Tony Levin is far and away my favorite musi­cian. Even before I picked up the bass gui­tar, I kept find­ing his name in the lin­er notes of my most-​liked albums. I’ve seen him play with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Stick Men, and with his broth­er Pete play­ing in their Levin Brothers jazz combo.

And of course, once I did start study­ing his bass (and Chapman Stick) lines, they were a rev­e­la­tion. Endlessly cre­ative, both dri­ving and being dri­ven by the song, only showy when the moment called for it, flu­id, some­times fierce, always the per­fect mix­ture of tech­nique and emotion.

I’m due to see Stick Men when they swing down to Houston in two months. Until then, here’s their lat­est EP: