JAZZPROFILES lives in the music 1,450 Jazz Artists fully Profiled! Mario Pezzotta
Last updated September 28, 2026
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Mario Pezzotta with his trombone, in the 1960s. Public Domain (Italy, PD-Italy: copyright term for simple photographs expired 20 years from creation under Italian law; also Public Domain in the United States under the URAA, since it was first published outside the US, before 1964, and was already public domain in Italy as of the URAA date of January 1, 1996). — Wikimedia Commons - originally published in Radiocorriere (photographer not credited) - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mario_Pezzotta_negli_anni_%2760.jpg (the same image used as the infobox photo on the Italian Wikipedia article for Mario Pezzotta).
Mario Pezzotta was born in Alzano Lombardo, in the province of Bergamo, on December 25, 1920. He began on the bombardino at eight, playing alongside his brother on bass tuba, and the Neapolitan bandmaster Francesco Bonomo encouraged him to study at a conservatory. At seventeen he was already playing in dance ensembles. After Italy's September 1943 armistice he crossed into Switzerland, where he formed and directed an orchestra among the Italian internees.
He made his professional debut back in Milan in 1945 with the Orchestra del Momento, directed by Aldo Rossi, at the Taverna Ferrario. It was around this debut that he switched from bombardino to trombone, drawn to jazz by the swing of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. Gorni Kramer noticed him and brought him into his ensemble for live dates and radio broadcasts, and in 1950 Pezzotta formed his own dixieland quintet, which played through the decade at two of Milan's key jazz rooms, the Arethusa and the Santa Tecla. Discogs' group-membership record for the Orchestra del Momento also names Giorgio Gaslini and Eraldo Volonté as fellow members of that early band, though no individually dated recording credit ties the three of them together beyond the group-level listing.
Pezzotta's trombone is documented on several of the landmark Italian jazz sessions of the late 1950s. He is one of sixteen musicians, alongside Gianni Basso, Eraldo Volonté, Attilio Donadio, Glauco Masetti, Baldo Panfili and Gil Cuppini, credited on Bruno Canfora's ten-inch LP Presenta Cole Porter, recorded in Milan in December 1954. In December 1959 he recorded as the trombonist of the Basso-Valdambrini Octet's New Sound From Italy, alongside Basso, Oscar Valdambrini, Donadio, Masetti, the Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin and Franco Cerri on bass. That same autumn, Milan hosted Chet Baker's celebrated 1959 sessions, and Pezzotta is the trombonist on Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings, recorded September 28 and 29 and October 5, 1959 with arranger Len Mercer, Masetti on alto saxophone and Fausto Papetti on baritone.
Through the 1960s Pezzotta was a regular section player in Gil Cuppini's big band, documented on the 1968 live recording at Marina di Carrara's Universal Club (issued as Sof' Stroke and later reissued within Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band and A New Day) alongside Basso, Volonté, Dino Piana, Emilio Soana and Giorgio Azzolini, and on the December 1965 La Scala concert collected on Caprice. He also plays on Armando Trovaioli's big-band soundtrack The Beat Generation (1960), on Armando Sciascia's Conversazioni In Jazz (1963) and, on tuba rather than trombone, on one track of the Musica Jazz anthology Italian Jazz Graffiti (1988). The Basso-Valdambrini group's recordings, including his own trombone credit, continued to be reissued for decades, on Blues for Gassman (2003, reissued 2023) and Quintet/Sextet (2015).
Alongside this jazz work Pezzotta had a long parallel career as a working orchestral and light-music trombonist. He played in Armando Trovaioli's big band and in orchestras led by Cinico Angelini and Oscar Valdambrini, appeared on Italian television variety programs including Alta Fedeltà and Buone Vacanze, backed singer Nilla Pizzi and other light-music artists on record, and played in the orchestra pit and on record for multiple editions of the Sanremo Music Festival. From 1963 to 1965 he worked with Ely Neri's orchestra. He also led and recorded under his own name and orchestra billings from the mid-1950s into the 1970s, a catalog that Discogs tags Jazz on nineteen of twenty releases, mostly Dixieland and Swing, with one outlying children's single.
