Profile No. IT-366

Marco Panascia

Double bass, electric bass — Italian — B: 1972, Venice, Italy

Last updated September 27, 2026

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Marco Panascia was born in 1972 in Venice, Italy. He began classical piano at eight, switched to electric bass at around fifteen or sixteen, and trained for five years in classical double bass at the Istituto Musicale Pareggiato "Vincenzo Bellini" in Catania, Sicily, where he also performed with chamber groups and orchestras and won prizes in national competitions. Seeing bassist John Patitucci play an upright-bass concert around 1991 turned him toward jazz; he went on to study with Sicilian bassist Dario Deidda, who became a formative early influence. Panascia's own biography also credits collaborations with fellow Italian saxophonist Claudio Fasoli and trumpeter Roy Paci during his Sicily years, though no Discogs-listed session confirms either connection independently. In 1998 he won first prize at the Edinburgh International Double Bass Competition in Scotland while still based in Italy.

In 1999 Panascia moved to Boston on a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, earning a Bachelor of Music. In 2002 he relocated to New York City on a full-tuition scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music, completing a Master of Music there in 2004. He has been a Manhattan resident ever since and became a dual citizen of Italy and the United States. His playing has been shaped by mentors on both the acoustic and electric side of the instrument: classical bassist Bertram Turetzky, and electric-bass figures Carol Kaye and Nathan East.

Since settling in New York, Panascia has built one of the busier freelance careers among the city's jazz bassists, equally comfortable doubling on upright and electric bass. He is a Discogs-credited bassist on Tamir Hendelman's Destinations (2010, Resonance Records, with Lewis Nash on drums), which reached No. 1 on the JazzWeek Jazz Charts; on Claudio Roditi's Brazilian-repertoire album Bons Amigos (2011, Resonance Records); and on two Dado Moroni albums, Live In Beverly Hills (2010, Resonance Records, with Peter Erskine on drums) and the John Coltrane tribute Five For John (2014, Via Veneto Jazz, with Alvin Queen and Joe Locke). He also appears on pianist Eldar Djangirov's Live At The Blue Note (2006, Sony Classical), which features Roy Hargrove and Chris Botti as guest soloists, and on Djangirov's Re-Imagination (2007, Masterworks Jazz), nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. More recently he plays bass alongside Christian McBride on guitarist Dan Wilson's Vessels Of Wood And Earth (2021, Brother Mister/Mack Avenue Music Group), which McBride produced.

Back in Sicily, Panascia recorded his only album as a leader, Bass Duo Live (2014, reissued on Bandcamp in 2016), an unedited live concert with his own early teacher, Dario Deidda, taped at the Tatum Club in Salerno, Italy. His wider sideman credits, drawn from his own biography and press materials, include work with Kenny Barron, Andy Bey, Kevin Mahogany, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Eric Reed, Bobby Watson, Peter Bernstein, Sheryl Bailey, Herbie Hancock, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, Quincy Jones, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Liebman, Gary Burton, Seamus Blake and Natalie Cole, among others; not every one of these is independently confirmed at the Discogs credit level. He has also spent years as a first-call bassist in New York's musical-theater pit orchestras, including Broadway's Wicked, The Lion King and Frozen, and a five-year run with the Off-Broadway production Sleep No More. He endorses Markbass amplification and is currently an adjunct faculty member at the New School in Manhattan.

Panascia built his musicianship on a classical double-bass foundation before John Patitucci's example pulled him toward jazz, and his career since has stayed centered on that dual training: a mainstream, straight-ahead swing feel underpins his trio and quartet dates with pianists like Tamir Hendelman and Dado Moroni, while his equally serious electric-bass work (with Eldar Djangirov and Dan Wilson, among others) runs closer to contemporary jazz-funk and groove-driven writing. His Brazilian-repertoire work with Claudio Roditi points to a genuine facility with Latin jazz idioms alongside his mainstream and post-bop core. Bass Duo Live, his sole leader date, is the clearest expression of his Italian training: a return engagement, on home ground, with the bassist who taught him.

