John_Patitucci

John Patitucci

John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz double bass and electric bass player, specializing in post-bop, jazz fusion and Brazilian jazz.

Career

Early years

Patitucci, who is of Italian descent, began playing the electric bass at age ten, composing and performing at age 12, as well as the acoustic bass at 15, and the piano one year later. He studied classical bass at San Francisco State University and Long Beach State University.

Performances and recordings

Patitucci has released twelve albums as a leader. In addition to his solo work, Patitucci has played on albums by B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Chick Corea, Joanne Brackeen, Harvest (a little-known Christian music group popular in the 1970s and 1980s), Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Was Not Was, Roby Duke, Dave Grusin, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah, Sting, and Carly Simon.

As a performer, he has played with his own band, and with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stan Getz, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Freddie Hubbard, and Tony Williams. He was selected to be the bassist for the GRP All-Star Big Band. Some of the many pop and Brazilian artists he has played with include Sting, Natalie Cole, Carole King, Astrud and Joao Gilberto, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. Patitucci has worked with film composers such as Jerry Goldsmith, Ry Cooder, Henry Mancini, and John Williams.

Patitucci has led several projects of his own, in addition to playing with Chick Corea's Elektric Band and Akoustic Band and on projects with Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Danilo Pérez, and Roger Waters, among others. He now is active in Wayne Shorter's popular quartet. The group won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album for the album Beyond the Sound Barrier in 2006.

Awards

In 1986, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences voted Patitucci the MVP (Most Valuable Player) on acoustic bass. He has won two Grammy Awards (one for playing and one for composing). In addition, his first solo recording, John Patituci, was number one on the Billboard Jazz charts. He has released five albums with the Concord Jazz label: One More Angel, Now, Imprint, Communion and Songs, Stories and Spirituals. Patitucci has won polls including: Best Jazz Bassist in Guitar Player Magazine's 1992, 1994 and 1995 Readers' Poll and Best Jazz Bassist in Bass Player Magazine's 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 Readers' Poll.

Teaching experience

He has taught at music schools in several countries, and he was the Artistic Director of the Bass Collective, a school for bassists in New York City, and he is involved with The Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz and the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program. In 2003, he was appointed Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at City College.

Endorsements

He currently endorses Yamaha Basses and has had two signature basses bearing his name, the TRB-JP and the TRB-JP2. The TRB-JP2 features a solid maple neck with a 26-fret ebony fingerboard with custom abalone and mother-of-pearl position markers and a 35"-scale length. Other refinements include a sleek sandwiched body made of multiple layers of figured maple, alder and ash, a "slap" cut-out near the lower bout, gold hardware, die-cast tuners with pearloid buttons, a solid brass bridge and a pair of Alnico V double-coil humbuckers with an active 3-band EQ tuned to John's specifications. The original TRB-JP has the same features and specifications as the TRB-JP2, except for the 24-fret neck and the 34"-scale length.