Tony Levin | |
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 Levin playing aChapman Stick withStick Men in July 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anthony Frederick Levin |
| Born | (1946-06-06)June 6, 1946 (age 78) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Papa Bear |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | tonylevin papabear |
Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars,Chapman Stick andupright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known[1] for his work withKing Crimson (1981–2021) andPeter Gabriel (since 1977). He is also a member ofLiquid Tension Experiment (1997–1999, 2008–2009, 2020–present),Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (1998–2000) andHoBoLeMa (2008–2010). He has led his own band,Stick Men, since 2010.
A prolificsession musician since the 1970s, Levin has played on over 500 albums. Some notable sessions include work withJohn Lennon,[2]Herbie Mann,[3]Sarah McLachlan,Paula Cole,Stevie Nicks,Pink Floyd,Robbie Robertson,Eumir Deodato,Paul Simon,Lou Reed,David Bowie,Joan Armatrading,Tom Waits,Buddy Rich,The Roches,Todd Rundgren,Seal,Warren Zevon,Bryan Ferry,Laurie Anderson,Kate & Anna McGarrigle,Gibonni,Chuck Mangione andJean-Pierre Ferland. He has toured with artists includingPaul Simon (with whom he appeared in the 1980 filmOne-Trick Pony),Gary Burton,James Taylor,Judy Collins,Carly Simon,Peter Frampton,Tim Finn,Richie Sambora,Ivano Fossati,[4]Claudio Baglioni andLawrence Gowan.
Levin helped to popularize theChapman Stick and the NSelectric upright bass. He also created "funk fingers", modified drumsticks that attach to the fingers of the player in order to strike the bass strings, adding a distinctive percussive "slap" sound used in funk bass playing. In 2011, Levin ranked #2 behindJohn Paul Jones ofLed Zeppelin in the "20 Most Underrated Bass Guitarists" inPaste magazine.[5] In July 2020, Levin was ranked #42 on the "50 Greatest Bassists of All Time" list byRolling Stone magazine.
Anthony Frederick Levin was born on June 6, 1946, inBoston, Massachusetts. He grew up in aReform Jewish household in the suburb ofBrookline.[6] He began playing double bass at 10 years old, primarily studying classical music. In high school, he learnedtuba, soloing with the concert band, and also started abarbershop quartet.
After high school, he attended theEastman School of Music inRochester, New York and played in theRochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Also at Eastman, he studied with drummerSteve Gadd. He traded in hisAmpeg electric upright "Baby Bass" for aFender Precision Bass; in the early days his first bass amplifier was anAmpeg Portaflex B-15.[7] Levin's first recording was in 1968, when he and Gadd played onDiana in the Autumn Wind,Gap Mangione's first solo album.[citation needed]
In 1970, Levin moved to New York City, joining a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast, withDon Preston ofThe Mothers of Invention. Soon after, he began working as a session musician, and through the 1970s he played bass on many albums, includingBuddy Rich's big band jazz album,The Roar of '74, andPaul Simon'sStill Crazy After All These Years in 1975.
In 1971, John McLaughlin asked Levin to join his new project, the Mahavishnu Orchestra: "My original choice for bass was Tony Levin. But he told me, 'Oh man, I just took a gig with Gary Burton.'"[8] From 1973 to 1975, Levin and Steve Gadd played in the band of veteran jazz flautistHerbie Mann. Two of Levin's early compositions (“Daffodil” and “Music Is a Game We Play”) were featured on the 1973 Mann albumFirst Light.
In 1976, Levin helped create the lush textures onAndy Pratt'sResolution album, which featured numerous notable musicians includingArif Mardin,Andy Newmark,Hugh McDonald,Luther Vandross, and Levin's frequent rhythm section partner Steve Gadd.Allmusic.com andRolling Stone magazine rated this album as one of the best singer/songwriter albums of the 1970s.
