No Treble’s 2024 Reader Favorite Bassists – #1: How Tony Levin Defined Excellence

Tony Levin tacked on another incredible year to his remarkable career in 2024.

First, the music world was overjoyed to learn of BEAT, the 80’s King Crimson-era band consisting of Tony, Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, and Danny Carey would be hitting the road for an extensive tour.

Within a day of that tour starting, Tony released his first solo album since 2007. Bringing It Down To The Bass is a masterful record with an all-star cast.

Just as the BEAT tour was about to kick off, we sat down with Tony for an extensive interview, where he revealed the impact of Steve Gadd on his career, the “very special” bass he used on his solo album, how he checks to see if a bass is good, the BEAT tour, and more.

With his extensive career, we also unearthed some videos from back in the day, which generated a lot of buzz.

So, it’s no surprise to any of us that Tony topped this year’s Reader Favorite list.

Adrian Belew To Revisit King Crimson Music with Tony Levin, Danny Carey, and Steve Vai

Adrian Belew has announced a new project called Beat that will perform music from his era in King Crimson. Tony Levin will be joining him for it as well as guitarist Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey.

Tony Levin Speaks on Basses He Used on New Album, Reveals Unusual Way He Checks If a Bass Is Good

For Tony Levin, a bass guitar is an endless playground. However, in our recent interview, he revealed a surprisingly simple way of testing whether a bass guitar is good.

Tony Levin Announces Solo Album, “Bringing It Down To The Bass”

It’s a big year for Tony Levin. He’s gearing up for the highly anticipated BEAT tour, but he’s also just announced that he’s releasing a solo album next month, too. “Bringing It Down to the Bass” marks the bass icon’s seventh solo album and his first since 2007.

Steve Gadd & Tony Levin: Bass and Drums Groove (1972)

From the 1972 Montreux show, Steve Gadd and Tony Levin are throwing down on a sweet groove. This was filmed during their performance with Chuck Mangione.

BEAT (Belew, Levin, Vai, Carey): “Sleepless” Live in San Jose

The highly anticipated BEAT tour began on Thursday in San Jose, California. Here’s the quartet of Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Steve Vai, and Danny Carey performing “Sleepless” from “Three of a Perfect Pair.”

King Crimson: Elephant Talk (Live At The Warfield Theatre, San Francisco 1995)

I love Bill Bruford’s YouTube channel. He recently shared a video that brought me back to my high school days – and a VHS tape of King Crimson’s 1984 performance in Tokyo. “Elephant Talk” was one of the highlights for me, with Tony Levin performing masterfully on the Stick.