellyfish/Moog Cookbook) on organ. This song actually stings my heart. It’s almost as if it is able to cut me wide open and heal the wound at the same time. Everything blends together so perfectly."
"What these talented musicians are making are songs that people will sing and not forget."
"Take ‘The Big Sound’...The instrumentation, particularly the...trumpet, builds wonderfully without overcrowding the vocals, creating a dynamic contrast between the simpler, soft-percussion-and-light-guitar portions of the song with the more lushly orchestrated ones."
"He is also 100% awesome. I heard the great work he did on Eric's solo record and was honored to have him play on mine...a first call studio and touring musician for some really cool and popular groups"
"and chill inducing trumpeting from Danny T. Levin ..."
Blogtown: Booze Bands and Burgers
INTERVIEWS
Voyage LA - DD Horns Interveiw
Musicast - The Ventriloquists (video)
NPR/HARMONY PROJECT
NPR did a feature on an organization I work as a teaching artist for called Harmony Project, and they came into my classroom and took some photos of my students and recorded some of the class. You can hear a brief clip of me teaching a trumept lesson at the beginning of the audio for this story which was featured on Weekend Edition, and there is a picture of me teaching accompanying this story from All Things Considered.