Tony Levin

Who was Tony Levin?

Tony Levin was an English jazz drummer.

Levin played at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in the 1960s with artists including Joe Harriott, Al Cohn, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Zoot Sims, and Toots Thielemanns.

Levin was born in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, where his family had been evacuated in the Second World War; they subsequently returned to Birmingham, where as a teenager Levin taught himself to play the drums and began an involvement with the jazz scene.

His first major position came when he joined Tubby Hayes' Quartet. He worked with numerous groups and artists, including the Alan Skidmore quintet, Humphrey Lyttelton band, John Taylor, Ian Carr's Nucleus, Stan Sulzmann quartet, Gordon Beck's Gyroscope, duo with John Surman, European Jazz Ensemble, Third Eye, Rob van den Broeck, Philip Catherine's trio and quartet, Sophia Domancich Trio, Philippe Aerts trio and quartet.

From 1980, Levin worked extensively with saxophonist Paul Dunmall, including as a member of the free jazz quartet Mujician, also with Paul Rogers and Keith Tippett. In 1994, Levin released his solo album Spiritual Empathy, again with Dunmall on saxophones.