Many Worlds
Release Date: February 24, 2023
Label: Planet Arts Records

Scott Petito is a bassist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer with an exemplary career under his belt. He has recorded and produced an eclectic pool of legends including Chick CoreaJohn Scofield, Dave Brubeck and Keith Richards, to name a few. With credits stretching over a thousand recordings, Petito’s impressive slate of experience shines in his compositional efforts. This deftness became evident on his 2018 melting pot of a masterpiece, Rainbow Gravity and is endured on his latest excursion, Many Worlds.

Rhythms bounce between genres instinctively on this new enterprise, a conceptual sequel to Rainbow Gravity. Both albums source inspiration from quantum physics. The interplay of musicians is much like the quantum dance between infinite time and space.

Petito’s Many Worlds, exists in a universe filled with cyclones, clouds and great and sudden change. Daring and imaginative, Petito takes these flights alongside a top tier lineup, including saxophonist Bob Mintzer, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, trumpeter Randy Brecker, drummers Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine and Omar Hakim, percussionists Mino Cinelu and Bashiri Johnson, pianists Rachel Z Hakim and Kevin Hays, bassist Larry Grenadier and vocalist Anna Maria Jopek.

Created amid the staggering standstill of the 2020 pandemic, Many Worlds was an opportunity for the bandleader to craft and curate meticulously. A skilled producer and engineer, he capitalized on recording remotely during this time. The result is an internationally-lauded band of friends that would have otherwise been unable to gather in a single studio. Notable on Many Worlds is Petito’s expertise in tailoring each composition to his world-class bandmates.

As a musician and composer, he strives for a sense of timelessness and design. The title track “Many Worlds” is an effective example. Petito’s bass and layered electronics capture the feeling of spacious grandeur.  “The experience of playing and listening to music can suspend us and yet at the same time sweep us away to new places with infinite possibilities. That relationship between music and our very essence of being always struck me as the most human of experiences,” he adds.

At times an homage to the works of Miles Davis, Weather Report, Chick Corea and others, Many Worlds connects to an inspiring period of jazz during the ‘70s. The scintillating developments at that time would lay a historic bedrock for the evolving scene of jazz fusion. “Many Worlds is not nostalgia but a reimagining of that period,” Petito explains. This idea influenced his choice of personnel, as many of the musicians on this record were directly involved in the evolving jazz scene of the 1970s and 80’s.

Musically, one of the unique elements of this album is that each track has a different ensemble. Due to the nature of remote recording, Petitio was able to call exactly who he envisioned to bring the tracks to life. As a result, each composition is in itself a microcosm of style and expression. Album opener “Dabwala,” a Latin-inspired original groove held down by Steve Gadd on drums, defends this sentiment. Acclaimed Polish vocalist, Anna Maria Jopek, contributes a jubilant and energized vocal performance followed by an expressive and buoyant EWI solo from Bob Mintzer. Rachel Z Hakim follows on piano before passing back to Petito for a piccolo bass solo on the ride out.

On “The Alchemist” Randy Brecker contributes a haunting trumpet to a groove reminiscent  of Bill Laswell with a dose of Domi and JD Beck. The rhythm section of Omar HakimRachel Z Hakim, Petito and Mino Cinelu simmers throughout this atmospheric piece.

Petito honors the legacy of late piano icon Lyle Mays on his arrangement of the Mays original “Close to Home.” Recorded not long after Mays’ passing in 2020, the track rallies a seasoned cast for the rendition. Rachel Z Hakim, Peter Erskine and Mike Mainieri form a salient and chilling tribute to the longstanding member of the Pat Metheny Group, forging Petito’s most wistful planet within this sonic cosmos.

The placid title track constructs a temporary trance before the pace increases with “Bombogenesis”. An indication that a stronger, more powerful storm is looming, the climatic term is commonly referred to as a “bomb cyclone,” meaning the atmospheric pressure has dropped. It’s not a coincidence that Petito’s stirring instrumental cyclone is stationed at the heart of Many Worlds, a composition that is more outstanding than disastrous. “Mr. Peanut” ensues in celebration of survival, offering a harmonious post-storm conversation where Kevin Hays, MainieriGadd and Mintzer all shine as soloists.

One of the most powerful elements of Many Worlds is the band itself. This album pools a myriad of experience, expertise and master stylists to craft something delicate and soulfully resonant. “They are among the best who have ever played modern music,” Petito shares. “I am so lucky to have worked with every one of them in various configurations over my career as a musician and producer. They make it easy.”

Parsing through the physics of nature and eternity, Scott Petito provides clarity to terms that are otherwise bewildering. A sensational experience presenting consummate performance and thought, Many Worlds is a challenge as much as it is a gift. As Petito emplores listeners to maintain hold of the past, he asks that we continue to reach forward with him, boundlessly.

Rainbow Gravity
Release Date: August 1, 2018
Label: Planet Arts Records

After taking part in nearly a thousand recordings, producer, bassist, engineer and composer Scott Petito shines on his second endeavor as a leader, Rainbow Gravity. Rainbow Gravity brings together a true melting pot of world class musicians including saxophonist Bob Mintzer, trumpeter Chris Pasin, guitarist David Spinozza, keyboardists Rachel ZDavid Sancious andWarren Bernhardt, drummers Jack DeJohnettePeter ErskineSimon Phillips and Omar Hakim, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri and percussionist Bashiri Johnson. With this group of players in mind, the gifted multi-instrumentalist has written and arranged a collection of nine original compositions in a genre bending melange of modern jazzR&Bfunk and South American styles, alongside a stirring rendition of Carla Bley’s “Lawns”.

