American musicianFor the jazz drummer, see Tony Levin (drummer).

Musical artist

Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric b*, Chapman Stick and upright b*. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 1981) and Peter Gabriel (since 1977). He is also a member of Liquid Tension Experiment (1997–1999, 2008–2009, 2020–present), Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (1998–2000) and HoBoLeMa (2008–2010). He has led his own band, Stick Men, since 2010.

A prolific session musician since the 1970s, Levin has played on over 500 albums. Some notable sessions include work with John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, 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, and Jean-Pierre Ferland. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon (with whom he appeared in the 1980 film One-Trick Pony), Gary Burton, James Taylor, Herbie Mann, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Tim Finn, Richie Sambora, Ivano Fossati, Claudio Baglioni and Lawrence Gowan.

Levin helped to popularize the Chapman Stick and the NS upright b*. He also created "funk fingers", modified drumsticks that attach to the fingers of the player in order to strike the b* strings. Funk fingers achieve a sound which can be compared to the "slap" style of b* playing; this adds the distinctive percussive sound regularly attributed to funk b* playing. In 2011, Levin ranked # 2 behind John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin in the "20 Most Underrated B* Guitarists" in Paste magazine. In July 2020, Levin was ranked #42 on the "50 Greatest B*ists of All Time" list by Rolling Stone magazine.

Contents

• 1 Biography
  • 1.1 Early life and education
  • 1.2 1970s–1980s
  • 1.3 1990s–2000s
• 2 Influence
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Discography
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Biography

Early life and education

Anthony Frederick Levin was born on June 6, 1946, in Boston, M*achusetts and grew up in the suburb of Brookline. He began playing double b* at 10 years old, primarily studying cl*ical music. In high school, he learned tuba, soloing with the concert band, and also started a barbershop quartet.

After high school, he attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and played in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Also at Eastman, he studied with drummer Steve Gadd. He traded in his Ampeg electric upright "Baby B*" for a Fender Precision B*; in the early days his first b* amplifier was an Ampeg Portaflex B-15.

In 1968, Gap Mangione released his first solo album, Diana in the Autumn Wind, featuring Levin and drummer Steve Gadd in their first recordings, and new compositions and arrangements by Chuck Mangione, who conducted as well.

1970s–1980s

In 1970, Levin moved to New York City, joining a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast, with Don Preston of The Mothers of Invention. Soon after, he began working as a session musician, and through the 1970s he played b* on many albums, including Buddy Rich's big band jazz album, The Roar of '74, and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years (1975).

In 1971, John McLaughlin asked Levin to join his new project, the Mahavishu Orchestra: "My original choice for b* was Tony Levin. But he told me, 'Oh man, I just took a gig with Gary Burton.'"

From 1973-1975, Levin and Steve Gadd played in the band of veteran jazz flautist Herbie Mann. Two of Levin’s early compositions (“Daffodil” and “Music Is a Game We Play”) were featured on the 1973 Mann album First Light.

In 1976, Levin helped create the lush textures on Andy Pratt's Resolution album, that featured numerous notable musicians including Arif Mardin, Andy Newmark, Hugh McDonald, Luther Vandross and Levin's frequent rhythm section partner Steve Gadd. Allmusic.com and Rolling Stone magazine rated this album as one of the best singer/songwriter albums of the 1970s.

In 1977, Levin joined Peter Gabriel's band. He had met Gabriel through producer Bob Ezrin with whom Levin had recorded Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare and Lou Reed's Berlin. Levin has been Gabriel's b* player of choice ever since. On Peter's first solo album, Levin played tuba as well, and directed and sang with a barbershop quartet on "Excuse Me".

With the exception of John Giblin's fretless b* playing on Peter Gabriel III, and some additional work by Larry Klein on "In Your Eyes" & "Mercy Street", and Bill Laswell on "This is the Picture" (all three tracks from So), Levin has been the b*ist on all of Gabriel's studio sessions and on his many tours around the world.

In his years with Gabriel, Levin developed two unique aspects of his playing: further advancement on the Chapman Stick, which he would later utilize heavily in King Crimson, and the development of funk fingers. First used on the song "Big Time", from Gabriel's 1986 So album, funk fingers are chopped off drumsticks used to hammer on the b* strings. Levin credits Gabriel with the concept and his tech at the time (Andy Moore) with actually making them workable.

In 1978, Levin moved to Woodstock, New York, to join the band L'Image, which included his old friend Steve Gadd as well as Mike Mainieri and Warren Bernhardt. The band broke up after a year, though Levin still decided to stay in the area: he currently resides in Kingston, New York. This Ill-fated group would reunite much later in Levin's career. While recording Peter Gabriel's first album, Levin became acquainted with guitarist Robert Fripp, and in 1978 played on Fripp's solo album, Exposure. This would lead Levin to become a member of the 1981-1984 incarnation of King Crimson, along with Fripp, guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew and drummer Bill Bruford. Levin recorded three studio albums as part of King Crimson: Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984), all critically acclaimed.

