About Me

Bio

Born in Florence, South Carolina, Levern moved to Roosevelt, Long Island, NY as an adolescent where his interest in music, performing and the creative arts began to formalize. After completing high School, Levern achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education from C. W. Post College followed by a Masters in Creative Arts from NYU, and an ASS degree from F.I.T. Part of his education included participation in regional theater productions of “Guys and Dolls”, “The Boyfriend” and “Bubbling Brown Sugar”.

Early on in his career, Levern worked with some of the greats of the Metropolitan Opera, such as Madame Leontyne Price in the lavish 1978 Premiere Production of Aida along with Marilyn Horne and James McCracken. He also appeared in the Broadway premiere production of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. The production’s musical director was the late great Leonard Bernstein, and Kathleen Battle made her stage debut in this production.

"Levern possesses a unique exuberant jazz style that is undoubtedly his own, with a touch of Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, and he exhibits a classy sophisticated showmanship that always excites and energizes his audience."

Levern’s early love for jazz developed as he grew up in a household surrounded by the classic sounds of artist like Nat King Cole, Arthur Prysock, and Lou Rawls. During the formative stages of his career, he was able to hone his skills while working under the tutelage of Dr. Billy Taylor and Jazzmobile from 1979 to 1985. Jazzmobile was created in the 1960’s as a not-for profit organization, bringing high quality jazz performances and jazz education to residents of various communities throughout New York City. Dr. Taylor’s highly successful “alternative education through the arts” format still exists today and was instrumental in inspiring Levern to later develop his own community-based arts education programs Levern is a versatile Jazz vocalist and is known professionally as Levern “The Entertainer” Williams. His style is reminiscent of Nat King Cole. In fact, he has gained some recognition for the nightclub act he created that’s devoted to the works of the late great Mr. Cole. He has performed his Nat King Cole Show at various venues throughout the U. S and abroad. Levern’s repertoire of songs also includes the music of Lou Rawls and Johnny Hartman. He has also performed in big band concerts with the Bethune Big Band, conducted by Paul E. Holland, belting out songs by Duke Ellington and other artists from the Big Band era. Touring has taken Levern to clubs and theaters throughout New York City and abroad, with stops in West Africa, Paris, France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico. Local venues include Symphony Space, Cleopatra’s Needle, Jazz at the Crypt (Church of the Intercession), and La Mama Theater.

Levern possesses a unique exuberant jazz style that is undoubtedly his own, with a touch of Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, and he exhibits a classy sophisticated showmanship that always excites and energizes his audience.

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