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Jazzical Music is a music publishing and recording company originally created by Clovice A. Lewis, Jr. in 1993 to produce and distribute the music he has composed since 1970. The term "Jazzical" is, obviously a contraction of the words "Jazz" and "Classical"; and reflects a blend of styles that makes Clovice's music so unique.
Jazzical Music's founder and president, Clovice A. Lewis, is an award-winning composer and professor. Clovice composed his first symphony when he was 17 years old, and has been the recipient of numerous awards since then. At the age of 22, he was appointed as a Lecturer, then promoted to Associate Professor of Computer Music at the University of California in Santa Barbara. From 1978 until 1984 he was one of only a few dozen people in the United States to hold such a position.
Jazzical Music's founder and president, Clovice A. Lewis, is an award-winning composer and professor. Clovice composed his first symphony when he was 17 years old, and has been the recipient of numerous awards since then. At the age of 22, he was appointed as a Lecturer, then promoted to Associate Professor of Computer Music at the University of California in Santa Barbara. From 1978 until 1984 he was one of only a few dozen people in the United States to hold such a position.
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NEW!! Clovice Lewis Awarded the Prestigious "Humanities for All" California Humanities Grant
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Clovice Lewis is used to composing extensive and innovative orchestral music. He composed his first symphony at the age of 17. In 1977, at 21, Lewis composed a 45-minute cantata for solo female voice, chamber orchestra, synthesizer, percussion ensemble, and dancer about a young woman whose suicide was reported in the Los Angeles Times. He has also composed multiple symphonic works for soloists and symphonic works featured by orchestras around the United States, including a multi-movement symphonic piece called “The Score,” which was intended as the soundtrack for a movie that does not yet exist.
In 2017, Clovice Lewis embarked on a compositional journey that would tell the stories of the lives of black performers at a segregated nightclub in Harlem during the 1920s. This musical, “Harlem Voices,” was completed in 2019 while Lewis pursued a master’s degree in divinity. Following his ordination as a Unitarian Universalist minister in 2021, he composed the sequel to “Harlem Voices,” titled “Harlem Voices: Revisited.” This sequel, with ninety percent of its composition done in eight weeks, is a testament to Lewis’s vast creative abilities; as he wrote the books, music and lyrics, and orchestrations for both musicals. The two “Harlem Voices” musicals form a trilogy that spans over a hundred years of history, offering a unique perspective from the black American community.
In collaboration with the Middletown Art Center in Middletown (MAC), CA, Clovice Lewis is set to produce a series of 5 live performance revues. These performances will showcase the music and dialogue from the “Harlem Voices” and “Harlem Voices: Revisited” musicals, bringing the essence of these compositions to life. The performances, made possible by a California Humanities “Humanities for All Project Grant” $25 thousand matching grant award, will be held at the MAC in Middletown, the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake, and the Soper-Reese Theater in Lakeport in 2024 and 2025.
This highly sought-after and prestigious award recognizes the work the MAC does in the community and the sweeping artistic and social justice vision Lewis brings to his works. In addition to the music for each performance, Lewis will facilitate critical discussions about race relations in the United States. “Harlem Voices” and “Harlem Voices: Revisited” are now available in paperback form on Amazon. The books feature QR codes embedded in the content so the reader can listen to recordings of the music as they read along. Look for those books and the final musical of the trilogy, “Harlem Voices: Legacy”, to be published by the end of 2025.
In 2017, Clovice Lewis embarked on a compositional journey that would tell the stories of the lives of black performers at a segregated nightclub in Harlem during the 1920s. This musical, “Harlem Voices,” was completed in 2019 while Lewis pursued a master’s degree in divinity. Following his ordination as a Unitarian Universalist minister in 2021, he composed the sequel to “Harlem Voices,” titled “Harlem Voices: Revisited.” This sequel, with ninety percent of its composition done in eight weeks, is a testament to Lewis’s vast creative abilities; as he wrote the books, music and lyrics, and orchestrations for both musicals. The two “Harlem Voices” musicals form a trilogy that spans over a hundred years of history, offering a unique perspective from the black American community.
In collaboration with the Middletown Art Center in Middletown (MAC), CA, Clovice Lewis is set to produce a series of 5 live performance revues. These performances will showcase the music and dialogue from the “Harlem Voices” and “Harlem Voices: Revisited” musicals, bringing the essence of these compositions to life. The performances, made possible by a California Humanities “Humanities for All Project Grant” $25 thousand matching grant award, will be held at the MAC in Middletown, the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake, and the Soper-Reese Theater in Lakeport in 2024 and 2025.
This highly sought-after and prestigious award recognizes the work the MAC does in the community and the sweeping artistic and social justice vision Lewis brings to his works. In addition to the music for each performance, Lewis will facilitate critical discussions about race relations in the United States. “Harlem Voices” and “Harlem Voices: Revisited” are now available in paperback form on Amazon. The books feature QR codes embedded in the content so the reader can listen to recordings of the music as they read along. Look for those books and the final musical of the trilogy, “Harlem Voices: Legacy”, to be published by the end of 2025.
New Books by Clovice Lewis
"Harlem Voices©" and its sequel "Harlem Voices: Revisited©", are paperback books on Amazon. Five revue productions of the musicals have just been funded by the "Humanities for All Project" grant program of California Humanities to be performed later this year and 2025 in Lake County, California. Rev. Lewis said, "This award represents a tremendous boost to my career as a composer and an activist for social justice. It also provides much appreciated validation of the works I have created."
These two historically-inspired musicals immerse the audience in transformative performances, addressing systemic racism, LGBTQI+ issues, military service, and economic inequality from 1923 to the 1970s.
These two historically-inspired musicals immerse the audience in transformative performances, addressing systemic racism, LGBTQI+ issues, military service, and economic inequality from 1923 to the 1970s.
