Michael A. Levine

Birthday: 20 February 1964, Tokyo, Japan

Birth Name: Michael Alan Levine

Born in Tokyo, raised in the Midwest, Michael A. Levine began his career in music when he moved to New York City where his first job was playing violin on the streets. He soon was playing in bands and ...Show More

Born in Tokyo, raised in the Midwest, Michael A. Levine began his career in music when he moved to New York City where his first job was playing violin on the streets. He soon was playing in bands and on records, working with Carla Bley, Shaun Colvin, Lenny Kravitz, Grandmaster Flash, Cher, and many others. He then began writing music for advertising where his classic work for Mitsubishi Eclipse combined a Japanese flute, an operatic soprano, world percussion, and electronically processed animal noises. It won him the first of two Clio awards. He is also known for the jingles he composed: "Wacky Wild Kool-Aid Style," "Motts and Motts of Motts," and, most famously, "Gimme a Break" (for Kit Kat).In 1995, fledgling director Keith Thomson asked Levine to score a short film called Cupidity. Shot in a day on leftover film stock, the no-budget comedy became an award-winning hit after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Besides his TV and independent film work, Levine has served as support composer and player for Hans Zimmer (The Simpsons Movie, Batman: Dark Knight), Harry Gregson-Williams (Veronica Guerin), Rupert Gregson-Williams (Bee Movie), and Cliff Martinez (Wicker Park).In 2003 Levine was asked to score the CBS detective drama, Cold Case. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Bros., Cold Case ran for seven seasons. ASCAP awarded Michael its Film and Television Music Award for the show every year from 2004 to 2010. In 2005, Michael was asked to score a second drama for Bruckheimer/Warners/CBS, called Close To Home.Levine also composed the score for Adrift In Manhattan, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, starring Heather Graham and William Baldwin. In 2008, Levine scored Columbus Day, starring Val Kilmer and Wilmer Valderrama.With Michael Wolff, Michael worked as song producer for the hit Nickelodeon show "The Naked Bros. Band". The show premiered February, 2007 and was a mockumentary about the world's greatest kids band.Levine continues to write art music. His "Divination By Mirrors" - a concerto for musical saw and orchestra - was performed by San Francisco's New Century Chamber Orchestra in 2003 with Dale Stuckenbruck as saw soloist. His concerto for pedal steel guitar and orchestra was premiered by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra in 2005 and featured steel guitar virtuoso Gary Morse. Hide