Mario Pavone To Unveil New Band At New York Gigs In August

Photo by Juan Carlos Hernandez

Eminent bassist/composer Mario Pavone will perform in New York with his newest ensemble, Quartet Arc, at The Stone on Saturday, August 22nd and The Local 269 on Sunday, August 23rd. These concerts mark the first-ever performances by this configuration of frequent Pavone collaborators, which performs new material as well as new arrangements of older music from Pavone’s vast catalog. Quartet Arc features tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, trumpeter Dave Ballou and drummers Tyshawn Sorey (August 22nd only) and Tom Rainey (August 23rd only).

“On his day,” declared veteran jazz reviewer Brian Morton in Point of Departure, “Mario Pavone is one of the very best—and when on his game, by far the best—small-group composer/leaders working on the East Coast.” Critics have called him “a smart composer” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and “a protean bassist” (Paul Blair, Hot House) who “never fails to implant an effective hook” (Bill Shoemaker, DownBeat) and “continues to move the tradition forward with every record” (John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com). His music has been described as “exciting and stimulating” (Jay Collins, Cadence), “sensitive and probing” (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant) and “full of smart angular swagger” (Michael Rosenstein, Signal to Noise).

Pavone has spent the past four decades defining the cutting edge of jazz, both as a sideman to legendary innovators and the leader of groups featuring some of today’s most respected young improvisers. As busy as ever at nearly 70 years old, he released two notable records in 2008: Trio Arc, featuring Paul Bley and Matt Wilson, and Ancestors, featuring his Double Tenor Quintet with Malaby and Jimmy Greene. So far this year he’s also performed with groups such as the Connecticut Improvising Composers Project and his intergenerational trio with Sorey and saxophonist Pete Robbins, which will perform at The Stone on August 21st. He was also awarded a 2009 New Jazz Works Grant from Chamber Music America.

Learn more at http://www.mariopavone.com