In 1977, Levin joinedPeter Gabriel's band. He had met Gabriel through producerBob Ezrin with whom Levin had recordedAlice Cooper'sWelcome to My Nightmare andLou Reed'sBerlin. Levin has been Gabriel's bass player of choice ever since. On Gabriel'sfirst solo album, Levin played tuba as well, and directed and sang with a barbershop quartet on "Excuse Me". With the exception ofJohn Giblin's fretless bass playing onPeter Gabriel III, some additional work byLarry Klein on "In Your Eyes" & "Mercy Street", andBill Laswell on "This is the Picture" (all three tracks fromSo), Levin has been the bassist on all of Gabriel's studio sessions and on his many tours around the world. Gabriel nicknamed Levin the “Emperor of the Bottom End.”[9]
In his years with Gabriel, Levin developed two unique aspects of his playing: further advancement on theChapman Stick, which he would later utilize heavily inKing Crimson, and inventedfunk fingers. Essentially, these are shortdrumsticks used to strike the bass strings, resulting in a very percussive effect. Levin credits Gabriel with the concept and his tech Andy Moore with actually making them workable.
In 1978, Levin moved toWoodstock, New York, to join the band L'Image, which included his old friendSteve Gadd as well asMike Mainieri andWarren Bernhardt. The band broke up after a year, though Levin decided to stay in the area: he currently resides inKingston, New York. This Ill-fated group would reunite much later in Levin's career. On the first day of recording Peter Gabriel's first album in late 1976, Levin met both Peter Gabriel and King Crimson guitarist/composerRobert Fripp for the first time, and in 1978 he played on Fripp's solo albumExposure. This would lead Levin to become a member of the 1981–1984 incarnation ofKing Crimson, along with Fripp, guitarist/vocalistAdrian Belew, and drummerBill Bruford. Levin recorded four studio albums as part of King Crimson:Discipline(1981),Beat (1982),Three of a Perfect Pair (1984) andTHRAK (1995), all critically acclaimed.
In 1980, Levin participated in the sessions forJohn Lennon andYoko Ono'sDouble Fantasy album. In 1987, Levin played the bass and Chapman Stick parts on thePink Floyd albumA Momentary Lapse of Reason. In 1988 Bruford asked Levin to be an "unofficial fifth member" in theYes-related supergroupAnderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, which consisted of all the members from the classic Yes lineup except bassistChris Squire, though Levin only performed as a session player on the group'seponymous album. Due to illness, he was unable to play on some of the final dates of the accompanying tour, being replaced byJeff Berlin. Levin also played on the Yes albumUnion in 1991.
In 1984 Levin releasedRoad Photos, a collection of black and white photos taken during his travels with King Crimson, Gabriel, Simon, and others. Another book of photos focusing on King Crimson's travels in the 1980s,The Crimson Chronicles volume 1, was released in 2004. Levin has also written a book of career anecdotes and road stories calledBeyond the Bass Clef.
Levin was part ofKing Crimson again from 1994 to 1997 as part of the "Double Trio" line-up of the band which consisted of Levin,Robert Fripp,Adrian Belew,Trey Gunn,Pat Mastelotto, andBill Bruford. Levin also took part in two of experimental King Crimson sub-groups:ProjeKct One (1997) andProjeKct Four (1998). Levin played bass on "Watcher of the Skies" fromSteve Hackett'sGenesis Revisited album (1996). He was very busy in the late 1990s with his own groupsBruford Levin Upper Extremities,Bozzio Levin Stevens, andLiquid Tension Experiment.
In 1998, Levin and Bruford formed Bruford Levin Upper Extremities with trumpeterChris Botti and guitaristDavid Torn; they released one studio album in 1998 and a live double album in 2000. Torn, Levin, and Bruford had worked with trumpeterMark Isham for Torn's albumCloud About Mercury. Levin also continued recording albums with his own band, consisting of drummer/saxophonist/vocalistJerry Marotta, guitaristJesse Gress, synthesizer programmer/playerLarry Fast, and Levin's brother, keyboardistPete Levin. He also regularly played (and occasionally recorded) with theCalifornia Guitar Trio when their schedules permitted.
In 1997, Levin teamed up withMike Portnoy andJohn Petrucci, members ofDream Theater, as well as futureDream Theater keyboardistJordan Rudess, for a project calledLiquid Tension Experiment. The combo released two albums,Liquid Tension Experiment andLiquid Tension Experiment 2 in 1998 and 1999 respectively, as well as playing short tours in 1998 and 2008. There have also been two CDs of material released under the name "Liquid Trio Experiment"; the first composed of studio jams from sessions without Petrucci (Spontaneous Combustion), released for the band's tenth anniversary, and a live recording from a 2008 Chicago show where Rudess's equipment failed and the other three covered for it with a nearly hour-long improvisation (When the Keyboard Breaks). During the COVID-19 global pandemic, the group reconvened and recordedLiquid Tension Experiment 3.
