King Crimson’s Tony Levin: Bringing it Down to the Bass

In a remarkable convergence of musical paths, legendary bassist Tony Levin finds himself at the centre of two significant projects: his seventh solo album’s release and an extraordinary tour redefining progressive rock classics. The BEAT tour, uniting former King Crimson members Levin and Adrian Belew with guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and Tool’s powerhouse drummer Danny Carey, is breathing new life into King Crimson’s seminal 1980s trilogy – ‘Discipline,’ ‘Beat,’ and ‘Three of a Perfect Pair.’

‘When I was offered this, I thought about doing my tour to promote the album release,’ Levin reflects, speaking from a snow-bound Holiday Inn in Northern California. ‘But this was a better tour. I could do my own thing, or I could do this with these great players and be inspired by them.’ This choice speaks volumes about Levin’s perpetual pursuit of musical excellence, even at 78.

The tour, an ambitious 65-show journey across North America, is entering its final leg with 17 remaining shows, including highly anticipated performances at iconic venues like Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre and Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre. Yet amidst this intensive schedule, Levin’s enthusiasm for his latest solo venture, ‘Bringing it Down to the Bass,’ remains palpable.

A Genre All His Own

Levin’s seventh solo album, ‘Bringing it Down to the Bass,’ defies easy categorization, echoing painter Wassily Kandinsky’s famous assertion that ‘there is no must in art because art is free.’ This sentiment resonates deeply in Levin’s approach to his craft. ‘Sometimes artists are not experts at genres,’ he reflects, ‘because journalists are the ones and listeners put things in categories, whereas we… a lot of us are trying, maybe not succeeding, but trying to just do our own thing and have it be unique and genreless.’

Like Miles Davis, who once declared ‘I don’t care if a dude is purple with green breath as long as he can swing,’ Levin prioritizes artistic authenticity over genre conventions. ‘I was not scrupulous about genre,’ he admits. ‘I could have clearly fit it into a jazz genre, but I didn’t. To me it’s more rock than jazz, but there are a lot of instrumentals.’ This resistance to categorization places Levin in the company of boundary-pushing artists like David Bowie, who famously said ‘I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.’

The project features an impressive roster of collaborators and showcases various bass techniques and sounds. ‘I really let myself obsess on the baseness of it,’ Levin explains, describing how most compositions began with a bass part, technique, or sound. ‘I took portraits, photo portraits of each bass used outdoors in unusual settings, and then I insisted with the label that they include a 16-page booklet of those photos and little stories about the bases.’

This deep dive into his primary instrument reflects a lifelong passion that began in childhood. When asked about his attraction to the bass, Levin recalls asking his elderly parents about his early musical choice. Their memory? A simple declaration from their ten-year-old son: ‘I just like the bass.’

The Creative Process

The album’s creation was a journey of patience and opportunity. ‘About a year and a half ago, I looked at the amount of material I had, and I thought to myself, if I don’t carve out a little time to complete it… to get the other players on a lot of it – some of it had other players on it – and choose which of the pieces… if I don’t do that, it’s never going to come out. And why am I really writing all this music and recording it?’

Among the album’s standout tracks is ‘Road Dogs,’ which Levin cites as particularly enjoyable to create. The piece evolved organically, beginning with a bass vibe before taking an unexpected turn. ‘I wanted to add a fretless bass through a vocoder,’ he explains. ‘But when I didn’t have it ready, I sang “road dogs” into a mic as a reminder.’ When the vocoder experiment ultimately failed, the temporary vocal became a permanent feature, demonstrating Levin’s willingness to let compositions find their own path.

Life on the Road

Currently 45 shows into a 65-date tour, Levin maintains his passion for performance despite the challenges of touring at his age. ‘Those two hours that I play really good music every night are what I dream of,’ he reflects. ‘It’s what I love to do. It’s just what I am. It’s when I’m completely myself.’

This appreciation has only deepened with time. ‘In my thirties or forties, I began to be aware of how lucky I am to be able to do what I’m doing,’ he shares. ‘There’s a lot of musicians who love playing music, and not all of us are lucky enough to be successful enough that you can keep doing it with good players.’

The Never-Ending Journey

Despite decades in the industry, Levin’s passion for performance remains undimmed. ‘I’ve had a whole, quite a lengthy career and half a lifetime at least, just playing the bass, and I still enjoy it as much as I did when I was 10 years old,’ he reflects. ‘So it was a good decision that maybe came from an inner part of me that had no ulterior idea about what success would be… I wasn’t aiming at being a star or being on stage or anything like that. I just want to play the bass. I still just want to play the bass.’

When asked about his current musical inspirations, Levin mentions Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, though he admits that the demanding schedule of a working musician leaves little time for casual listening. ‘The life of musicians like me is we don’t have time to listen to music. All your day is occupied with sound checks and doing this music.’

As The Beat tour continues, bringing King Crimson’s music to new audiences with a fresh lineup, Levin remains focused on the joy of performance. ‘The show is really very interesting and the level of musicianship… the other three guys are super players, and it’s worth seeing. People are loving the shows.’

For a musician who started his journey at the Eastman School of Music and played with the Rochester Philharmonic before venturing into jazz and rock, Levin’s career stands as a testament to following one’s passion wherever it leads. As he puts it simply, ‘I still just want to play the bass.’