Howard Levy's many projects all feature great stuff, but probably the formation that I find the most interesting in which he plays a central role is Trio Globo. Trio Globo only ever released two records, the self titled Trio Globo and the wonderful Carnival of Souls. The band is composed of top class musicians in their respective instruments, namely Eugene Friesen on cello, Glen Velez on percussions, and Howard Levy on piano and harmonica (sometimes at the same time, as you'll see below). The quality that makes Trio Globo's music expeptional in my opinion is that it's audibly a collaborative effort. I find that when Howard is his own man he tends to lose restraint and his stuff becomes more technical and less musical. Here, he is forced, in a way, into the collaboration and sounds more musical. Furthermore, there's a harmony of sounds between the harmonica and the cello that I find very powerful. Finally, while this music is by no means easy listening, it's not hard to access either.
The clip below is a "compilation" of excerpts which, while frustrating because none of the pieces are complete, gives a good overview of the styles and sounds of Trio Globo.
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