Key Recordings

Destinations (2010, Resonance Records, with Tamir Hendelman and Lewis Nash) - Reached No. 1 on the JazzWeek Jazz Charts. Spotify - Destinations Listen · Buy
Bons Amigos (2011, Resonance Records, with Claudio Roditi) - A collection of Brazilian bossa nova and samba repertoire. Spotify - Bons Amigos Listen
Re-Imagination (2007, Masterworks Jazz, with Eldar Djangirov) - Nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Spotify - re-imagination Listen
Vessels Of Wood And Earth (2021, Brother Mister/Mack Avenue Music Group, with Dan Wilson and Christian McBride) - Wilson's debut for McBride's Brother Mister imprint. Spotify - Vessels Of Wood And Earth Listen · Buy
Bass Duo Live (2014, MarPan Records, with Dario Deidda) - His only album as a leader, recorded live in Salerno, Italy. Not on Spotify; Bandcamp Listen

Full Discography

Marco Panascia: Full Discography (Discogs-Verified)

Discogs profile summary

Discogs artist 533570, profile text: "Italian bassist, born in 1972 in Venezia/Venice" (data quality flagged "Needs Vote" by Discogs itself; corroborated independently below).
Group affiliations on file: Salvatore Bonafede Trio, The Marco Panascia Berklee Ensemble, Nick Hempton Band, Art Lillard's On Time Band.
No competing namesake entity found on Discogs; the only other near-match search result, "The Marco Panascia Berklee Ensemble," is his own student ensemble, not a collision.
Discogs lists 33 release-relationships for this artist, including one release (Dado Moroni's Live In Beverly Hills) that appears twice under two separate Discogs listing IDs for what is the same 2010 recording; treated as one release below.

LEADER: full detail

Album	Year	Label	Personnel	Notes	Listen	Buy
Bass Duo Live (featuring Dario Deidda)	2014 (Bandcamp reissue 2016, adding bonus track "Jitterbug Waltz")	MarPan Records (self-released)	Marco Panascia (double bass), Dario Deidda (electric bass)	Not indexed on Discogs. His only release as a leader: an unedited live acoustic/electric bass-duo concert recorded at the Tatum Club, Salerno, Italy, engineered by Francesco Verrengia. Deidda was one of Panascia's own teachers during his Sicily years.	not found	Bandcamp

GUEST: co-billed on another artist's own album (Discogs "Main" role tag)

Discogs tags Panascia's role "Main" on two releases because he is a prominently credited billed artist, but both are properly someone else's project.

Album	Year	Actual leader	Label	Personnel	Notes	Listen	Buy
Destinations	2010	Tamir Hendelman	Resonance Records (RCD-1017)	Tamir Hendelman (piano), Marco Panascia (bass), Lewis Nash (drums)	Hendelman's Resonance Records debut trio album; reached No. 1 on the JazzWeek Jazz Charts, September 2010. Discogs genres: Jazz, Latin, Classical.	Spotify	Discogs
Vessels Of Wood And Earth	2021	Dan Wilson	Brother Mister / Mack Avenue Music Group (BRO4001)	Dan Wilson (guitar), Joy Brown (vocals), Christian Sands (piano, organ, synth), Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums), Marco Panascia and Christian McBride (bass)	Wilson's debut for McBride's Brother Mister imprint; McBride also produced. Discogs genre: Jazz.	Spotify	Discogs

Notable sideman / Appearance credits (curated, by circle)

Discogs lists 31 further "Appearance" credits for artist 533570 (2003-2026). Grouped here by circle; full track-level personnel confirmed via extraartists for every entry that carries a cross-link below, title/year/label confirmed at the artist-releases level for the rest.

Resonance Records / George Klabin circle:

Claudio Roditi, Bons Amigos (2011, Resonance Records) - bass, alongside Romero Lubambo (guitars), Donald Vega (piano), Mauricio Zottarelli (drums). A collection of Brazilian bossa nova and samba repertoire. Discogs
Dado Moroni, Live In Beverly Hills (2010, Resonance Records) - bass, with Peter Erskine (drums). Discogs

Dado Moroni (Italian pianist) circle:

Dado Moroni, Five For John (2014, Via Veneto Jazz) - double bass, with Alvin Queen (drums), Joe Locke (vibraphone), Max Ionata (saxophone); a John Coltrane/McCoy Tyner tribute session. Discogs

Sicilian jazz scene (Philology label):

Cinzia Roncelli Featuring Francesco Cafiso, My Shining Hour (2009, Philology) - bass, with Cafiso (alto saxophone), Giovanni Mazzarino (piano, music director), Dino Rubino (trumpet, flugelhorn), Giuseppe Mirabella (guitar), Paolo Mappa (drums). Discogs
Giovanni Mazzarino, Light (2009, Philology) - bass, with Adam Nussbaum (drums), Dino Rubino (trumpet, flugelhorn), Giuseppe Mirabella (guitar). All compositions by Mazzarino except Steve Swallow's "Feet First." Discogs

