DESCRIPTION:
Anthony Frederick "Tony" Levin (born June 6, 1946, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer.
Levin is best known[1] for his work with progressive rock pioneers King Crimson and Peter Gabriel. He has also been a member of Liquid Tension Experiment; the King Crimson-related bands Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, ProjeKct One and ProjeKct Four; and currently leads his own band, Stick Men.
A prolific session musician since the 1970s, Levin has played on 500 albums, including those of Cher, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Buddy Rich, The Roches, Todd Rundgren, Seal, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Warren Zevon, Kevin Parent, Laurie Anderson, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Jean-Pierre Ferland. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Paul Simon (with whom Levin appeared in Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony), Gary Burton, James Taylor, Herbie Mann, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Peter Gabriel, Tim Finn, Richie Sambora, and Claudio Baglioni.[citation needed]
Levin helped to popularize the Chapman Stick and the NS upright bass. He also created "funk fingers", modified drumsticks attached to fingers used to hit the bass guitar strings (which sounds similar to slap style bass).