Mark Levinson

Mark Levinson (born December 11, 1946) is an American audio equipment designer, recording and mastering engineer, and multi-instrumentalist musician. He was formerly married to the actress Kim Cattrall.

Career Mark Levinson worked as the bassist for jazz pianist Paul Bley (in 1966 through 1971 by his own account), and mentions other renowned jazz musicians with whom he played then. Bley's memoir has a 1965 photo of his trio with Levinson and Barry Altschul, and tells of touring and recording in Europe with them in 1966. Bley describes Levinson and Altschul as "a rhythm section with a wide range of talents".

Levinson won the case in 1986 but lost the right to use his name as a trade name on an audio product. For this reason, since several years before the lawsuit, "Mark Levinson" branded audio products have had no relationship to the brand's founder; the "Mark Levinson" brand name has been and continues to be an intellectual property wholly owned by Harman International. In resolving the case, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals wrote a 25-page decision that outlined the rights of entrepreneurs who use their own name as the name of a company. Levinson himself has continued to work in the industry, creating several new companies.

Levinson ran his second company, Cello Ltd., from 1984 to 1998. With Cello, Levinson created high-priced models such as the Audio Palette. In 1999, Levinson founded Red Rose Music, an audio company with its own New York retail store on Madison Avenue. The business model of Red Rose was to create compact, affordable products with very high-quality sound.

In 2007, Levinson moved to Switzerland and used his consulting revenue to finance the founding of Daniel Hertz S.A., an audio equipment and audio software company.

Personal life Mark Levinson and the actress Kim Cattrall were married from 1998 to 2004. The couple co-wrote the book Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm (2002).

Discography Nearly all of Levinson's recorded work as a jazz bassist was in jazz piano trios led by Paul Bley, with Barry Altschul on drums. Paul Bley – Ramblin', Red Records, Rome 1966 Paul Bley – Blood, Fontana, Baarn, Netherlands 1966 Paul Bley – International Jazz Festival, Praha '66, Supraphon, Prague, 1966. One track, "Ramblin'". Paul Bley – Paul Bley In Haarlem - Blood, Freedom, Haarlem 1966 Paul Bley – Ballads, ECM, New York City 1967 Doug Levinson – Jazz At Long Wharf, Acoustic Recording Series, France 1978