Tony Levin
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{{for|the jazz drummer|Tony Levin (drummer) }}
{{Unreferenced|date=July 2007}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name = Tony Levin
| Img = Tony Levin in Caracas 1993.jpg
| Img_capt = Tony Levin during a visit to [[Caracas]] (Venezuela), 1993.
| Img_size =
| Landscape =
| Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| Birth_name =
| Alias =
| Born = {{birth date and age|1946|6|6}} in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]
| Died =
| Origin = [[Rochester, NY]]
| Instrument = [[bass guitar]], [[Chapman Stick]], [[tuba]], [[double bass]]
| Genre = [[Progressive rock]]<br>[[Progressive metal]]<br>[[Experimental rock]]<br>[[Jazz fusion]]
| Occupation = [[Musician]]
| Years_active = 1970 -
| Label =
| Associated_acts = [[King Crimson]]<br>[[Liquid Tension Experiment]]<br>[[Liquid Trio Experiment]]<br>[[Peter Gabriel]]<br>[[Bruford Levin Upper Extremities]]<br>[[Head (US band)|Head]]
| URL = [http://www.tonylevin.com/ www.tonylevin.com]
| Notable_instruments = [[Chapman Stick]]<br>[[Music Man StingRay]]<br>[[Music Man Bongo]]
}}
'''Tony Levin''' (born [[June 6]] [[1946]], [[Boston, Massachusetts]]) is an American [[bass guitar]]ist.
Levin is best-known<ref>http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kjftxqu5ld6e</ref> for his work in with [[progressive rock]] pioneers [[King Crimson]] and [[Peter Gabriel]]. Has also been a member of [[Bruford Levin Upper Extremities]], [[Liquid Tension Experiment]] and leads his own [[Tony Levin Band]].
A prolific [[session musician]] since the 1970s, Levin has played on hundreds of albums, including those of [[John Lennon]], [[Lou Reed]], [[Alice Cooper]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[Yes (band)|Yes]] and [[Seal (musician)|Seal]], [[Sarah McLachlan]], [[Todd Rundgren]], and [[Cher]]. Additionally, he has toured with artists including [[Paul Simon]] (with whom Tony appeared in Simon's 1980 film "One Trick Pony"), [[Gary Burton]], [[James Taylor]], [[Herbie Mann]], [[Goro Noguchi]], [[Judy Collins]], [[Joe Yamanaka]], [[Carly Simon]], [[Peter Frampton]], [[Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe]], [[Tim Finn]], [[Richie Sambora]], and [[Claudio Baglioni]].
Levin helped to popularize the [[Chapman Stick]] and the NS [[Electric upright bass|upright bass]]. He has also created "[[funk fingers]]", a device for mimicking the sound of hitting the strings with drumsticks (which sounds similar to slap style bass).
==Early life and education==
Levin was born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] and grew up in the suburb of [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]]. He began playing [[double bass]] at 10 years old, primarily studying classical music. In high school, he learned [[tuba]], soloing with the concert band and started a [[barbershop quartet]].
After high school, he attended the [[Eastman School of Music]] in [[Rochester, NY]] and played in the [[Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra]]. Also at the school, he studied with drummer [[Steve Gadd]]. He traded in his [[Ampeg]] electric upright "Baby Bass" for a [[Fender Precision Bass]].
Tony's brother, [[Pete Levin]], is a New York [[keyboardist]] and writer who is best known for his work with [[Gil Evans]]. In the 1970's, Tony and Pete collaborated with Steve Gadd in the comedy band [[The Clams]]. Levin has stated that some of the Clams's material may eventually be released.
=== 1970s-1980s ===
In 1970, Levin moved to [[New York City]], joined 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 1970's he played bass on many albums. In 1976, Levin joined with Steve Gadd on drums to create the lush textures the two created on Andy Pratt's critically-acclaimed "Resolution" album that included other A-list studio musicians like Arif Mardin, Andy Newmark, Hugh McDonald, Luther Vandross and others. Allmusic.com and Rolling Stone Magazine rated this album as one of the best singer/songwriter albums of the 1970s. In the late '70s, Tony joined [[Peter Gabriel]]'s band. He had met Gabriel through producer [[Bob Ezrin]] (with whom Tony had recorded [[Alice Cooper]]'s ''[[Welcome to My Nightmare]]'', and [[Lou Reed]]'s ''[[Berlin (album)|Berlin]]''). Levin has played with Gabriel, both on the road and in the studio, since then. On that first Peter Gabriel solo album, Levin played tuba as well as bass, and directed a short barbershop quartet version of a song.
In these early years with Gabriel, Levin developed his playing of the [[Chapman Stick]]. The song "[[Big Time (song)|Big Time]]", from Gabriel's ''[[So (album)|So]]'' album, inspired the development of [[funk fingers]], which are chopped off [[drumsticks]] used to hammer on the bass strings. Levin credits Gabriel with the idea, and [[Andy Moore]], his tech at the time, with actually making them workable. In 1978, Levin moved to [[Woodstock, New York]], to join the band [[L'Image (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, and Tony stayed in Woodstock, where he still lives. On Peter Gabriel's first album, Levin met [[Robert Fripp]] and, in 1980, after having played on Fripp's solo album [[Exposure (Robert Fripp album)|Exposure]], he became a member of the '80s incarnation of [[King Crimson]].
