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In a diverse
music career spanning several decades, keyboardist/arranger
Pete Levin has performed and recorded with hundreds of Jazz
and Pop artists - including Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Miles
Davis, David Sanborn, Lenny White, Wayne Shorter, Jaco
Pastorius, Robbie Robertson and John Scofield - receiving
critical accolades for his work during a 15 year association
with the legendary Gil Evans, and his 8 year stint with jazz
icon Jimmy Giuffre.
While playing
French Horn with the Gil Evans Orchestra in the early 70s,
Levin brought a Moog Synthesizer to a gig at New York’s
Village Vanguard. Already known as a “go to” synthesizer
specialist, Pete was at the vanguard of that technology. Gil
loved it and Levin’s role was permanently changed as the
band transformed itself into the electric/acoustic hybrid
ensemble that captivated audiences worldwide for years,
winning two Grammy® awards along the way.
An in-demand
New York session keyboardist, Levin has also created
electronic realizations for hundreds of TV commercials,
dramatic series and feature films, including “Missing in
Action,” “Lean on Me,” “Silver Bullet,” “Red Scorpion,” “The
Color of Money,” “Maniac,” “Spin City,” “America’s Most
Wanted” and “Star Trek.” In a dizzying array of unrelated
commissions, Levin composed orchestral scores for the
feature film “Zelimo” and for a stage production of “The
Dybbuk;” had the honor of composing the anthem for the 1992
United Nations Earth summit, “The Future is in Our Hands,”
performing it twice for the U.N. General Assembly; and, as
far removed from Jazz as it gets, was awarded the Army
Commendation Medal for writing the official military band
arrangement of the U.S. Infantry song.
But Levin,
whose wry sense of humor is never far from the surface,
reveals that his all time favorite recording session
produced the top-40 hit single “Close to You” by The Clams,
a Spike Jones tribute band formed with his brother, bassist
Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson), drummer Steve Gadd
(Eric Clapton, Paul Simon) and Grammy® winning recording
engineer Dixon Van Winkle (Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra).
Thirty years later the recording is still a cult classic.
In 1990,
Levin signed with Gramavision to release his first solo jazz
album, “Party in the Basement,” followed by “Solitary Man”
in 1991. Collaborating with drummer Danny Gottlieb, Pete
released “The New Age of Christmas” on Atlantic and “Masters
in this Hall” for Gramavision. In the years following, he
released four New Age CDs for Alternate Mode Productions,
and a variety of eclectic albums for independent labels.
With “Deacon
Blues,” Pete Levin returns to the cutting edge as a band
leader, while tipping his hat to his mainstream jazz roots.
Expanding on the traditional organ trio format, his
innovative arrangements are flavored with soul, samba and
hip-hop grooves. The set mixes four Levin originals with his
unique treatments of familiar classics, including Steely
Dan’s “Deacon Blues,” Ralph Towner’s “Icarus,” the Beach
Boys’ “Sail on Sailor” and Erik Satie’s “First Gymnopedie.”
The album features outstanding performances by bassist Tony
Levin, guitarist Mike DeMicco, percussionists Ken Lovelett
and Carlos Valdez, legendary jazz guitarist Joe Beck, and
drummer, Danny Gottlieb. For Levin, this recording was a
labor of love.
Veteran
career side men and solo recording artists, both Levin
brothers produce their own albums close to home,
collaborating with other world-class musicians in their
Woodstock, New York community. Pete’s Hammond is featured on
Tony’s latest critically acclaimed Narada release,
“Resonator,” while Tony’s basses grace several tracks on
Pete’s “Deacon Blues.”
Pete
currently tours playing piano and organ with The Tony Levin
Band, his brother’s high octane Progressive Rock quintet
that plays world-wide to sold out houses. Plans are in the
works for double bill concerts with Pete’s trio opening for
the Tony’s band in a historic pairing that aims to fire up
legions of crossover music fans, as Tony’s fiery progressive
rock is paired with Pete’s contemporary, improvisational
jazz. |