At the end of 2003 Trey Gunn left King Crimson and Levin rejoined as the bassist, although the band was only active for a handful of rehearsals at that time. In 2006, Levin releasedResonator, The first album to feature Levin as a lyricist and lead vocalist. 2007 saw the release ofStick Man, an album of pieces recorded on theChapman Stick. In 2008, Levin joined King Crimson's 40th Anniversary Tour, in a lineup including Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto, and Harrison. He holds the record as King Crimson’s longest-serving bassist overall.[9]
In 2009 Levin reunited with his band from 1978, L'Image, featuringMike Mainieri,Warren Bernhardt,David Spinozza, andSteve Gadd. The group performed at theIridium Jazz Club in New York City, toured Japan, and released the albumL'Image 2.0. In 2010 Levin toured withHoBoLeMa, a group consisting ofAllan Holdsworth on guitar,Terry Bozzio on drums, Levin on bass, andPat Mastelotto on drums. All their shows were completely improvised with no written music.
Building upon theStick Man album, Levin joined up with Michael Bernier and Pat Mastelotto to form the groupStick Men.[10] The band released its first albumSoup in 2010.[11] Bernier left the group shortly after the release ofSoup and was replaced by touch guitaristMarkus Reuter. This lineup has continued with a busy touring and recording schedule, with their most recent recordingTentacles released in 2022.
Levin's brother,Pete Levin, is a New York keyboardist and writer who is known for his work withGil Evans. In the 1970s, Tony and Pete collaborated with Steve Gadd in the comedy band The Clams. Levin has stated that some of the Clams' material may eventually be released. Levin also played on Jean-Pierre Ferland'sJaune album, which included hits "Le petit roi" and "Le chat du café des artistes".
On September 24, 2013, Levin was officially announced as a member of the eighth incarnation ofKing Crimson, alongside band founderRobert Fripp, guitaristJakko Jakszyk, the returningMel Collins on saxophone, drummers Pat Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison, and new memberBill Rieflin.[12] The group toured the United States in the autumn of 2014 and continued to tour throughout the world until 2021, including 2019 whenKing Crimson celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In 2024, Levin and former King Crimson memberAdrian Belew announced the creation of the supergroup Beat, which includes guitaristSteve Vai and drummerDanny Carey. With the approval ofRobert Fripp, this group performs material from the early 1980s incarnation of King Crimson.[13] In September 2024, Levin released the solo albumBringing It Down to the Bass, featuring guest appearances with many of his former bandmates and collaborators.[14]
Many artists have cited Levin as an influence or have expressed their admiration for him, includingLes Claypool ofPrimus,[15]Colin Hodgkinson,Nick Beggs,[16]Al Barrow ofMagnum,[17]Dan Briggs ofBetween the Buried and Me,[18] Zach Cooper ofCoheed and Cambria[19] and Jonathan Hischke ofDot Hacker andEl Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez.[20]
Levin met Andi Turco in 1995 when she was promotingVirgin Records in Atlanta. They married three years later.[21] Andi Turco-Levin ran for mayor ofKingston, New York, in 2011, and for Ulster County Legislature in 2019, both campaigns unsuccessful.[22] Turco-Levin is credited with backing vocals on the albumResonator (2006) and for photography onLevin Minnemann Rudess (2013).[23]Levin has one child, filmmaker Maggie Levin.[24]In 2003, Levin stated that he is avegetarian.[25]
As a primary contributor
As a session musician (partial list)
Willie Oteri - Spiral Out DIW
Tony is one of the greatest musicians ever born. I am only glad that I was able to discover him when I did as he taught me so much about music. Yes I am a fan of Tony Levin. Isn't everyone?
[...] For me, that method of finding a groove within a really dense riff comes from Tony Levin (King Crimson), who is one of my all-time favorite bassists. He was so good at, "Where is this groove coming from." He was, first and foremost, just a really groove-y bass player and that's something I've always tried to take [for myself]. [...]
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