Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1946, the bassist Tony Levin is one of the most famous session musicians of all time. During his career he played on records by Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, Robbie Robertson, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, David Bowie and Pink Floyd.
Roger Waters left the band in the mid-80s and thought the group would be over since he was their main lyricist. However, David Gilmour and Nick Mason later decided to continue with the same name and invited the original keyboardist Richard Wright back. Their comeback record was “A Momentary Lapse of Reason”, released in 1987. Many session musicians were part of the album, including Tony Levin, who played the bass and chapman stick on the entire record.
In an interview with Vulture he explained what it’s like to work with David Gilmour.
Tony Levin explains what it’s like to work with David Gilmour
“David Gilmour asked me to play bass on the album after Roger Waters famously left the band, thinking it was the end of them. I wasn’t part of any of the band’s intrigue and was thrilled to enter into the world of trying to play appropriately for a Pink Floyd context but also be somewhat myself.”
“I brought out the Chapman Stick, an instrument I can play as a bass. It’s not the most common instrument, but I use it as one of my regular basses. I found David to be a fascinating guy and a real gentleman – a wonderful person to be with.”
“I can remember one instance when I had a long vamp out and I played an extra few notes. I’m not talking about a fast bass riff here; I’m just talking about a couple notes.”
“After the take, when we got together to listen, David smiled and said, ‘Tony, in Pink Floyd you don’t do that extra couple notes until far later.’ I had the right idea, but I did it too quickly. He was silently saying, ‘You don’t know that, but the rest of us do,'” Tony Levin said.
As a tour musician, Tony Levin also played with a huge amount of stars. Some of them are Peter Frampton, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Judy Collins, Richie Sambora and Carly Simon.