From the 1960s Pezzotta held the principal trombone chair at the Teatro alla Scala orchestra and the RAI Milan Symphony Orchestra, a position he kept until 1980, and he taught at the Verona Conservatory. Between 1975 and 1984 he directed Verona's civic band, transforming it into the Banda Ritmo-Sinfonica "Città di Verona" and introducing African-American jazz repertoire to the ensemble. Health complications related to Alzheimer's disease forced his retirement in 1990. Mario Pezzotta died in Bollate, near Milan, on February 9, 2004, at the age of 83.
Pezzotta's own catalog traces the same swing-to-dixieland arc as his career: he took up trombone specifically for the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey repertoire, and the quintet he led from 1950 at Milan's Arethusa and Santa Tecla played dixieland. Discogs tags nineteen of his twenty own-name or own-orchestra releases as Jazz, with Dixieland and Swing the dominant styles; the exception is a 1965 children's novelty single. On the jazz sessions where his trombone sits inside a documented ensemble rather than leading it, Discogs' style tags shift toward the cooler, more modern language of the group: Cool Jazz on the Basso-Valdambrini Octet's New Sound From Italy and on his sides with Chet Baker, and Big Band and Cool Jazz on Gil Cuppini's big-band recordings.
That jazz identity sat alongside a long parallel career as a working orchestral trombonist: principal chair at La Scala and the RAI Milan Symphony Orchestra, Sanremo Festival backing, television variety orchestras and light-music session work behind singers such as Nilla Pizzi. His later leader records, Sensations (1971) and Soirée Night Club (1974), are tagged Jazz alongside Pop, Funk/Soul and Easy Listening, reflecting that same crossover between his jazz and light-orchestra work.
- Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings (Jazzland, 1959) - the string-orchestra session recorded in Milan with Chet Baker, Pezzotta on trombone, Glauco Masetti on alto saxophone and Fausto Papetti on baritone. Spotify - Chet Baker With Fifty Italian Strings Listen · Buy
- New Sound From Italy (Basso-Valdambrini Octet, Jolly Hi-Fi, 1960) - recorded in Milan in December 1959, with Pezzotta on trombone alongside Gianni Basso, Oscar Valdambrini, Attilio Donadio, Glauco Masetti, Lars Gullin and Franco Cerri. Spotify - New Sound from Italy Listen
- A New Day (Gil Cuppini Big Band, Sound Hills Records, 1997) - a CD reissue of Cuppini's 1967-1969 big-band recordings, with Pezzotta in the trombone section beside Dino Piana. Spotify - A New Day Listen
- Serenade In Blue (Mario Pezzotta E La Sua Orchestra, 1972) - his own trombone-led orchestra album of easy-listening jazz standards. Spotify - Serenade in Blue Listen · Buy
- Sophisticated Lady (Mario Pezzotta E I Suoi Solisti, Phase 6 Super Stereo, 1975) - his own quintet, with Emilio Soana on trumpet. Spotify - Sophisticated Lady Listen · Buy
- Presenta Cole Porter (Bruno Canfora e la sua Orchestra, Fonit, 1955) - the ten-inch LP of Cole Porter standards recorded in Milan in December 1954, with Pezzotta among sixteen credited musicians. Not found on Spotify; Discogs release.
- Due Stili - Due Strumenti (with Fausto Papetti, Durium, 1961) - a co-billed encounter of Papetti's easy-listening alto saxophone and Pezzotta's dixieland trombone. Not found on Spotify; Discogs master. Buy
Mario Pezzotta: Full Discography
Identity: Discogs artist 722885, Mario Pezzotta, Italian trombonist and composer, born December 25, 1920 in Alzano Lombardo and died February 9, 2004 in Bollate (confirmed by Wikidata Q3848951, MusicBrainz 58d2abab-bbcc-45e7-adad-01dae97c4523, ISNI 0000 0000 5974 2915). Discogs also files releases under his group names ("Mario Pezzotta E La Sua Orchestra," "Mario Pezzotta E I Suoi Solisti," "Mario Pezzotta E Il Suo Complesso" and "Mario Pezzotta E Il Suo Compl. Dixieland 'Arethusa'"), and under the group entity "Complesso Dixieland 'Arethusa.'" All 106 releases and masters carrying an artist-relationship credit for his personal-name Discogs entity (722885) were fetched individually from the Discogs API; where Discogs splits credits by track, the personnel and role shown is for the tracks he plays on. For a release Discogs files under a master, the year and label shown are the main release's. The "Mario Pezzotta E I Suoi Solisti" group entity (id 2953263) carries a further catalog of roughly 50 additional singles and EPs, mostly 1957-1963 Durium and Fonit dance-orchestra sides by his own quintet, that were not individually fetched for this discography; one confirmed, Spotify-verified example, Sophisticated Lady (1975), is added below.
