John Patitucci Biography

American jazz b*ist and composer

Musical artist

John Pa*ucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz b*ist and composer.

Biography

John James Pa*ucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing the electric b* at age 10, performing and composing at age 12, and at age 15, started playing the acoustic b*, as well as piano by age 16. He listened to b* parts in R&B songs on the radio and on his grandfather's jazz records. He cites as influences Oscar Peterson's albums with Ray Brown and Wes Montgomery's with Ron Carter. For the development of rhythm, he points to the time he has spent with Danilo Pérez, a pianist from Panama.

John Pa*ucci and Wayne Shorter with the Wayne Shorter Quartet at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Milan, Italy, 2010

In the late 1970s he studied acoustic b* at San Francisco State University and Long Beach State University. He began his professional career when he moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and made connections with Henry Mancini, Dave Grusin, and Tom Scott. From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s he was a member of three Chick Corea groups: the Elektric Band, the Akoustic Band, and the quartet. As a leader he formed a trio with Joey Calderazzo and Peter Erskine, and a quartet with Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Tavaglione, and John Beasley. He has played with Herbie Han*, Wayne Shorter, and Roy Haynes. Pa*ucci switches between double b* and electric b*.

He was the artistic director of the B* Collective, a school for b*ists in New York City and is involved with the Thelonious Monk Ins*ute of Jazz and the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program. He was Professor of Jazz Studies at City College of New York. In June 2012 he started the Online Jazz B* School. He was appointed artist in residence at Berklee College of Music.

Back in Brooklyn

Back in Brooklyn is a do*entary about Pa*ucci released by August Sky Films in 2015. Directed by Patrick Cone, the film includes footage from rehearsals, studio sessions, live performances, and interviews with Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Han*. The do*entary was filmed during or around the time Pa*ucci's album Brooklyn was recorded.

Awards and honors

• Most Valuable Player, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 1986
• Best Jazz B*ist, Guitar Player magazine Readers' Poll, 1992, 1994, 1995
• Best Jazz B*ist, B* Player magazine Readers' Poll, 1993–1996
• Grammy Award nomination, Beyond the Sound Barrier as member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group, 2005
• Lifetime Achievement award, B* Player magazine, 2019

Discography

As leader/co-leader

• John Pa*ucci (GRP, 1987)
• On the Corner (GRP, 1989)
• Sketchbook (GRP, 1990)
• Heart of the B* (Stretch, 1992)
• Another World (GRP, 1993)
• Mistura Fina (GRP, 1995)
• One More Angel (Concord, 1997)
• Now (Concord, 1998)
• Imprint (Concord, 2000)
• Communion (Concord, 2001)
• Songs, Stories & Spirituals (Concord, 2003)
• Line by Line (Concord, 2006)
• Remembrance (Concord, 2009)
• Viva Hermeto! with André Marques, Brian Blade (Borandá, 2014)
• Brooklyn (Three Faces, 2015)
• Soul of the B* (Three Faces, 2019)

As group

Tamarack

• Tamarack (Parbar Music, 1981)

The Hudson Project with Peter Erskine, John Abercrombie, Bob Mintzer

• The Hudson Project (Stretch, 2000) – live recorded in 1998

The Great Jazz Trio

• 'S Wonderful with Hank Jones, Jack DeJohnette (Eighty-eight's, 2004)
• Speak Low with Hank Jones and Jack DeJohnette (Eighty-Eight's, 2005)
• Stella by Starlight with Hank Jones and Omar Hakim and guest Sadao Watanabe (Eighty-Eight's, 2006)
• July 5 th - Live at Birdland NY with Hank Jones and Omar Hakim (Eighty-Eight's, 2007)
• July 6 th - Live at Birdland NY with Hank Jones and Omar Hakim (Eighty-Eight's, 2007)

Others

• All Strings Attached with Tal Farlow, John Abercrombie, Larry Carlton, Larry Coryell, John Scofield (Verve, 1987)
• Continental Talk with Randy Brecker, Steve Gadd, Stanislav Mitrovic, Ratko Zjaca (In+Out, 2009)
• Children of the Light with Danilo Pérez, Brian Blade (2015)
• TRIO with Vinnie Colaiuta, Bill Cunliffe (2021)

As sideman or guest

See also

• List of jazz b*ists

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Pa*ucci.

• Official website
• John Pa*ucci at AllMusic