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Mario Pavone: Street Songs
By
Mario Pavone
bass1940 - 2021
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
piano1932 - 2016

Bill Dixon
trumpet1925 - 2010

Thomas Chapin
saxophone1957 - 1998

Anthony Braxton
woodwindsb.1945

Wadada Leo Smith
trumpetb.1941

Tony Malaby
saxophone, tenor
Jimmy Greene
saxophoneThis sextet swaps the tenors for a second bassist, Carl Testa, and accordionist. The remainder of the bandmates are his frequent collaborators, drummer Steve Johns, pianist

Peter Madsen
pianob.1955

Dave Ballou
trumpet
Steven Bernstein
trumpetb.1961
He navigates the opening track "Elkna" with a marching tone. Muted trumpet plays off the deep tones and tight bends of the piece. Matlock's accordion parades with the bass allowing for Madsen's Monk-like notes to spill forth. Pavone favors an intricate weave to his music with tight turns on "Streetsong," a sly and squiggly dance between players "Cobalt Stories," but also an urbane sense of swing, "Alban Berg." Ballou's horn completes the music here with crystal notes, gutbucket blats, and skittering waterbug expressions. The accordion flavors the music by separating the bowed bass of Testa from the plucked one of Pavone on "Deez." Its bellowed sounds make even the most cosmopolitan arrangements seem at home in the old neighborhood. ">
Track Listing
Elkna; Streetsong; Cobalt Stories; Short Story; Alban Berg; Mythos; The Dom; Dees; Eyto.
Personnel
Mario Pavone
bassMario Pavone: bass; Dave Ballou: cornet,flugelhorn; Peter Madsen: piano; Adam Matlock: accordion; Carl Testa; bass; Steve Johns: drums.
Album information
Title: Street Songs | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Playscape Recordings
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