Listen/Buy note: "Listen" links go to a Spotify album page whose title and personnel match the release; where none was confirmed the cell reads "not found." "Buy" links are plain (non-affiliate) Amazon search links; no Amazon Associates tag has been set up for this vault yet.
As Leader (own name and billed orchestra/ensemble)
| Album | Year | Label | Personnel | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canta, Ridi E Balla | 1956 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Vinyl single/EP; Discogs tags it Dixieland. | not found | Amazon search |
| Solitude | 1956 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Dixieland and Swing. | not found | Amazon search |
| Un Amore Splendido / L'Isola Nel Sole | 1957 | Durium | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Vinyl single. | not found | Amazon search |
| Mario Pezzotta E Quattro Tromboni | 1957 | Durium | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); three further, unnamed trombonists per the billing; not itemized by name on Discogs | A four-trombone session under his own billing. | not found | Amazon search |
| Peg 'O My Heart = Peg Del Mio Cuore | 1957 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Jazz and Blues; master resolved to its main release. | not found | Amazon search |
| Fascination = Fascino / Around The World = Intorno Al Mondo | 1958 | Durium | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Two film/theme tunes; Discogs tags Soundtrack and Theme. | not found | Amazon search |
| Seconda Raccolta | 1958 | Durium | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Big Band. | not found | Amazon search |
| Baci A Gogò / Wabash Blues / Il Ballo Del Taglialegna / Mood Indigo | 1960 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta E Il Suo Complesso (Ensemble); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Four-title EP; Discogs tags Swing. | not found | Amazon search |
| Il Nostro Concerto | 1960 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | not found | Amazon search | |
| Baci A Gogo' / Marcia Dei Gladiatori | 1960 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Dixieland and Swing; master resolved to its main release. | not found | Amazon search |
| Lullaby Of Birdland | 1960 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Easy Listening; master resolved to its main release. | not found | Amazon search |
| Due Stili - Due Strumenti | 1961 | Durium | Fausto Papetti (Alto Saxophone); Mario Pezzotta (Trombone) | Co-billed encounter of easy-listening saxophone and dixieland trombone; Discogs tags Easy Listening and Dixieland. | not found | Amazon search |
| Trombonology / Beer-Gum Blues | 1963 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (Performer); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Jazz and Blues; "Trombonology" is the same title Giampiero Boneschi's jazzitalia.net tribute names as a Pezzotta television showpiece. | not found | Amazon search |
| A Basin Street | 1963 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (Orchestra); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Dixieland, Ragtime and Swing; master resolved to its main release. | not found | Amazon search |
| Blue Skies | 1964 | Meazzi | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Dixieland and Swing. | not found | Amazon search |
| Preludio All'Alba / Dixie Waltz | 1965 | Meazzi | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Dixieland and Swing. | not found | Amazon search |
| O, Mio Papà / Tanti Auguri A Te | 1965 (Discogs main-release pressing dated 1970) | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | A children's/novelty single; Discogs tags it Pop, Children's, Chanson and Vocal, not Jazz - the one leader release in this table outside his jazz and dixieland catalog. | not found | Amazon search |
| The Preacher / Larry's Swing | undated | Meazzi | Mario Pezzotta (Performer); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Swing. | not found | Amazon search |
