Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Tony Levin. The bassist and Chapman Stick player is best known for his work with King Crimson, Peter Gabriel and Stick Men, although his extensive CV has seen him play with some of the biggest names in rock and pop over the decades. He’s currently on tour with BEAT, performing the music of 80s King Crimson, and has just released a solo album, Bringing It Down To The Bass, with guest appearances from bandmates old and current, including Robert Fripp, Mike Portnoy and Pat Mastelotto. He discusses the stories behind the album and shares memories of David Bowie, John Lennon, King Crimson and Peter Gabriel.

TONY LEVIN

Words: Rob Hughes

Trying to grab a moment with Tony Levin is an art in itself. He is, after all, one of the busiest musicians on the planet. Since September, the 78-yearold bass supremo –veteran of countless tours and recordings with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson; contributor to albums by Pink Floyd, John Lennon, David Bowie, Todd Rundgren, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Richard Thompson and scores more; paid-up member of Liquid Tension Experiment and Stick Men, to name but two –has been out on the road.

Levin’s new solo album, Bringing It Down To The Bass, is out now.

“A busy musician is good,” he tells Prog over a video-call during a rare day off. “It’s when you don’t have any tours or shows then it’s a disaster. So this is fine.”

The genial Levin is speaking from a hotel room in LA, partway through the extensive BEAT tour of the States, wherein he and fellow ex-King Crimson bandmate Adrian Belew, alongside guitarist Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey, are revisiting the brilliant and complex music of three pivotal Crimson albums: Discipline, Beat and Three Of A Perfect Pair.

“The 80s Crimson was challenging and groundbreaking back then, but what’s really exciting to me now is the guys in the band and the level of musicality,” Levin enthuses. “And the fact that it goes in different directions. So that’s the fun part. It’s an adventure, it’s more of a journey.”

BEAT, L-R: Danny Carey, Steve Vai, Adrian Belew and Tony Levin onstage in San Diego, September 17, 2024.

DANIEL KNIGHTON/GETTY IMAGES

Bob Ezrin was producing Peter’s first solo album and brought me up to Toronto in the summer of ’76. And on that same day I met both Peter Gabriel and Robert Fripp. It turned out to be seminal for my career.

Levin’s own extraordinary journey began in 1950s Boston, where he studied classical music and mastered double bass. After attending the prestigious Eastman School Of Music in Rochester, he moved to New York City in the early 70s, establishing himself as an in-demand studio player. He recorded with Herbie Mann, Paul Simon and Alice Cooper, prior to meeting Peter Gabriel, newly liberated from Genesis, in 1976.