Tony Levin has played bass on more landmark recordings than almost any musician alive. Born June 6, 1946, and educated at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, he has been a resident of the Woodstock, New York area for decades — anchoring one of rock and progressive music’s most extraordinary careers from the Hudson Valley.
Eastman Foundation
Levin began playing upright bass at age 10, studied classical music through his youth, and enrolled at the Eastman School of Music, where he played with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and studied alongside future session legend Steve Gadd. That classical rigor would underpin everything that followed — from avant-garde jazz to stadium rock.
The Peter Gabriel Partnership
In 1977, Levin joined Peter Gabriel’s band through producer Bob Ezrin, beginning a musical partnership that has lasted nearly 50 years. He played on Gabriel’s debut solo album and has remained his primary bassist ever since, contributing to landmark records like So and performing on Gabriel’s world tours for decades.
King Crimson and the Chapman Stick
Levin joined King Crimson in 1981 and has been a member across multiple incarnations spanning 1981-1984, 1994-1998, 2008, 2011, and 2014-2021. He popularized the Chapman Stick — a tapped stringed instrument — making it a signature element of Crimson’s sound. His bass and Stick work on albums like Discipline, Three of a Perfect Pair, and The Power to Believe helped define progressive rock’s modern era.
Session Legend
Levin has played on over 500 albums, including sessions with John Lennon, Paul Simon (Still Crazy After All These Years, 1975), Lou Reed (Berlin), Alice Cooper (Welcome to My Nightmare), Pink Floyd, Buddy Rich, Cher, Seal, and Yes. He co-founded the instrumental supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment with Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, and Jordan Rudess, and later formed Stick Men with Pat Mastelotto and Markus Reuter.
From a Rochester conservatory to the stages of the world, Tony Levin made the Woodstock area home base for one of the most prolific careers in modern music.