Stewart Levine
Encyclopedia
Stewart Levine is an American
record producer
. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders
, Minnie Riperton
, Lionel Richie
, Simply Red
, Boy George
, Peter Blakeley
, Joe Cocker
, Oleta Adams
, Curiosity Killed the Cat
, Jamie Cullum
, Aaron Neville
, Sly Stone
, Hugh Masekela
and Killing Joke
.
Stewart also produced the festival which ran alongside the Rumble in the Jungle Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire, 1974. Recalling the event on the 35th anniversary, Levine was interviewed by several publications, including Guardian News and media, LTD. In an interview with Jason Solomons of the Guardian.UK in an article dated June 2009, Levine talks of how he was inspired to put on the show. He had been with Hugh Masekela when the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman was announced. Levine and Masekela had been room mates at the New York School of Music, and were both big boxing fans. The two thought that a concert to coincide with the fight would be a good idea in order to give the United States and the world a more broad awareness of African-American music. (1)
Although the "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between the two boxing legends was memorable, Levine's music festival which preceded it, named Zaire '74, had been largely forgotten until the recent release last year of the documentary "Soul Power".(2) The film, released on DVD in February, 2010, constituted of previously unseen footage has been previously unavailable. The festival was plagued with logistical problems from the start.
The government of Zaire agreed to host the festival at Kinshasa's Mai 20 Stadium however, financing would have to come from other means. An local investment firm agreed to put up the required capital, and so planning went ahead as various performers were approached and invited to take part in the festival. Due to his success in the United States and near-royalty status in Africa, James Brown was selected to be the headlining act, to be joined by other great performers of the day, including The Spinners, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, and Miriam Makeba.
Chartering a jet to transport the entire group of performers proved to be no small task. Compounding matters, James Brown's entourage showed up with an extra 30000 pounds (13,607.8 kg) of equipment! Levine was made aware of another problem before the plane takeoff: A cut sustained by Foreman in training would lead to a delay in the fight. The festival would in fact not coincide with the fight as planned. Levine successfully managed to conceal news of the fight's delay until take-off, knowing that had the news broken before the plane departed, many stars would never have agreed to leave the United States.
In the first portion of the film, after the flight leaves New york, Levine breaks the news to the talented passengers aboard. Instead of bedlam, what follows is a wondrous jam session, showing the camaraderie between the artists during 20-hour flight. This footage is only but a few of the striking sequences of "Soul Power."
Stewart Levine produced the Crusaders
for many years and produced Monk Montgomery
's 1971 album Bass Odyssey
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders
The Crusaders
The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
, Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
, Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
, Simply Red
Simply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
, Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
, Peter Blakeley
Peter Blakeley
Peter Blakeley is an Australian White Soul/Adult Contemporary singer and songwriter.Blakeley was a lead singer for The Rockmelons in the mid-1980s. He launched a solo career in 1987 and had a massive hit single in Australia in 1990 with "Crying in the Chapel", which was not a remake of the 1950s...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Oleta Adams
Oleta Adams
Oleta Adams is an American soul, jazz, and gospel singer and pianist.-Biography:Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised with gospel music. In her youth her family moved to Yakima, Washington, which is sometimes shown as her place of birth.Before gaining her opportunity to perform,...
, Curiosity Killed the Cat
Curiosity Killed the Cat
Curiosity Killed the Cat was a British pop band that found success in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Career:The band tried to play soulful, jazzy, and funky pop music and was initially signed to Phonogram Records' Mercury imprint. They first came to notice of the UK music...
, Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
, Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
, Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
, Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...
and Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
.
Stewart also produced the festival which ran alongside the Rumble in the Jungle Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire, 1974. Recalling the event on the 35th anniversary, Levine was interviewed by several publications, including Guardian News and media, LTD. In an interview with Jason Solomons of the Guardian.UK in an article dated June 2009, Levine talks of how he was inspired to put on the show. He had been with Hugh Masekela when the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman was announced. Levine and Masekela had been room mates at the New York School of Music, and were both big boxing fans. The two thought that a concert to coincide with the fight would be a good idea in order to give the United States and the world a more broad awareness of African-American music. (1)
Although the "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between the two boxing legends was memorable, Levine's music festival which preceded it, named Zaire '74, had been largely forgotten until the recent release last year of the documentary "Soul Power".(2) The film, released on DVD in February, 2010, constituted of previously unseen footage has been previously unavailable. The festival was plagued with logistical problems from the start.
The government of Zaire agreed to host the festival at Kinshasa's Mai 20 Stadium however, financing would have to come from other means. An local investment firm agreed to put up the required capital, and so planning went ahead as various performers were approached and invited to take part in the festival. Due to his success in the United States and near-royalty status in Africa, James Brown was selected to be the headlining act, to be joined by other great performers of the day, including The Spinners, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, and Miriam Makeba.
Chartering a jet to transport the entire group of performers proved to be no small task. Compounding matters, James Brown's entourage showed up with an extra 30000 pounds (13,607.8 kg) of equipment! Levine was made aware of another problem before the plane takeoff: A cut sustained by Foreman in training would lead to a delay in the fight. The festival would in fact not coincide with the fight as planned. Levine successfully managed to conceal news of the fight's delay until take-off, knowing that had the news broken before the plane departed, many stars would never have agreed to leave the United States.
In the first portion of the film, after the flight leaves New york, Levine breaks the news to the talented passengers aboard. Instead of bedlam, what follows is a wondrous jam session, showing the camaraderie between the artists during 20-hour flight. This footage is only but a few of the striking sequences of "Soul Power."
Stewart Levine produced the Crusaders
The Crusaders
The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
for many years and produced Monk Montgomery
Monk Montgomery
William Howard "Monk" Montgomery was an American jazz bassist.Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Montgomery was the older brother of guitarist Wes Montgomery; younger brother, Buddy Montgomery played vibraphone and piano...
's 1971 album Bass Odyssey
Bass Odyssey (album)
Bass Odyssey is an album by jazz bassist Monk Montgomery, one of his three solo albums. It was released in 1971 on Motown Records/Chisa Records....
.