Eldar Djangirov:

Live At The Blue Note (2006, Sony Classical) - bass on the full album, including the track "You Don't Know What Love Is" featuring Chris Botti (trumpet, not profiled anywhere on jazzprofiles.com) and "Straight, No Chaser" featuring Roy Hargrove (trumpet). Discogs
Re-Imagination (2007, Masterworks Jazz) - electric bass (one of three bassists on the album alongside Carlos Henriquez and James Genus, no per-track breakdown given). Nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Discogs

Other sideman dates (title/year/label Discogs-confirmed):

Ayako Shirasaki, Existence (2003, What'sNew Records)
The Weepies, Happiness (2003) - indie folk-pop, outside jazz
Claude Bolling / Roselli Quartet, Suites For Flute And Jazz Piano Trio (2003)
Katja Endemann Quartet, Black Box (2004, self-released)
Paolo Lattanzi Group, Night Dancers (2006, Silta Records)
Negroni's Trio, Father & Son (2007, Cacao Musica)
Nick Hempton Band, self-titled (2008, self-released) and Odd Man Out (2013, Posi-Tone)
Christine Vaindirlis, Dance Mama! (2009, Ubuntu World Music)
Giovanni Scasciamacchia, Rising (2010, self-released)
Salvatore Bonafede Trio, Sicilian Opening (2010)
Benito Madonia, Prima Di Domani (2011, LAB Records)
Raffaele Genovese, Freeway (2011, Alfa Music, AlfaProjects)
Nicola Mingo, We Remember Clifford (2011, EmArcy)
Rick Stone Trio, Fractals (2011, Jazzand)
Salvatore Pennisi & Giuseppe Mirabella, Braintrain (2012, Jazzy Records)
Fabrizio Mocata, Letter From Manhattan (2015, Alfa Music)
Andrew Gould, First Things First (2018, Outside In Music)
Eric Goletz, A New Light (2021, Cap Records)
Joe Baione, Vibe Check (2024, self-released)
Barry Greene, Giants (2026, Origin Records)
Hendrik Meurkens, Harmonicus Rex (year not listed on Discogs, Height Advantage)

Listen/Buy note: this vault has no dedicated Spotify API credentials, so links above were verified via web search against title, label and year rather than assumed; where no Spotify link was confirmed, the cell reads "not found." No Amazon Associates tag is set up for this project yet; "Buy" cells point to a Discogs or Bandcamp page where one exists.

Personnel & Collaborations

Dario Deidda (electric bass) - Panascia's own early teacher in Sicily; the two reunited as an equal duo for Panascia's sole leader release, Bass Duo Live (2014), recorded in Salerno, Italy. Already profiled separately on this project.
Dado Moroni (piano) - Discogs-confirmed bassist on two of Moroni's own albums, Live In Beverly Hills (2010, Resonance Records) and Five For John (2014, Via Veneto Jazz). Already profiled separately on this project.
Francesco Cafiso (alto saxophone) - Discogs-confirmed bandmate on Cinzia Roncelli Featuring Francesco Cafiso's My Shining Hour (2009, Philology). Already profiled separately on this project.
Claudio Roditi (trumpet, flugelhorn) - Discogs-confirmed bassist on Roditi's Bons Amigos (2011, Resonance Records). Already profiled separately on this project.
Lewis Nash (drums) - fellow trio member on Tamir Hendelman's Destinations (2010, Resonance Records). Already profiled separately on this project.
Peter Erskine (drums) - Discogs-confirmed alongside Panascia on Dado Moroni's Live In Beverly Hills (2010, Resonance Records). Already profiled separately on this project.
Adam Nussbaum (drums) - Discogs-confirmed alongside Panascia on Giovanni Mazzarino's Light (2009, Philology). Already profiled separately on this project.
Roy Hargrove (trumpet) - Discogs-confirmed featured guest, alongside Panascia on bass, on Eldar Djangirov's Live At The Blue Note (2006, Sony Classical), track "Straight, No Chaser." Already profiled separately on this project.
Christian McBride (bass, producer) - Discogs-confirmed alongside Panascia on Dan Wilson's Vessels Of Wood And Earth (2021, Brother Mister/Mack Avenue Music Group), which McBride also produced. Already profiled separately on this project.
Tamir Hendelman (piano) - leader of Destinations (2010, Resonance Records), with Panascia on bass. Already profiled separately on the sibling ILJAZZ project.