In 1980, Levin participated in the sessions for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album.

In 1987, Levin played the b* and Chapman Stick parts on Pink Floyd's first album after the departure of Roger Waters, A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

In 1988 Bruford asked Levin to be an "unofficial fifth member" in the Yes related supergroup Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, which consisted of members from the cl*ic Yes lineup (sans b*ist Chris Squire), but he only functioned as a session player on ABWH's eponymous album. Due to a severe virus, he was unable to play on some of the final dates of the accompanying tour, being replaced by Jeff Berlin. Levin also plays on the Yes album Union from 1991.

In 1984 Levin released Road Photos, a collection of black and white photos taken during his travels with 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. There has been no word yet on the release of volume 2, which will cover the 1990s and possibly 2000s versions of the band. Levin has also written a book of career anecdotes and road stories called Beyond the B* Clef.

Levin was part of King Crimson again from 1994-1997 as part of the "Double Trio" line-up of the band which consisted of Levin, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn, Pat Mastelotto, and Bill Bruford. Fripp then reformed King Crimson as a quartet, without Levin and Bruford. Levin also took part in two of the post-breakup experimental sub-groups, ProjeKct One (1997) and ProjeKct Four (1998). Levin played b* on "Watcher of the Skies" from Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited album (1996). He was very busy in the late 1990s with his own groups Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Bozzio Levin Stevens and Liquid Tension Experiment. In 2008, Levin joined King Crimson's 40th Anniversary Tour, in a lineup including Fripp, Belew, and drummers Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree).

1990s–2000s

Levin performing live with Liquid Tension Experiment at NEARfest 2008

In 1998, Levin and Bruford formed Bruford Levin Upper Extremities with trumpeter Chris Botti and guitarist David Torn; they released one studio album in 1998 and a live double album in 2000. Torn, Levin, and Bruford had worked with trumpeter Mark Isham, for Torn's album Cloud About Mercury. Former *an b*ist Mick Karn replaced Levin for Isham's tour at the time. Levin also continued recording albums with his own band, consisting of drummer/saxophonist/vocalist Jerry Marotta, guitarist Jesse Gress, synthesizer programmer/player Larry Fast, and Levin's brother, keyboardist Pete Levin. He also regularly played (and occasionally recorded) with the California Guitar Trio when their schedules permitted.

In 1997, Levin teamed up with Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci, members of Dream Theater, as well as future Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, for a project called Liquid Tension Experiment. The combo released two albums, Liquid Tension Experiment and Liquid 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 the LTE2 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 recorded a new album for release in April 2021 call LTE3.

At the end of 2003 Trey Gunn left King Crimson and Levin rejoined as the b*ist, although the band was only active for a handful of rehearsals at that time and the aforementioned 40th Anniversary tour in the summer of 2008.

In 2006, Levin released Resonator, The first album to feature Levin as a lyricist and lead vocalist. 2007 saw the release of Stick Man, an album of pieces recorded on the Chapman Stick.

In 2009 Levin reunited with his band from 1978, L'Image, featuring Mike Mainieri, Warren Bernhardt, David Spinozza, and Steve Gadd. The group performed at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, toured *an, and released the album L'Image 2.0. In 2010 Levin toured with HoBoLeMa, a group consisting of Allan Holdsworth on guitar, Levin on b*, and Pat Mastelotto and Terry Bozzio on drums. All their shows were completely improvised with no written music.

Stick Men in Misinto, Italy, 2010

Following on from the Stick Man album, Levin joined up with fellow player Michael Bernier and King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto to form the group Stick Men. The band released its first album Soup in 2010. Bernier left the group shortly after the release of Soup and was replaced by touch guitarist Markus Reuter in 2010. This lineup has continued with a busy touring and recording schedule, releasing the EP Absalom in 2011 and the full albums Open (June 2012), and Deep (Sept 2012).

Levin's brother, Pete Levin, is a New York keyboardist and writer who is known for his work with Gil 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's Jaune album, which included hits "Le pe* roi" and "Le chat du café des artistes".

On September 24, 2013, Levin was officially announced as a member of the 8th incarnation of King Crimson, alongside band founder Robert Fripp, guitarist Jakko Jakszyk, the returning Mel Collins on saxophone, and drummers Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harrison and new member Bill Rieflin. The group toured the United States in the autumn of 2014 and has continued to tour throughout the world since, including 2019 when King Crimson celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Influence

Many artists have cited Levin as an influence or have expressed their admiration for him, including Les Claypool of Primus, Colin Hodgkinson, Nick Beggs, Al Barrow of Magnum, Dan Briggs of Between the Buried and Me, Zach Cooper of Coheed and Cambria and Jonathan Hischke of Dot Hacker and El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez.

