One of the world’s most celebrated bass players, Pino Palladino has graced more than 1,000 recordings by artists including Adele, the Who, D’Angelo, Ed Sheeran, Nine Inch Nails, Eric Clapton, Gary Numan, B.B. King, Bryan Ferry and more.
Now, the Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer and bassist will take to the stage for his first hometown show under his own name in 30 years, as part of the inaugural Cardiff Music City Festival, supported by Welsh Government and Cardiff Council.
Tickets also include the chance to gain a unique insight into a 40-year career in the music industry that has seen him work with everyone from Phil Collins to Perfume Genius and John Mayer to J Dilla, as he’s joined in conversation with 6Music DJ Huw Stephens to discuss all things music – from the songs he loves, to his unique bass style – and how Cardiff shaped his musical influences.
Huw Stephens, said: “Pino is regarded as the world’s best bassist. His list of credits show his diverse list of collaborators. His Cardiff roots and the way the city shaped him, his family and friends and the musicians in the city, is an amazing story that we will explore with Pino during the night. To hear him play this special concert in the RWCMD is going to be an unforgettable evening.”
Joining Pino onstage at the Dora Stoutzker Hall, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama on Monday 14thOctober will be Houston-born percussionist Chris Dave, who has played with some of the most revered names in jazz and R&B and was once called “the most dangerous drummer alive,” by Questlove from The Roots.
On guitar, blending his background in rock, gospel, jazz, R&B, blues and funk with an unmistakable dose of soul will be Isaiah Sharkey. Hailing from a musical family in Chicago, Sharkey picked up his first guitar when he was just 3 years old. By the age of 14 he was performing in clubs in Chicago and a few short years later he had piqued the interest of music industry giants like The Isley Brothers, John Mayer, Patti LaBelle and many others.
The trio originally formed in 2012 whilst touring D’Angelo’s influential soul opus,Voodoo– a record that’s rhythm section sound is shaped by Pino’s unique style. Playing original tunes, shared repertoire and improvisation their shows mix fusion, hip-hop, psychedelia, funk soul and more – but they almost never happened.
“At the end of the tour,” says Pino, “we had an opportunity to play in Tokyo as an instrumental quintet, but the day before departure for Japan, the keyboardist and saxophonist had to pull out, so we were left with no choice but to play the Tokyo shows as a trio. Within a few minutes of the first show we realised, this was meant to be.
“Cardiff’s where I grew up so it means a lot to me to come back to play, it must be 30 years now, since the last time I played a gig there in my own name, so it should be a special night.”
The Cardiff Music City Festival line up also features pioneering electronic artists, Leftfield and Orbital, the barrier breaking Ms. Lauryn Hill and The Fugees, genre-bending Irish rap trio Kneecap, and jazz poet and saxophonist Alabaster DePlume.
As well as a series of one-off unique performances, gigs, talks and unexpected happenings, three long-established events in Cardiff and Wales’ cultural calendar – Sŵn Festival, Llais and the Welsh Music Prize – will all become vital parts of the bigger, ambitious celebrations under the Cardiff Music City Festival banner for the first time this year.