In 1989 Bruford asked Levin to play in Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, a splinter group of the band Yes. Because of the obvious emphasis on this being a band of former Yes members, Levin was never invited to become an official member, but played on ABWH's eponymous album, and also on Yes' 1991 album Union.
In 1984 Tony released ''Road Photos'', a collection of black & white photos taken during his travels with Crimson, Gabriel, Simon and others.
Tony was part of [[King Crimson]] up until the mid-1990s breakup of the "Double Trio" line-up of the band which consisted of Tony Levin, [[Robert Fripp]], [[Adrian Belew]], [[Trey Gunn]], [[Pat Mastelotto]] and [[Bill Bruford]]. [[Robert 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).
=== 1990s-2000s ===
In 1998, Levin and Bruford formed [[Bruford Levin Upper Extremities]] with [[trumpet|trumpeter]] [[Chris Botti]] and [[guitar|guitarist]] [[David Torn]]; the group released albums in 1998 and 2000. Levin also continued producing albums with his own band, the [[Tony Levin Band]]. This bands consists of [[Jerry Marotta]], Jesse Gress, [[Larry Fast]] and his brother, Pete Levin. In [[1998]], 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 recorded two albums, ''[[Liquid Tension Experiment (album)|Liquid Tension Experiment]]'' and ''[[Liquid Tension Experiment 2]]'' in 1998 and 1999 respectively. They also played some live shows in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, and will regroup in 2008 to play [[NEARfest]], a popular progressive rock festival in Bethlehem, PA.
In [[2004]], Trey Gunn left King Crimson, and Fripp reinstated Levin as the bassist, although the band remained inactive until 2008. In August of 2008, Crimson will be doing eleven shows in four cities as a warm-up to a full tour. In 2006, Levin released [[Resonator (album)|''Resonator'']] an album which features long time band mates [[Jerry Marotta]], [[Jesse Gress]], [[Larry Fast]], with the addition of his brother Pete Levin. The album is the first to feature Levin's singing. 2007 saw the release of [[Stick Man (album)|''Stick Man'']], an album of pieces recorded on the [[Chapman Stick]]. In 2008, Levin will be performing with members of [[Dream Theater]] [[John Petrucci]], [[Mike Portnoy]], and [[Jordan Rudess]] in a reformation of [[Liquid Tension Experiment]].
== Selected Discography ==
Levin has played on hundreds of records as session musician or guest artist. The following records are those on which he is credited as a fully-contributing band member or composer.
* [[Discipline (album)|''Discipline'']] (1981) — [[King Crimson]]
* [[Beat (King Crimson album)|''Beat'']] (1982) — King Crimson
* ''[[Three of a Perfect Pair]]'' (1984) — King Crimson
* ''[[Cloud About Mercury]]'' (1986) — David Torn
* ''Spin 1ne 2wo'' (1993) — [[Spin 1ne 2wo]]
* ''[[THRAK]]'' (1995) — King Crimson
* ''[[World Diary]]'' (1995) — solo
* ''[[Black Light Syndrome]]'' (1997) — [[Bozzio Levin Stevens]]
* ''[[From the Caves of the Iron Mountain]]'' (1997) — [[Steve Gorn|Gorn]], Levin, Marotta
* [[Liquid Tension Experiment (album)|''Liquid Tension Experiment'']] (1998) — [[Liquid Tension Experiment]]
* [[Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (album)|''Bruford Levin Upper Extremities'']] (1998) — [[Bruford Levin Upper Extremities]]
* ''[[Liquid Tension Experiment 2]]'' (1999) — Liquid Tension Experiment
* ''[[Waters of Eden]]'' (2000) — solo
* ''[[Situation Dangerous]]'' (2000) — Bozzio Levin Stevens
* ''[[B.L.U.E. Nights]]'' (2000) — Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
* ''[[Pieces of the Sun]]'' (2002) — solo
* ''[[Double Espresso]]'' (2002) — solo
* [[Resonator (album)|''Resonator'']] (2006) — solo
* [[Stick Man (album)|''Stick Man'']] (2007) — solo
* ''[[Spontaneous Combustion (album)|Spontaneous Combustion]]'' (2007) - [[Liquid Trio Experiment]]
==External links==
*[http://www.tonylevin.com/ Official Tony Levin Site]
*[http://www.relayer35.com/Yescography/tonylevi.htm Tony Levin discography]
*[http://www.musicmirror.net/interview-tonylevin.htm Interview mit Tony Levin auf Deutsch (German Interview)]
*[http://www.musicmirror.net/interview-tonylevin2.htm Interview with Tony Levin in English]
*[http://www.papabear.com/pbtlff.htm Funk Fingers]
*[http://www.nedsteinberger.com/ NS electric double bass]
*[http://www.stick.com/ Chapman Stick]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/music/people/tony_levin.shtml BBC Blast interview with Tony Levin]
*[http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=9021 TONY LEVIN World Diary reviews and MP3]
{{King Crimson}}
{{Alice Cooper}}
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[[Category:American bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American double-bassists]]
[[Category:American session musicians]]
[[Category:Chapman Stick players]]
[[Category:King Crimson members]]
[[Category:Peter Gabriel]]
[[Category:People from Norfolk County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Jewish American musicians]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Narada artists]]
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