Mario Pavone, born November 11, 1940 and died May 15, 2021 was an American jazz musician, composer, and bandleader. Pavone was born in Waterbury (Connecticut). Pavone was educated at B. W. Tinker grammar, Leavenworth High School and at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. He graduated with a B.S. in engineering. Mario became inspired to learn the bass after Joe Diorio, a world-renowned guitarist, saw him as an unrealized musician. He was self-taught and a natural at playing the instrument. Pavone started playing bass shortly after seeing John Coltrane perform at the Village Vanguard in 1962. He toured Europe in the 1960s, and his career took off. He was also involved in jazz loft era jam sessions in New York City. He began performing in 1965. Pavone, Wadada Lee Smith and Gerry Hemingway founded the New Haven-based Creative Musicians Improvising Forum in 1975. They were influenced by Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Here was his first venture into composition. He was part of the trio that included Paul Bley from 1968 to 1972 and Bill Dixon during the 1980s. He performed with Smith, Barry Altschul, and Hemingway. Pavone’s first album as a leader was recorded in 1979. In the early 1990s, Pavone co-led a group that featured Anthony Braxton. Braxton played piano instead of his usual saxophones. He began a 18-year relationship musically with Thomas Chapin in 1980. The group recorded seven albums with Michael Sarin as drummer. Knitting Factory Records also released an 8-CD box set featuring these albums and a live recording after Chapin’s passing in 1998. His bands include Matt Wilson, Gerald Cleaver and Peter Madsen. He also recorded with Tony Malaby. Dave Douglas, Steven Bernstein. George Schuller, Craig Taborn, Jimmy Greene, and Tony Malaby. His compositions and performances are documented on over 40 recordings. From Wikipedia