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Harlem Voices© is set in the 1920s. It is about a brilliant young black vocalist who was traumatized by the Rosewood, FL massacre of her family members by the KKK. She is conflicted by falling in love with a white patron of the racially segregated club where she works in Harlem called the Black Jay Club. The time frame of Harlem Voices© is from January 4, 1923 through March 25, 1935.
Harlem Voices - Revisited© picks up the Harlem Voices© story eight years later. Many of the characters from the original Harlem Voices© rejoin the cast. New characters, some historical (such as Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry, and Tuskegee Airmen), are presented as they navigate their way through WWII, segregation in the North, economic and financial inequities, systemic racism, the McCarthy era, the Vietnam war, and the Civil Rights era. The time frame of Harlem Voices: Revisited© is from August 1, 1943 through 1976. You can read the text, then use the QR codes embedded in the book to listen to the songs. The lyrics are included, as well as piano reductions of the scores for musicians. Lewis' intention is to turn the process of producing and distributing new musicals on its head, so please consider purchasing the books to help me fund this revolution. Click here to purchase the books on Amazon. |
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The Harlem Voices© Training Project
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The Harlem Voices© Training Project (HVTP) is an exciting new program that teaches about racism and how to counter oppression using a transformative and embodied approach. The vehicle for instruction is the Harlem Voices musical, which offers rich and varied ways to engage the subject; through listening to songs, performing them, reading the book, and enacting the play.
Because the Harlem Voices© musical offers such fertile ground for experiential and transformative learning, the HTVP is composed of several components that interact with, and enhance, each other:
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Clovice Lewis, creator of Harlem Voices©, talks about his music.
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Radio Show Interview: Clovice in a Conversation About Race
On July 11, 2020 Clovice did a radio interview with John Moorehead and had a conversation about race relations in the United States. Please take a listen.
New Music
New Recordings
Every once in a while the recordings on this site are updated. It is with pleasure that we announce such new recordings. Recently, we've used the amazing East West Composer Cloud sound samples to greatly enhance the quality of some of our pieces. We call this the "Many of One" orchestra, and we believe you will agree that this technology is a game changer! For those of you vocalists visiting this site who are looking for new pieces to record, please consider doing so with the beautiful orchestral renderings now available. The following is a list (with links) to newly recorded versions of music by Clovice Lewis:
Back Again (Jazz Band) Everything's Just Right (Voice and Orchestra) Our Father (AKA "The Lord's Prayer" - Voice and Orchestra)
Another Artist of Life (Voice and Orchestra) Before You Sleep (Voice and String Quartet) Julie's Theme (Symphonic Band)
The Oneness of Everything (Solo Cello and Orchestra)
Back Again (Jazz Band) Everything's Just Right (Voice and Orchestra) Our Father (AKA "The Lord's Prayer" - Voice and Orchestra)
Another Artist of Life (Voice and Orchestra) Before You Sleep (Voice and String Quartet) Julie's Theme (Symphonic Band)
The Oneness of Everything (Solo Cello and Orchestra)
New Performances
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NEWS - Clovice's "Summer" CD is available for sale on Downloadable/Streaming Sites!
The album by Clovice's virtual band, "Many of One", entitled "Summer", is available for sale. It is only available as a downloadable album for $9.99 USD, or as individual songs for $.99 USD. Here are the sites we've found that are selling the "Summer" CD: CDBaby Amazon iTunes Boomplay Spotify "Many of One" refers to the fact that the computer plays all parts. My intention was to create music that sounds like it is improvised so that musicians who read music can enjoy playing jazz. Please share the album with your friends and family. You can listen to the "Summer" album on this website and download scores and parts ... since you're here. Just click here to visit the Jazz tab and ENJOY! |
Become a Patron of Clovice Lewis and Jazzical Music at Patreon
Music Is To Be Shared and Performed
Clovice has been composing since 1968. He needs others to perform his music. As can be seen, his compositional range of styles is wide... from classical to modern, from tonal to atonal, and from acoustic to electronic. Although Clovice (who really dislikes his own voice) sings and plays some of the pieces, it is not his intention for those recordings to be the final versions of the music. So, if you find music on this site that you like, then download it, play it, and share it with others. If you are a musician please consider performing it... especially perform the contemporary and popular music in your own style.
If you'd like your version of Clovice's music featured on this site, please contact Jazzical Music to arrange for that!
If you'd like your version of Clovice's music featured on this site, please contact Jazzical Music to arrange for that!
Who Can Use This Music?
- Orchestras on a tight budget
- Vocalists
- Ensembles of all kinds
- Instrumentalists
- Choirs
- Student Musicians
- Film Producers
- Video Production
- Schools, Colleges, and Universities
Other Stuff
In 1984 Clovice founded Technology Media Enterprises, a consulting firm which specializes in the creation of all aspects of multimedia production. Jazzical Music knows all about computers and music; we literally helped "write the book" about the subject. Whether your needs are for original music for movie soundtracks, to record your great musical opus, create a radio advertisement, make special sound effects for computer games, produce multimedia and radio voice-overs, record your live performance... whatever your special audio needs are, Jazzical Music can help you. Because we produce and manage the audio part of business for Technology Media Enterprises, we can offer our corporate clients expertise in the following areas:
Here's how to reach us:
Jazzical Music
WhatsApp: +1 (707) 972-0129
E-Mail: [email protected]
- Dramatic Films/Videos
- Sound Effects
- Training Films/Videos
- Corporate Presentations
- Commercials
- Product Promotions
- Multimedia Applications
- Game Music
Here's how to reach us:
Jazzical Music
WhatsApp: +1 (707) 972-0129
E-Mail: [email protected]