Personal life

Levin met Andi Turco in 1995 when she was promoting Virgin Records in Atlanta. They married three years later. Andi Turco-Levin ran for mayor of Kingston, New York, in 2011, and for Ulster County Legislature in 2019, both campaigns unsuccessful. Turco-Levin is credited with backing vocals on the album Resonator (2006) and for photography on Levin Minnemann Rudess (2013).

In 2003, Levin stated that he is a vegetarian.

Discography

Levin has played on hundreds of recordings as a session musician or a guest artist.

• Jaune (1970) - Jean-Pierre Ferland
• Carly Simon (1971) - Carly Simon
• Diana in the Autumn Wind (1972) - Gap Mangione (arrangements by Chuck Mangione)
• Alive! (1972) - Chuck Mangione Quartet
• Don McLean (1972) - Don McLean
• Berlin (1973) - Lou Reed
• Over the Rainbow (1973) - Livingston Taylor
• The Roar of '74 (1973) - Buddy Rich
• Playin' Favorites (1973) - Don McLean
• Simba (Groove Merchant, 1974) – O'Donel Levy
• Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) - Paul Simon
• Welcome To My Nightmare (1975) - Alice Cooper
• Judith (1975) - Judy Collins
• Second Childhood (1976) - Phoebe Snow
• Goes To Hell (1976) - Alice Cooper
• Main Squeeze (1976) - Chuck Mangione
• Lace & Whiskey (1977) - Alice Cooper
• Never Letting Go (1977) - Phoebe Snow
• Singin'... (1977) - Melissa Manchester
• Ringo the 4th (1977) - Ringo Starr
• Watermark (1977) - Art Garfunkel
• Nested (1978) - Laura Nyro
• Blue Montreux (1978) - Arista All-Stars (Brecker Bros, Larry Coryell, etc.)
• Boys in the Trees (1978) - Carly Simon
• The Roches (1979) - The Roches
• Spy (1979) - Carly Simon
• Double Fantasy (1980) - John Lennon, Yoko Ono
• Me Myself I (1980) – Joan Armatrading
• Come Upstairs (1980) - Carly Simon
• Walk Under Ladders (1981) – Joan Armatrading
• Scissors Cut (1981) - Art Garfunkel
• Season of Gl* (1981) - Yoko Ono
• It's Alright (I See Rainbows) (1982) - Yoko Ono
• Keep On Doing (1982) - The Roches
• Times of Our Lives (1982) - Judy Collins
• The Key (1983) – Joan Armatrading
• Hello Big Man (1983) - Carly Simon
• Milk and Honey (1984) - John Lennon, Yoko Ono
• Boys and Girls (1985) - Bryan Ferry
• Starpeace (1985) - Yoko Ono
• Strange Animal (1985) - Lawrence Gowan
• That's Why I'm Here (1985) - James Taylor
• Downtown (1985) - Marshall Crenshaw
• Rain Dogs (1985) - Tom Waits
• Cloud About Mercury (ECM, 1986) – David Torn
• The Big Picture (1986) - Michael W. Smith
• Premonition (1986) - Peter Frampton
• Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) – Pink Floyd
• Robbie Robertson (1987) – Robbie Robertson
• Great Dirty World (1987) - Lawrence Gowan
• Coming Around Again (1987) - Carly Simon
• Cher (1987) - Cher
• Sentimental Hygiene (1987) - Warren Zevon
• Safety in Numbers (1987) - David Van Tieghem
• Julia Fordham (1988) - Julia Fordham
• Tommy Page (1988) - Tommy Page
• Hide Your Heart (1988) - Bonnie Tyler
• Amnesia (1988) - Richard Thompson
• The Other Side of the Mirror (1989) - Stevie Nicks
• Maria McKee (1989) - Maria McKee
• Tim Finn (1989) - Tim Finn
• N.Y.C. (1989) - Steps Ahead
• Lost Brotherhood (1990) - Lawrence Gowan
• World Gone Strange (1991) – Andy Summers
• Stranger in This Town (1991) – Richie Sambora
• Discipline (1991) - Desmond Child
• New Moon Shine (1991) - James Taylor
• Matters of the Heart (1992) - Tracy Chapman
• Arkansas Traveler (1992) - Michelle Shocked
• Spin 1ne 2wo (1993) – Spin 1ne 2wo
• Flyer (1994) - Nanci Griffith
• Swamp Ophelia (1994) - Indigo Girls
• What's Inside (1995) - Joan Armatrading
• Dream Sequence (Psi, 1995-2003 ) - Kenny Wheeler
• This Fire (1996) - Paula Cole
• Gravity (1996) - Jesse Cook
• The Last Dance of Mr. X (1997) – Andy Summers
• The Cappuccino Songs (1998) - Tanita Tikaram
• By 7:30 (1999) - Vonda Shepard
• Amen (1999) - Paula Cole
• Snowfall on the Sahara (1999) - Natalie Cole
• Aura (2001) - Asia
• My Ride's Here (2002) - Warren Zevon
• Chinatown (2002) - Vonda Shepard
• Heathen (2002) - David Bowie
• Afterglow (2003) - Sarah McLachlan
• Courage (2007) - Paula Cole
• L'Image 2.0 (2009) – L'Image
• Ithaca (2010) - Paula Cole
• The Next Day (2013) - David Bowie
• Raven (2013) - Paula Cole
• EVOLUTION (2014) Svjetlana Bukvich
• Music From An Expanded Universe (2014) - Leon Alvarado
• The Desired Effect (2015) - Brandon Flowers
• This Bright Red Feeling (2016) - Paula Cole
• The Natural Edge (1989) Pop Out World - David Wilcox
• Ballad of a Bad Girl (album) (2021) - Kate McDonnell

