Pete Levin


Pete Levin is an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and record producer.
WWW petelevin.comFB pete.levin1

Career

Pete Levin grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts. His first instrument as a teenager was the French horn. He studied at Boston University and received a master's degree from Juilliard School in New York City. Levin was introduced to the Hammond organ by a fellow musician in the late 1960s while serving in the army. In the early 1970s he joined the Gil Evans Orchestra as a French horn player. At the time, Levin was experimenting with synthesizers. Evans incorporated Levin's synthesizer sound into the compositions and his role changed to a full-time keyboardist. His fifteen-year association with the Gil Evans Orchestra was followed by an eight-year association with Jimmy Giuffre.
Levin plays piano, Hammond organ, clavinet, and Moog synthesizer. He has produced several albums as a bandleader, including the 2007 Deacon Blues and Jump! in 2010. In 2014 he released a collaborative album with his brother, bassist Tony Levin, titled Levin Brothers. The album is a tribute to Oscar Pettiford and Julius Watkins.
Levin has performed for film and television scores 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. He has composed orchestral scores of his own for Zelimo and The Dybbuk. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for writing the official military band arrangement of the U.S. Infantry song.
He has worked with Carla Bley, Brubeck Brothers, Hiram Bullock, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Cobham, Willie Colón, Kal David, Miles Davis, Rachelle Farrell, Bryan Ferry, Gregory Hines, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Annie Lennox, Chuck Mangione, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Jaco Pastorius, Genya Ravan, Robbie Robertson, Salt-n-Pepa, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Wayne Shorter, Paul Simon, Lew Soloff, John Tropea, Joe Louis Walker, Vanessa Williams, and Lenny White.
Regarding his creative work, Levin stated that "All my arranging and orchestrating work is grounded in what I experience in live performance...My best and most creative ideas come from playing live."

Discography

As leader

Close To You: The Clams with Tony LevinThe New Age of Christmas with Danny GottliebMasters in This Hall with Danny GottliebParty in the Basement A Solitary Man Music for the Dybbuk Harmony Crystals Meditations with Ali RyersonZelimo Rhythm of the Spirit Deacon Blues Certified Organic Live in Foggia: Pete Levin Trio Jump! IridiumLive 008: 4-18-2012 Levin Brothers with Tony LevinSpecial Delivery with Tony LevinThe Monday Night Band: Live At The Cutting Room Möbius Live At Daryl's House with Tony LevinFade To Blue with Tony Levin
  • ''J.S. Bach Inventions & Sinfonias''

As sideman

With Marc BlackPictures of the Highway Live at the Bearsville Theater Sing for the Silenced
With Jay ChattawayManiac Invasion USA Maniac Cop Red Scorpion Maniac Cop 2
With John ClarkI Will The Odd Couple Quintet
With Bill ComeauSome Beautiful Day Grizzly Bear Hunt
With Gil EvansBlues in Orbit Svengali Live at Montreux The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix There Comes a Time The Tokyo Concert Live in Barcelona Priestess Parabola Gil Evans Live at the Royal Festival Hall London 1978 Live at the Public Theater (New York 1980) Lunar Eclipse Live at Sweet Basil Live at Sweet Basil Vol. 2 Bud and Bird Farewell The Honey Man Live at Umbria Jazz
With Rachelle FerrellFirst Instrument Somethin' Else
With Jimmy GiuffreDragonfly Quasar Liquid Dancers
With Richie HartBlues in the Alley Greasy Street
With Tony LevinWaters of Eden Resonator
With Amy RogellCome to the Playground Miles of Smiles
With Raphael RuddJoyfest The Awakening Chronicles
With John ScofieldElectric Outlet Slow Sco
With Lew SoloffHanalei Bay My Romance Little Wing
With Michael VeitchHeartlander Painted Heart The Veitch Boys
With Lou VolpeCan You Hear That Undercovers
With Lenny WhitePresent Tense Renderers of Spirit Edge
With othersSingalong Junk, Gap MangioneRejuvenation, Don ElliottA Piece of the Apple, New York MaryHeart to Heart, David SanbornLive at 55 Grand, Jaco PastoriusSo Nobody Else Can Hear, Jimmy CobbArchipeligo, Barb TruexManhattan Blue, Shunzo OhnoI'm a Survivor, ZuiceRobbie Robertson, Robbie RobertsonIn Touch, Amina Claudine MyersOn the Rise, Deborah Henson-ConantDade... In the Shade, Mark EganNaked to the World, Nicki RichardsIn Flight, Pieces of a DreamBody and Soul, Regina CarterBIII: Hard Rock Jazz, Toshihiko KankawaUptown Saturday Night Camp LoSmooth Romance, Janet MarloweTop of the Food Chain, Ellie SartyLa La Means Love, La LaSecond Nature, Brubeck BrothersThe Last Romantic, Artie TraumDuke, Billy & Tadd, Peter WelkerDays of Horses, Aztec Two StepThe O'Franken Factor Factor, Al FrankenGOP Party Monsters, Wayne LammersI Walk the Road Again, Happy TraumMyth Songs, Nick HumezForeign Funk, Keith MarksShining Hour, Jeff OsterKingsway, Roman KlunFlowers to Strangers, Lee MarvinLittle Girl Dreams, Athena ReichAfter the War, Rod MacDonaldWit of the Staircase, Andy RothsteinOutside Looking In, Charles LyonhartKaleidoscope, Lynette WashingtonAnd Here's to You, Betty MacDonald and Joe BeckFortune Cookie Philosophy, Erin HobsonLost in Space, GI BlytheCon Brio!, Ali RyersonLovers After All, Deborah WintersIntroducing Letizia Gambi, Letizia GambiCheesecake Girl, Genya RavanWild Animals, Robert CapowskyLeila Gobi, Leila GobiBaudi, Mamadou KellyDjamila, Mamadou KellyBarcelona Notebook, Vincent PasternakSonar, Nick HolmesUprising, Joan HenryBig City Blues, Ling ZhangWaxwing, Chrissy GardnerBlue Monday, Letizia GambiAll Kinds of Beki, Beki BrindleFind My Way, Hillary ChaseGood Old Songs, Rene Bailey Cool Night, Kathy IngrahamFlaming June, Kurt Henry
  • It's Called Love, Roseann Sureda