sex & math
"The compositions are fresh, Dan’s voice is absolutely wonderful, and I especially appreciated the first track as a delightful antidote to the bubblegum nonsense that one too often hears in our commercially saturated, blandly homogenized pop culture."
— Kent Nagano, Conductor, Montreal Symphony and Hamburg State Opera
“It will be your pleasure, as it was mine, to put your feet up with a glass or more of your favorite beverage, listening to Dan Levitin's "Sex and Math". From the opening bars of Headed For The Fall I was tapping my foot, which is my overly simplistic personal guide to likability. Listening to "Sex and Math, I believe you will share the same level of "aah" that I did. Enjoy!!”
— Gary Katz, Producer (Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, Laura Nyro, Joe Cocker)
Musicians:
Daniel Levitin: vocals, acoustic guitar, tenor saxophone
Leo Sidran: drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals, electric guitar
Andy Hess: bass
Tomek Miernowski: acoustic & electric guitars
Roger Rosenberg: baritone saxophone (My Refrain)
Michael Coleman: piano (There is Delight)
Moses Patrou: percussion (There is Delight, Headed for the Fall, Darwin Song #2)
Sasha Dobson: backing vocals (This is My Refrain, What Took You So Long?)
Nicki Richards: backing vocals (Headed for the Fall, Darwin Song #1)
Hilary Gardner: backing vocal (Johnny and Linda)
Produced by Leo Sidran
Engineered by Michael Coleman at Figure8, Brooklyn
Mixed by Leo Sidran at Electric Poodle Stoodles, Brooklyn. Additional engineering by Leo Sidran at Electric Poodle Stoodles, Brooklyn; Daniel Levitin at Griffon Studios, Los Angeles; Christopher Harrison at Christophone Studios, Van Nuys
Vocal Coaches: Joni Mitchell, Jeralyn Glass
Production assistants: Lindsay Fleming and Heather Lewis
A&R Consultant: Rodney Crowell
Title by Christopher Harrison
Mastered by Greg Reierson, Rare Form Mastering
Vinyl Manufactured by Precision Record Pressing
CDs Manufactured by Microforum
All songs written by Daniel Levitin (Songs for Charlotte/ASCAP) and © Daniel Levitin except Answers, by Pantha Wren & Daniel Levitin (Songs for Charlotte/ASCAP) © Wren & Levitin, Johnny & Linda, Daniel Levitin & Livingston Taylor (Songs for Charlotte/ASCAP and Morgan Creek Music/ASCAP), © Levitin & Taylor, Darwin Song #1, Daniel Levitin & Peter Himmelman (Songs for Charlotte/ASCAP, Himmasongs/Primary Wave/ASCAP), © Levitin & Himmelman, Jenkins Takes A Walk, music by Roger MacGregor, words by Daniel Levitin, © MacGregor & Levitin. ℗ 2021 Daniel Levitin
Dan, Tomek, and Andy performing the album at the Rockwood Music Hall, Brooklyn, January 2020. Not pictured: Leo Sidran on drums, Roger Rosenberg (Steely Dan, Chet Baker) on saxophone.
Dan’s First Solo Album, Turnaround (released 2020)
About Turnaround
A few years ago I realized that I was listening to less music than I used to. I am constantly on the lookout for new music, but I find that only a small number of musicians are still making the music I want to hear. So I wrote 12 songs that I wanted to hear, recorded and professionally produced them with a bright young producer, Christopher Harrison (Pet Shop Boys, Pentatonix).
I spent 15 years playing music and helping artists produce their records, working with Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Blue Oyster Cult and others. I spent the next 15 years studying how music works in the brains of musicians and their listeners. I shared my findings — and my songs — with musician friends, like Rodney Crowell, Victor Wooten, Rosanne Cash, Paul Simon, Stephen Stills, and Joni Mitchell. They helped me to draw out some connections, musical and poetic, that I hadn't seen before. And they loved my songs, encouraging me to release them. The result is my new album, songs that explore the range of human experience — Turnaround, named after a song I co-wrote with Beatle George Harrison.
“Dan is a great singer-songwriter. I find myself humming these songs around the house."
—Joni Mitchell
"Dan has an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music, great ears, and a big heart."
—Stevie Wonder
“Dan's an amazing musician."
—Victor Wooten
"These are deeply musical and poetic songs, and they contain elements of pop music without the tired predictability”
—Phil Ramone
Produced and Arranged by Christopher Given Harrison.
Engineered and mixed by Christopher Given Harrison and Daniel Levitin.
Mastered by Michael Romanowski.
Musicians:
Daniel Levitin: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Christopher Given Harrison: Keyboards, Programming, Background Vocals, Additional Rhythm Guitar
Rachel Bearer: Background Vocals
Special guests:
Elliott Randall, Lead guitar, “Just A Memory”
Victor Wooten, Bass, “Turnaround”
Andy Fraga, Jr., Drums, “Turnaround”
Steve Bailey, Bass, “The Heather Song”
Given Harrison, Mandolin, “The Heather Song”
Julie Rogers, Violin, “I'll Be Seeing You”
Ed Littlefield, Jr., (Courtesy Marley’s Ghost) Pedal Steel, “Dance With You”