References

External links

• Official website

Compilations

• A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson
• The Compact King Crimson
• Heartbeat: The Abbreviated King Crimson
• Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
• Sleepless: The Concise King Crimson
• Cirkus: The Young Persons' Guide to King Crimson Live
• The Deception of the Thrush: A Beginners' Guide to ProjeKcts
• The Beginners' Guide to the King Crimson Collectors' Club
• The Power to Believe Tour Box
• The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson
  • Volume One – 1969–1974
  • Volume Two – 1981–2003
  • The Condensed 21st Century Guide
• The Elements of King Crimson

Major Box Sets

• In the Court of the Crimson King
• Larks' Tongues in Aspic
• The Road to Red
• Starless
• THRAK
• On (and off) The Road (1981–1984)
• Sailors' Tales (1970–1972)
• Heaven & Earth

Singles

• "The Court of the Crimson King"
• "Cat Food"
• "Epitaph" / "21st Century Schizoid Man"
• "Matte Kudasai" / "Elephant Talk"
• "Thela Hun Ginjeet"
• "Heartbeat"
• "Three of a Perfect Pair"
• "Sleepless"
• "People"
• "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream"

Other songs

• "Larks' Tongues in Aspic"
• "Moonchild"
• "I Talk to the Wind"
• "Starless"
• "Islands"

Videos

• Déjà Vrooom
• Neal and Jack and Me
• Eyes Wide Open

Related

• Category

Live albums

• The Alice Cooper Show
• Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969, Volume IV
• A Fistful of Alice
• Brutally Live
• Live at Montreux 2005

Singles

• "Reflected"
• "I'm Eighteen"
• "Caught in a Dream"
• "Under My Wheels"
• "School's Out"
• "Elected"
• "Hello Hooray"
• "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
• "Billion Dollar Babies"
• "Halo of Flies"
• "Teenage Lament '74"
• "Only Women Bleed"
• "Department of Youth"
• "Welcome to My Nightmare"
• "I Never Cry"
• "You and Me"
• "How You Gonna See Me Now"
• "Clones (We're All)"
• "7 and 7 Is"
• "I Am the Future"
• "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)"
• "Teenage Frankenstein"
• "Freedom"
• "Poison"
• "Bed of Nails"
• "House of Fire"
• "Only My Heart Talkin'"
• "Hey Stoopid"
• "Love's a Loaded Gun"
• "Feed My Frankenstein"
• "Lost in America"
• "It's Me"
• "Brutal Planet"
• "Gimme"
• "Keepin' Halloween Alive"

Compilations
and box sets

• School Days: The Early Recordings
• Greatest Hits
• Prince of Darkness
• Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969, Volume IV
• Cl*icks
• The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper
• Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper
• The Definitive Alice Cooper
• The Essentials: Alice Cooper
• Hell Is
• School's Out and Other Hits

Videography

• Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper
• The Nightmare
• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Alice Cooper and Friends
• The Strange Case of Alice Cooper
• The Nightmare Returns
• Alice Cooper Trashes the World
• Brutally Live
• Live at Montreux 2005
• Super Duper Alice Cooper

Tours

• Operation Rock & Roll
• Masters of Madness Tour

Related articles

• Discography
• Filmography
• Nights with Alice Cooper
• The Hollywood Vampires

• Category