About Levi
"Levi Saelua has a wonderful musical voice expressed through his compositions and arrangements. He creates music that is both imaginitive and engaging to listener and performer. He is also a very fine saxophonist and improviser."
Jeff Campbell, bassist/composer
"Levi has a rare comprehension of the many elements that all great music shares, regardless of superficial category."
Bill Dobbins, pianist/composer
"Alto saxophonist Levi Saelua's clear and expressive tone serves the melodies well, as does his technical yet emotive improvising."
Paul Naser, All About Jazz review of Bryan McAllister's Very Stable Genius
Photo by Tyler Mussetter
An award-winning composer and saxophonist, Levi Saelua maintains a full schedule playing with and writing for artists and ensembles in a variety of genres. He has performed in theaters and concert halls all over North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and he regularly performs with Triism, Tenor Explosion, Joe Mazzaferro, Alex Jenkins, and the Capital Jazz Project. He is currently the director of Colossus West and co-director of the Pacific Standard Jazz Orchestra.
Levi began his musical studies at age 6 with the Sacramento Taiko Dan under the direction of Sensei Tiffany Tamaribuchi. At age 9, he began studying saxophone and, five years later, arranged his first piece for jazz combo while attending Rio Americano High School. Upon graduating from Rio Americano's internationally distinguished jazz program, Levi furthered his music education at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, studying saxophone with Chien-Kwan Lin, Jose Encarnacion, and Charles Pillow, and jazz composition with Bill Dobbins and Dave Rivello. As a student at Eastman, Levi had the opportunity to work with artists such as Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, Bill Holman, Ryan Truesdell, Jeff Beal, and many others. Since then, he has written for and/or performed with artists such as Bryan McAllister, Casey Lipka, Jacam Manricks, Alexa Tarantino, Marc Broussard, JoDavi, Solabel, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, and the Sacramento Philharmonic.
Levi appears on:
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Here to Say! (2010), Fatum Brothers' Jazz Orchestra
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Live in Chicago (2013), Fatum Brothers' Jazz Orchestra
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Colossus (2013), Colossus
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Jazztrobeats (2013), Jazztronauts
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Circles (2015), Bryan McAllister
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The Temple (2016), Current Personae
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New Life (2017), Shawn Thwaites Rebel Quartet
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Personality (2017), Anthony Ty Johnson
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Don't Be Afraid (2018), Karate Mountain
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Farkhunda (2018), Current Personae
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Christmas Card Vol. II (2018), Jacam Manricks
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The Spirituality Suite (2019), Dan Jonas
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Crystal Mama (2019), Bro Brocean
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Super Saxto (2019), Jacam Manricks
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Live @ the Clara (2019), Alex Jenkins Quartet
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Very Stable Genius (2019), Bryan McAllister
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Talk About It! (2020), Joe Mazzaferro Big Band
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Cannot Fast Travel When Enemies Nearby (2020), Ethan Swett
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One More Go (2021), JoDavi
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Tri-Cycle (2021), Alex Jenkins Trio
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I'll Meet You There (2022), Bryan McAllister
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S.M.F. Jazz Collective, Vol. 2 (2022), S.M.F. Jazz Collective
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Chunk (2023), Lo & Behold
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Divine Residence (2024), Bryan McAllister
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Black Bird (Coming Soon 2024), Alex Jenkins Trio
Levi's compositions/arrangements appear on:
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Here to Say! (2010), Fatum Brothers' Jazz Orchestra
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Live in Chicago (2013), Fatum Brothers' Jazz Orchestra
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Colossus (2013), Colossus​​​
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Christmas Card Vol. II (2018), Jacam Manricks
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Live @ the Clara (2019), Alex Jenkins Quartet​
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Clarity (2019), Alexa Tarantino
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Tri-Cycle (2021), Alex Jenkins Trio​
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S.M.F. Jazz Collective, Vol. 2 (2022), S.M.F. Jazz Collective​​
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Black Bird (Coming Soon 2024), Alex Jenkins Trio