A Conversation With Adam Levy: Songwriter & Guitarist With Norah Jones, Amos Lee, Tracy Chapman & More

In this episode, David Blacker talks with guitarist, songwriter, educator, journalist and author Adam Levy.

Adam is a guitarist in high demand. His playing has been featured on recordings by major-label artists such as Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, and Amos Lee. He has also played on records by acclaimed indie artists such as Ani DiFranco and Anayis Mitchell. He’s performed live onstage with all of these musicians—as well as with Rosanne Cash, Lisa Loeb, Darol Anger, Regina Carter, and many others.

In addition to his work as a guitarist, Adam has blossomed as a songwriter in recent years, with work appearing on releases by Norah Jones, Chris Difford (of Squeeze), Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket), Miles Zuniga (of Fastball), and Amber Rubarth. He writes mostly alone, but does a bit of co-writing as well. One of his recent co-writing collaborations was with singer/songwriter Jill Sobule. The song they wrote together, “Bound to Happen,” is featured in the documentary film If You Build It.

Over the past decade or so, Adam has released a dozen of his own recordings—some song-oriented, some instrumental.

We had a really awesome chat. We spoke about

– His early influences & first gig experiences
– His iconic solo on Tracy Chapman’s Give Me One Reason
– Moving to New York to follow his passion for jazz
– Getting in the Norah Jones project and how it grew from playing local gigs to international recognition.
– Stepping out on his own as a songwriter
– What he strives for as a musician and performer
– Some of the key lessons he’s learned along the way
– How he approaches remote sessions

So I know you’re going to get a lot out of this one and without further ado, let’s dive in!