Born in Portici, Naples, Pippo Matino is considered one of the most skilled electric bass virtuoso on the international scene. He is probably the italian bass player who, in the last 20 years, has released the highest number of CDs under his name.
Pippo feeling also at ease as a band-leader for the many original projects he created: BASSA TENSIONE (VVJ), ESSENTIAL TEAM (Alfa Music – Egea), 2 Albums including one live (HEMIOLIA record), THIRD, two CD of the JOE ZAWINUL TRIBUTE and three CD of BASSVOICE PROJECT with the vocalist Silvia Barba (Wide Sound), TRIO OSTIKO (VVJ), TREE COOL CATS (Millesuoni Records).
As a studio musician, Pippo has played on many of the most important jazz-rock and fusion albums ever produced in Italy in the last 20 years: ROAD RUNNER (Flavio Boltro), DAY BY DAY (Agostino Marangolo), PIANO E BEAT and VINTAGE HANDS (Ernesto Vitolo), EL LUGAR and QUARZAZAT (Francesco Bruno), DIFFUSION (Andrea Marchesini), LYNDON (Rocco Zifarelli), AUGUST (Sergio Di Natale), FRONNE (Lello Panico), playing also with the legendary neapolitan band NAPOLI CENTRALE led by the singer and saxophonist JAMES SENESE.
He is currently the bass player for the Rita Marcotulli’s band “US AND THEME”, dedicated to Pink Floyd, with Raiz, Alfredo Golino, Giovanni Tommaso, Michele Rabbia and Andy Sheppard. He has also played on the DVD tribute albums to MICHAEL PETRUCCIANI “Body and Soul” (recorded live at CASA DEL JAZZ in Rome) with Flavio Boltro, Stefano Di Battista, Eric Legnini, Rita Marcotulli, Aldo Romano, Manu Roche, Francesco Cafiso.
He has attended almost every bass-related trade shows worldwide, such as EUROBASS DAY (Verona), LONDON GUITAR SHOW, MUSIKMESSE (Frankfurt), DISMA (Rimini), BASS DAY POLAND, BASS PLAYER LIVE (New York and Los Angeles), NAMM SHOW (Anaheim), SOUND EXPO (Verona), MUSIC ITALY SHOW (Bologna), MEET (Milan), SOL MUSIC (Palermo), SGH (Milan), sometimes in duo with other world-class virtuoso players like Jeff Berlin, Dominique DiPiazza, Dario Deidda, Darryl Jones, Stu Hamm, Jonas Hellborg, Linley Marthe, Matthew Garrison, Hadrien Feraud, Felix Pastorius, Jimmy Haslip.
Thanks to these studio and live projects he has cooperated with some of the most respected players on the international scene: Billy Cobham, Mike Stern, Stefano di Battista, Flavio Boltro, Horacio “EL Negro”Hernandez, Agostino Marangolo, Javier Girotto, Ronnie Cuber, Giovanni Imparato, Derek Wilson, Paco Sery, Rosario Giuliani, Lele Melotti, Luca Trolli, Bireli Lagrene, Walter Calloni, Cristian Meyer, Gigi Cifarelli, Pino Iodice, Tony Scott, Cristiano Micalizzi, Antonio Faraò, Daniele Scannapieco, Eric Legnini, Jean Marie Ecay, Marco Zurzolo, Daniele Sepe, Detra Farr, Stephane Huchard, Luis
Winsberg, Solis String Quartet, Mario Rosini, Lello Panico, Quadra band, Nico Stufano, Enzo Zirilli, Danny Gottlieb, Peter Erskine, Manatthan Trasfer, Andrea Braido, Steve Hunt, Brett Garsed, Famoudou Don Moye, Benjamin Henocq, Greg Bissonette, Robin Eubanks, Alfredo Golino, Mark Mondesir, Jorge Bezerra, Francesco Bearzatti, Dado Moroni, Peter De Girolamo, Claudio Romano, Alessio Menconi, Fabrizio Bosso, Antonello Salis, Roger Biwandu, Gianluca Petrella, Julian Oliver Mazzariello, Antonio Sanchez, Aldo Bassi, Ernesto Vitolo, Joe Amoruso, Antonio Onorato, Damien Smith, Maurizio Giammarco.
In 2006 he taught a masterclass at the most important music school in the world, the BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC in BOSTON.
Pippo is currently teaching “pop-rock” electric bass at the Conservatory of Music “Luisa D’Annunzio” in Pescara, and in the past he was also a teacher at the “Arrigo Boito” Conservatory in Parma, at the “Nino Rota” Conservatory in Monopoli and “jazz” electric bass at the “Nicola Sala” Conservatory in Benevento and “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatory in Como.
Pippo Matino is a versatile musician who can play jazz and jazz-funk, blues, rock and italian pop music. He began his long career playing with the most important musicians within the neapolitan area, then he moved to Rome, where he began a new series of projects. At the same time he took up his solo career, recording his first record “BASSA TENSIONE” (1993) with the label VIA VENETO JAZZ, the first record even for the label itself, created by the unforgettable Biagio Pagano just in order to produce this record that, thanks to songs like DOCTOR MIKE and BASS SONG FOR NAPOLI, became quickly an icon for the young bassists of those days.
He has co-led the TEEN TOWN Trio with the guitar player Rocco Zifarelli and the cuban drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez and, at the same time, he was leading the ESSENTIAL TEAM, a band who featured, one after the other, the drummers Pietro Iodice, Sergio Di Natale, Claudio Romano, and the saxophonists Rosario Giuliano, Javier Girotto or Giulio Martino, and the trombonist Roberto Schiano (Skianovic), showing, in both bands, a brilliant jazz-rock-funk music with a huge influence from the classic mediterranean melodies.
He has played with several italian pop artists: Mietta, Enzo Gragnaniello, Alex Britti, Anonimo Italiano, Drupi, Gloria Gaynor, Giorgia,Amedeo Minghi, Baraonna, Stefano Borgia, Nino Buonocore, Nino D’Angelo, Joe Barbieri, Irene Grandi, Loredana Bertè, Neri per Caso, Francesco Baccini, Eduardo De Crescenzo, Linda, Nicky Nicolai, Mario Rosini, Rossana Casale, Raiz, Zibba e Almalibre, Antonella Ruggiero, Tony Esposito.