| Danse - Danse - Danse - Danse | undated | London Records | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Jazz. | not found | Amazon search |
| Serenade In Blue | 1972 | uncredited (Discogs master, no label listed) | Mario Pezzotta E La Sua Orchestra (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Jazz, Funk / Soul and Easy Listening. | Spotify - Serenade in Blue (title, billing and easy-listening trombone-orchestra sound match; personnel not itemized by Spotify) | Amazon search |
| Sophisticated Lady | 1975 | Phase 6 Super Stereo | Mario Pezzotta E I Suoi Solisti (leader); Emilio Soana (Trumpet); Lorenzo Nardini (Saxophone, Clarinet); Ettore Righello (Piano); Alberto Pizzigoni (Guitar); Carlo Milano (Bass); Franco Campioni (Drums) | Discogs tags Jazz, Funk / Soul and Stage & Screen (Score). | Spotify - Sophisticated Lady (title and billing confirmed) | Discogs |
| Sensations | 1971 | Palobal | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Jazz, Pop and Easy Listening. | not found | Amazon search |
| Soirée Night Club | 1974 | Mr. Pickwick | Mario Pezzotta (leader); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Jazz, Funk / Soul and Blues. | not found | Amazon search |
Of these 21 leader/billed-orchestra releases, 20 carry a Jazz genre tag on Discogs; the sole exception is the 1965/1970 children's single "O, Mio Papà / Tanti Auguri A Te." The dominant style tags across the run are Dixieland and Swing, consistent with the dixieland quintet he led from 1950 at Milan's Arethusa and Santa Tecla.
As Sideman and Guest: Jazz Sessions
Releases on which Pezzotta is Discogs-credited as a performer on another artist's or ensemble's record, in a jazz or dixieland context, oldest first. Personnel is limited to names also carrying a jazzprofiles.com profile, plus other soloists named in the credit; full session personnel is on the linked Discogs page.
| Album | Year | Label | Personnel (Pezzotta's session) | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presenta Cole Porter (Bruno Canfora e la sua Orchestra) | 1955 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); Gianni Basso, Eraldo Volonté (Tenor Saxophone); Attilio Donadio, Glauco Masetti (Alto Saxophone, Clarinet); Baldo Panfili, Oscar Valdambrini, Nino Impallomeni (Trumpet); Gil Cuppini (Drums, Timpani); Bruno Canfora (Piano, Arranged By) | Ten-inch LP recorded in Milan in December 1954; confirmed at the Discogs release-credit level (release 6713115). | not found | Amazon search |
| Jazz Ad Alto Livello | 1960 | Fonit | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); Eraldo Volonté (Tenor Saxophone); Lorenzo Nardini (Alto Saxophone); Nino Impallomeni (Trumpet); arranger Sauro Sili | Two 7-inch singles (SP. 30886, SP. 30889); Discogs master 3598835 and release 37596372, tagged Cool Jazz and Modal. | not found | Discogs |
| New Sound From Italy (Basso-Valdambrini Octet) | 1960 | Jolly Hi-Fi | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); Gianni Basso (Tenor Saxophone); Oscar Valdambrini (Trumpet); Attilio Donadio, Glauco Masetti (Alto Saxophone); Lars Gullin (Baritone Saxophone); Franco Cerri (Bass); Renato Sellani (Piano); Jimmy Pratt (Drums) | Recorded in Milan in December 1959; confirmed at the Discogs release-credit level (release 4129262). | Spotify - New Sound from Italy | Amazon search |
| The Beat Generation (Armando Trovaioli) | 1960 | RCA | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); Baldo Panfili, Oscar Valdambrini, Nini Rosso (Trumpet); Gianni Basso (Tenor Saxophone); Gino Marinacci (Baritone Saxophone); arrangers Bill Russo, Bill Holman, Bill Smith | Trovaioli's big-band soundtrack LP; 25 further credited names per Discogs. | not found | Amazon search |
| Conversazioni In Jazz (Armando Sciascia) | 1963 | Vedette Records | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); Gianni Basso (Tenor Saxophone); Oscar Valdambrini (Trumpet); Sergio Valente (Alto Saxophone); Lorenzo Nardini (Baritone Saxophone) | Vinyl LP; Discogs tags Jazz, with Soundtrack/Score/Theme secondary tags. | not found | Amazon search |
| Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings | 1959 | Jazzland | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); Chet Baker (Trumpet, Vocals); Glauco Masetti (Alto Saxophone); Fausto Papetti (Baritone Saxophone); arranger Len Mercer | Recorded in Milan on September 28 and 29 and October 5, 1959; identified via Discogs release 8000411, "The Complete Chet Baker 1959 Milano Sessions" (King Jazz, 1994), where Pezzotta is credited on trombone on tracks 5 to 14, the string-orchestra tracks. Also on the compilations Chet Baker Forever (2003, tracks 5 and 13), Sings & Strings (2010, tracks D5-D7), European Cool Jazz 1951-1959 (2014, tracks 2-15), Quintet/Sextet (2015, tracks 2-11 to 2-18), For Lovers (2018) and The Best of Chet Baker Sings (2013, CD2 tracks 19-20) - all later reissues of the same 1959 session. | Spotify - Chet Baker With Fifty Italian Strings | Amazon search |
| Sof' Stroke (Live At The Universal Club) (Gil Cuppini Big Band featuring Dusko Goykovich) | 1968 | Meazzi Edizioni Discografiche | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone); Gianni Basso, Eraldo Volonté (Saxophones); Dino Piana (Trombone); Emilio Soana, Oscar Valdambrini (Trumpet); Giorgio Azzolini (Bass); Gil Cuppini (Drums) | Recorded live at the Universal Club, Marina di Carrara, summer 1968; reissued in 1984 as part of Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band (tracks B1 to B4, confirmed independently at the Discogs credit level, release 2739077) and in 1997 as A New Day. | Spotify - A New Day | Amazon search |
| Italian Jazz Graffiti | 1988 | Musica Jazz | Mario Pezzotta (Tuba, track B3); Attilio Donadio (Alto Saxophone); Franco Cerri (Guitar); Oscar Valdambrini (Trumpet); Roberto Nicolosi (Arranged By) | Musica Jazz supplement of rare early-1950s recordings; on track B3 Pezzotta plays tuba, not trombone, alongside Donadio and Cerri. | not found | Amazon search |
| Caprice | 1997 | Musica Jazz | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone, track 6); Gil Cuppini (Drums); Glauco Masetti (Saxophone); Giorgio Azzolini (Bass) | Track 6 is the December 1965 La Scala concert. | not found | Amazon search |
| Reflections For Strings And Brass | 1991 | Preludium Records | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone, tracks 11-18); further personnel not itemized on Discogs | Discogs tags Jazz, Electronic and Stage & Screen, styles Fusion and Theme. | not found | Amazon search |
| Blues For Gassman | 2003 (reissued 2023, btf.it) | GMG Music | Mario Pezzotta (Trombone, tracks 1-8); Gianni Basso (Tenor Saxophone); Oscar Valdambrini (Trumpet); Attilio Donadio, Glauco Masetti (Alto/Baritone Saxophone); Franco Cerri, Giorgio Azzolini (Bass); Dino Piana (Valve Trombone); Gianni Cazzola (Drums); Lars Gullin (Baritone Saxophone); Renato Sellani (Piano) | CD compilation of Basso-Valdambrini group recordings; the 2015 reissue Quintet/Sextet (Phono) carries the same lineup as tracks 2-11 to 2-18. | not found | Amazon search |
| La Canzone Nord-Americana | 1963 | Nuova Accademia Disco | Mario Pezzotta E Il Suo Complesso (Ensemble); Complesso Basso-Valdambrini; Complesso Dino Piana; Gorni Kramer | Vinyl LP crediting four named ensembles jointly; Dino Piana and Giorgio Azzolini also appear on this release, per Discogs. | not found | Amazon search |
Sanremo, Dixieland Quintet and Other Own-Circle Appearances (chronological, Discogs-confirmed)
Discogs also credits Pezzotta on trombone on the following, most billed to his own dixieland quintet ("Mario Pezzotta E I Suoi Solisti"/"E Il Suo Complesso") or as a featured soloist on Durium and Fonit dance-orchestra sides; personnel beyond Pezzotta is not itemized by name on Discogs for these:
- 1957: My Prayer / Cry Me A River, Wabash Blues / Boogie Mood, New Orleans N. 1, Lullaby Of Birdland (all Durium singles).
