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Pete Levin
In a diverse music career spanning several decades, keyboardist/arranger Pete Levin has performed and recorded with hundreds of Jazz and Pop artists - including Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Lenny White, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastori
About Me
PETE LEVIN
In a diverse music career spanning several decades, keyboardist/arranger Pete Levin has
performed and recorded with hundreds of Jazz and Pop artists - including Paul Simon, Annie
Lennox, Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Lenny White, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Robbie
Robertson and John Scofield - receiving critical accolades for his work during a 15 year
association with the legendary Gil Evans, and his 8 year stint with jazz icon Jimmy Giuffre.
Pete has been part of New York's jazz, pop, and electronic music scene since the ‘70s. He
grew up with classical music, majoring in French horn at Boston University and later getting
a Master’s at the Juilliard School in New York. In New York, he also began playing Hammond
Organ with jazz and pop groups while doing recording work on French Horn. With a
developing interest in electronic music, in 1973 he bought a MiniMoog, the first high-quality
affordable analog synthesizer to come on the market. In 1974 he got a call to play horn with
legendary jazz arranger Gil Evans, and Gil made him a regular. A year later Pete brought a
Moog synthesizer to an Evans gig. Gil loved it and Pete's role was permanently changed as
the band morphed into the electronic/acoustic hybrid band that recorded 35 albums and won
2 Grammys. Among the first to explore synthesizers during the 70s, Pete became a sought-
after sideman for studio and live gigs. As a writer and musician he worked on film scores,
jazz and pop records, and hundreds of TV and radio commercials. As production techniques
changed during the 80s, Pete became a “programmer”, orchestrating with electronic sounds
and recording them on computer. Today, Pete continues to use the latest computer
technology combined with a mixture of new and vintage synthesizers, working in his own
and other studios.
Over the years, interspersed with Gil Evans, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox and Jimmy Giuffre
tours, Pete has done arranging and electronic music for feature films including MISSING IN
ACTION, LEAN ON ME, SILVER BULLET, THE COLOR OF MONEY and STAR TREK, the
orchestral score for the independent film, ZELIMO, an original music score for a stage
production of THE DYBBUK, the electronic music score for Linda Rodgers' award-winning
”Surgical Audiotape” series, the official band/chorus arrangement of the U.S. Infantry song,
and composed the anthem for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit, performing it twice in
the U.N. General Assembly. His favorite collaboration was with his brother, bassist Tony
Levin and drummer Steve Gadd - “THE CLAMS”, a Spike Jones tribute band - that produced a
top-40 hit single “CLOSE TO YOU”, now a cult classic. In 1989 Pete released his first solo
jazz album, “Party In The Basement”, for Grammavision. This was followed by “Solitary
Man”, two unique jazz Christmas CDs with drummer Danny Gottlieb, and a series of New
Age albums for Alternate Mode, including “Meditations”, a duo project with Jazz flautist Ali
Ryerson. In 2000, Pete returned to his first keyboard love, the Hammond Organ, and has
been recording and performing as a band leader in organ trio format. He has released 3 solo
albums in that format, “Deacon Blues,” “Certified Organic,” and “Jump!” In 2014, Pete formed
a jazz quartet with his brother, bassist Tony Levin, “The Levin Brothers.” Doing vintage jazz in
the cool/bebop style of the 1950’s, their debut album was released in 2014. They have
released 3 albums since then. After releasing a solo jazz album “Mobius” in 2017, Pete is
now working on another one, as well as a tribute project with the “Gil Evans Remembered”
band, an ensemble composed of 11 all-star alumni of the Gil Evans Orchestra from the 70’s
and 80’s. The GER band performed at major European jazz festivals in July 2024. Pete is
also revisiting his love of electronic music. With the new Moog Music's flagship model “One”
in his home studio, Pete is working on electronic realizations of classical pieces, beginning
with the suite “Inventions and Symphonias” by J.S. Bach.