On Rainbow Gravity, an exemplary ensemble of friends and colleagues join together to perform new electric jazz. Collectively, they have contributed to the execution and vision of this album in a way that, as Petito enthuses, displays “a true collaboration of spirit and skill”. Much of the music heard on this ten-track collection is reminiscent of that of the late 60’s and early 70’s: the electric experiments of Miles Davis on “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew”, the energy and rhythmic complexity of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Weather Report and so many more innovators who produced new sounds and techniques and so, influenced a generation of musicians to follow.

"Scott has assembled some of the finest creative musicians  in the world to participate in this tour de force musical journey. Not only did Scott perform, record and produce this music but he also composed most of the songs. Check out his fine piccolo bass solos. This project is bursting with creativity." -  Mark Egan

The project takes its title from the rainbow gravity theory; a concept in quantum physics that contradicts the Big Bang Theory and instead, proposes that time stretches back infinitely and continues on endlessly. As a musician and composer, Petito actively tries to create a sense of timelessness in his music- he strives to capture a moment or a feeling that might continue on forever. As Petito explains, “the experience of playing and listening to music can suspend us and yet at the same time sweep us away to new places with infinite possibilities. That relationship between music and our very essence of being, always struck me as the most human of experiences.”

"Scott’s compositions are perfect musical short stories with ingenious narratives that propel and animate his own virtuosity and that of his stellar companions.”
Michael Franks

MORE ABOUT SCOTT PETITO

Scott Petito is an award winning composer, producer and engineer. He is a gifted bassist and multi-instrumentalist who has performed on hundreds of recordings in many musical styles. Scott has become particularly well known for his work in the folk and jazz genres, working with such musicians as; James Taylor, Pete Seeger, The Band, Jack DeJohnette, Don Byron, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, John Scofield and hundreds of other leading musicians in jazz and popular music. Scott studied composition and arranging at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has scored films for the BBC, Robert Redford and PBS. His productions have charted in Billboard Magazine and have received gold record honors. Scott composed the theme song for the NPR program “With Good Reason”. He is a member of the seminal political/poetic rock group The Fugs. For many years he toured and recorded with partner, Leslie Ritter. During this period of time, their recordings received worldwide acclaim. Scott’s ambient solo bass record, “Sbass Music” debuted at the top of the NAV Charts and has been played on over 450 radio stations in the US and abroad.

for Many Worlds

LEONID AUSKERN
JAZZ QUAD
Read the review in Russian here.

EDITOR
BASS MAGAZINE
Album announcement and video feature here.

EDITOR
BASS MUSICIAN MAGAZINE
Album announcement here.

for Rainbow Gravity

SETH ROGOVOY
CHRONOGRAM
"It immediately puts one in mind of the "jazz-rock" of the early 1970s, a genre that connected the dots between Miles Davis and Steely Dan—no surprise, given the presence here of Davis bandmate Jack DeJohnette and Dan pianist Warren Bernhardt. To call it "fusion" is to diminish the deep roots the music and players have planted in bop, funk, and Latin music. But it sure does rock, too."  Read the full review here.

DEE DEE MCNEIL
MUSICAL MEMOIRS
"Here is a production of pure funk and contemporary musicality played by some of the top modern jazz players in the business." Read the full review here.

CHRIS SPECTOR
MIDWEST RECORD
"...this sets scores well as a funky fusion date powered by a slew of pros you know you already trust." Read the full review here.
 
 

LEONID AUSKERN
JAZZ QUAD
"It's hard not to admire Petito's free improvisations, and the subtlety and sensitivity of his partner [Jack DeJohnette on drums], instantly responding to every movement of Scott and, in turn, imperiously captivating his playing on the drums." Read the full Russian review here.

MATT MICUCCI
JAZZIZ
Watch video premiere for "Dark Pools" here.

DANIELE CAMERLENGO
SUONO
"Thanks to their amazing creativity the talented multi-instrumentalist has written and arranged a collection of nine original compositions mixing modern jazz, R & B, funk and South American styles." Read the full Italian review here.

KEVIN JOHNSON
NO TREBLE
Check out the feature here.

JULIEN FERTÉ
MUZIQ (FRANCE)
"Fusion with a capital F." Read the full review here.

RON SCHEPPER
TEXTURA
"The ten pieces, nine originals by the leader plus the Bley cover, are first and foremost ensemble performances, though they also include many opportunities for individual players to shine." Read the full review here.

SEBASTIAN MANIURA
LONDON JAZZ NEWS
"...the album is not just a conduit for bass brilliance. Instead, Petito has brought together these world-class musicians for a really creative project." Read the full review here.

DRUMHEAD MAGAZINE
Check out listing here.

MICHAEL J. WEST
JAZZTIMES
"While the chops are indeed fearsome, however, the album turns out surprisingly tight, thanks in no small part to Petito's writing." Read the full review here.

GEORGE HARRIS
JAZZ WEEKLY
"The progressive vibe of fusion never sounded better as bassist/producer Scott Petito brings together a set of all stars for ten swinging beauties." Read the full review here.

ANDY ROBSON
JAZZWISE
"You can't deny Petito his passion for all things 1970s on this jazz fusion retro fest." Read the full review here.