Shaking Ray Levi Society

Founded in 1986, the Shaking Ray Levi Society is a volunteer-run, 501(c)(3) non-profit arts education organization.

Its mission is to nurture and support music, film, and performance art that is challenging, non-traditional, and falls outside the mainstream, in order to help nourish the cultural growth of Chattanooga.

The Shaking Ray Levis (performing group) is an ongoing collaboration of musicians with a common interest in improvisation. The project was conceived and led by Dennis Palmer and Bob Stagner, using storytelling, synthesizers, samplers and percussion to achieve their distinctive sound. They are the first American group to have recorded for Incus Records, the record label of British free improvisational guitarist Derek Bailey. Additionally, they have performed and recorded with John Zorn, David Greenberger, Fred Frith, Min Tanaka, Amy Denio, and Derek Bailey, as well as with many other critically acclaimed artists.