An adventurous bassist and composer, Mario Pavone lived on the cutting edge of jazz. During the 1960s he toured Europe with performers including Paul Bley. Digit, his leader debut, appeared in 1979. In 1980, he began working with saxophonist Thomas Chapin. Pavone produced their first recording, 1981's The Bell of the Heart. During the 1980s, Pavone worked with trumpeter Bill Dixon, and in the early '90s with Anthony Braxton. His membership in Chapin's celebrated trio netted seven acclaimed albums -- including 1995's Menagerie Dreams -- before the saxophonist's death in 1998. In 1999 Pavone released his own tribute, Remembering Thomas. Between 2000 and 2014, Pavone released a dozen leader albums for Playscape including 2001's Mythos, 2008's Trio Arc, and 2017's Chrome. The bassist battled cancer for 17 years; he succumbed in May of 2021 at age 80, but recorded two albums during his final months, Blue Vertical and Isabella.