Jazz Articles about Mario Pavone

About Mario Pavone

Radio & Podcasts

A Focus on Mario Pavone & More

by Bob Osborne
January 18, 2019

This week a focus on master bassist Mario Pavone who, after a life of partnerships with the likes of Paul Bley, Bill Dixon, Thomas Chapin, Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, Marty Ehrlich and others of similar status, has come to the fore in recent years with his own releases as leader. In addition a selection of new releases, and some picks from the archive. Playlist Brom “Plunge Into an Ice Hole" from Sunstroke (Trost) 00:00 Burak Bedikyan “Magic Carpet" from ...

Album Review

Mario Pavone: Vertical

by Don Phipps
January 16, 2018

The moody, complex, witty, playful and abstract music found on Vertical can only result from the combined genius of six talented musicians. And Mario Pavone has assembled just such an ensemble for this release. Pedigree aside, this music explores gentle improvisation and abstractions, a formless within form approach that echoes the work of Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland, and Charles Mingus. All tracks open in clever and interesting ways. Take the initial piece, “Ellipse," with its syncopated bop start. ...

Album Review

Mario Pavone Dialect Trio: Chrome

Read "Chrome" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 11, 2017

Piano trios seeking a level of parity of instrumental input are common. Those who achieve a high level of piano/bass/drums democracy develop a group sound born of a melding of musical personalities. With strong personalities all around--as on the Mario Pavone Dialect Trio--a beautiful tumult is born. Chrome is bassist Pavone's second Dialect Trio release, following 2015's Blue Dialect (Playscape Recordings). A big part of the allure of Chrome is the head-bumping and elbow throwing between the three ...

Album Review

Mario Pavone: Blue Dialect

Read "Blue Dialect" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
July 24, 2015

Gone are the days where a jazz trio maintains a three month residency, playing nightly in a club. Nor are there world traveling units that refine their skills nightly on the road, working and reworking material. There will be no more piano trios led by the likes of Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans. But have no fear, there are combinations, encounters, and partnerships that come together with just the players to make special music. Bassist Mario Pavone's new ...

Album Review

Mario Pavone: Street Songs

Read "Street Songs" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
March 2, 2015

Mario Pavone ha un posto centrale nella musica creativa statunitense, avendo suonato con alcuni dei più importanti innovatori degli ultimi cinquant'anni--come Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith e Marty Ehrlich--e avendo avuto sodalizi stabili prima con Paul Bley, poi con Bill Dixon e infine con il compianto Thomas Chapin. Dopo la morte di quest'ultimo, con il quale aveva suonato per diciotto anni, Pavone ha registrato quasi esclusivamente con gruppi a proprio nome, l'ultimo dei quali è il sestetto che dà vita ...

Album Review

Mario Pavone: Street Songs

Read "Street Songs" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
April 30, 2014

Listing an accordion in a jazz sextet's lineup evokes either thoughts of avant-garde leanings or maybe kitschy hipsterism. Not so for bassist Mario Pavone. Street Songs includes Adam Matlock's bellows-driven squeezebox, not as a gimcrack ornament, but a link to the immigrant working class neighborhood music of Pavone's post-WW II youth. The musician's history is significant because his bass has anchored modern music including bands by innovators such as Paul Bley, Bill Dixon, Thomas Chapin, Anthony Braxton, and ...

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Album Review

Mario Pavone Orange Double Tenor: Arc Suite t/pi t/po

Read "Arc Suite t/pi t/po" reviewed by Nic Jones

by Nic Jones
November 6, 2010

This release is something of a milestone for bassist and leader Mario Pavone. Now in his 70th year, he's also in his 45th year in music, which in a lot of cases would understandably mark a slowing down or restatement of established values. But Pavone is nothing if not forward-looking. So while looking back to the 1960s for inspiration for this music, he's succeeded in putting together a program alive with contemporary values.In order for this to happen, ...