Between 1964 and 2025 Pete has recorded and/or performed live with artists & groups,
including ...
Michael Allman, Gary Anderson, Annie & The Hedonists, Ron Aprea, Nikki Armstrong, Nanny
Assis, Jennifer Aylmer, Aztec Two Step, Band of Brothers, Dave Bargeron, Beastie Boys, Joe
Beck, Bele Beledo, Jeff Berlin, Marc Black, Terrance Blanchard, Carla Bley, Blood Sweat &
Tears, Blues Project, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bozo The Clown,
Beki Brindle, Broadside Brass Bed Band, Hugh Brodie, Brubeck Brothers, Cliff Brucker, Hiram
Bullock, Butterfield Blues Band, Donald Byrd, Don Byron, Rennie Cantine, Rob Carlson,
Rondi Charleston, Hillary Chase, Jay Chattaway, Tommy Chong, Popa Chubby, Jeff Ciampa,
The City Boys All-Stars, The Clams, John Clark, Jay Clayton, Jimmy Cobb, D.A. Cole, Judy
Collins, Willie Colon, Bill Comeau, Commander Cody, Gene Cornish, Murali Coryell, Cray &
Dempsey, Albert Cummings, David Darling, Kal David, Betty Davis, Miles Davis, Debbie
Deane, Mike DeMicco Angela Deniro, Derek Dempsey, Kenwood Dennard, Danny Draher,
Robbie Dupree, Mark Egan, Don Elliott, Eric Erickson, Gil Evans, Miles Evans, Fania All-Stars,
Rachelle Farelle, Five Satins, Bryan Ferry, Alex Foster, Fanne Foxe, Al Franken, Letizia Gambi,
Gil Evans Remembered Band, Jimmy Giuffre, Leila Gobi, Danny Gottlieb, Government Mule,
Nicole Hart, Richie Hart, Jonas Helborg, Deborah Henson-Conant, Jana Herzen, Gregory
Hines, Nick Holmes, D.R. Hooker, Ted Horowitz, Freddie Hubbard, Chris Hunter, Kathy
Ingraham, Mike Jackson, Howard Johnson, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Band, Toshihiko Kankawa,
Mamadou Kelly, La La, Pat LaBarbera, Wayne Lammers, Arnie Lawrence, Annie Lennox, Tony
Levin, Levin Brothers Band, Betty MacDonald, Rod MacDonald, Al MacDowell, Machan, Mike
Mainieri, Tom Malone, Melissa Manchester, Chuck Mangione, Gap Mangione, Manhattan
Project, Lou Marini, Janet Marlowe, Jerry Marotta, Emilio Martins, Lisa Maxwell, Liza Minnelli,
Charles Mingus, Tommy Mitchell, Sam Morrison, Gerry Mulligan, Amina Claudine Myers,
Carol Nethen, Olivia Newton-John, New York Mary, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Alwin
Nikolais, Shunzo Ohno, Olsen Twins, Ola Onabule, Al Orlo, Rob Paparozzi, Jon Paris, Jaco
Pastorius, Eric Person, Scott Petito, Simon Phillips, Pieces Of A Dream, Lorenza Ponce, Popa
Chubby, Genya Ravan, Nicki Richards, Robbie Robertson, Teri Roiger, Raphael Rudd, Bobby
Rydell, Ali Ryerson, Emily Saaen, Salt 'N Pepa, David Sanborn,John Scofield, Marlene Shaw,
Wayne Shorter, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, David Snider, Marilyn Sokol, Lew Soloff, Roseann
Sureda, Livingston Taylor, Vaneese Thomas, Andy Toomey, Artie Traum, Happy Traum, John
Tropea, Joe Lynn Turner, Uncle Funk, Michal Urbaniak, Jimmy Vivino, Filippo Voltaggio, Joe
Louis Walker, Ernie Watts, Jim Weider, Peter Welker, Lenny White, Vanessa Williams,
Woodstock All-Stars, Ling Zhang