- 1958: Hey There / Whatever Lola Wants, Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu / Un Solo Desiderio (soloist, side B), Le Tue Mani / Solitudine (Featuring).
- 1959: Un Difetto Di Pronuncia (Orchestra, Conductor, side B).
- 1960: Buone Vacanze (Ensemble billing).
- 1961: Dove Andiamo A Ballare? All'Arethusa Di Milano Con Mario Pezzotta E I Suoi Solisti (Leader), Bambola Rock, Lettera D'Amore / Serenata A Perez Prado (Conductor, Orchestra).
- 1962: Mondo Caldo Di Notte (Vedette Records; Featuring).
- 1967: Quando Dico Che Ti Amo (Accompanied By, Trombone), Improvvisamente....... (Orchestra).
- 1970: Arcobaleno Di Motivi (Dischi Video Milano).
- Undated: Orchestra Diretta Da Giulio Libano (Trombone), I Grandi Successi (Trombone, solo credit on three tracks), Un Sogno Di Cristallo (billed with Gil Cuppini; Trombone).
Compilation, Library-Music and Uncredited-Personnel Appearances
Discogs credits Pezzotta, without naming further personnel, on these additional compilations, library-music samplers and 1980s "Solo Per Ballare" dance-instructional records: Having A Ball (1960), Untitled (Meazzi Edizioni Discografiche, 1964), Solo Per Ballare (1980), Protagonista Lo Strumento (1982), Solo Per Ballare No. 2 (1982), Quei Fantastici Anni 50 - Vol. 2 (1983), Solo Per Ballare Vol. 3 (1983), Solo Per Ballare Vol. 4 (1986), Solo Per Ballare No 5 (1988), La Bugiarda (1989), Delicado (1994), Vietata La Vendita (undated) and Let's Dance In Carnival (undated). None of these carries a named-role credit for him beyond the bare artist-relationship listing.
Not Confirmed as This Artist
Two 1948 items on Discogs ("Quando La Laguna Dorme / Picchiando In Be Bop," Fonit, and a same-year appearance credit) predate every other Discogs-dated credit for him by seven years and were not independently cross-checked against a second source; they are listed by Discogs under his artist entity but are noted here rather than folded into the main narrative.
Unless noted, every connection below is a credit on the same Discogs release or track as Pezzotta.
- Chet Baker (trumpet, vocals) - Pezzotta is the trombonist on Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings, recorded in Milan on September 28 and 29 and October 5, 1959, and Discogs credits him on trombone on tracks 5 to 14 of the compilation The Complete Chet Baker 1959 Milano Sessions (King Jazz, 1994) and on the later reissues Chet Baker Forever (2003), Sings & Strings (2010), European Cool Jazz 1951-1959 (2014), Quintet/Sextet (2015) and For Lovers (2018). Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Gil Cuppini (drums, bandleader) - trombonist in Cuppini's big band on the 1968 Marina di Carrara live recording (Sof' Stroke), reissued within Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band (1984, tracks B1 to B4) and A New Day (1997), and on the December 1965 La Scala concert collected on Caprice (1997, track 6). Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Gianni Basso (tenor saxophone) - fellow member of the Basso-Valdambrini Octet on New Sound From Italy (1960) and its later reissues Blues for Gassman (2003, 2023) and Quintet/Sextet (2015); also on Bruno Canfora's Presenta Cole Porter (1955), Armando Trovaioli's The Beat Generation (1960), Armando Sciascia's Conversazioni In Jazz (1963) and Cuppini's Sof' Stroke/Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band/A New Day. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Franco Cerri (bass, guitar) - bassist alongside Pezzotta on the Basso-Valdambrini Octet's New Sound From Italy (1960); Cerri also plays guitar on Musica Jazz's Italian Jazz Graffiti (1988), on which Pezzotta plays tuba on track B3. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Glauco Masetti (alto saxophone, clarinet) - the other alto saxophonist on Presenta Cole Porter (1955) and New Sound From Italy (1960), and the alto saxophonist beside Pezzotta's trombone on Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings (1959) and on Cuppini's Sof' Stroke, Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band and Caprice. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Attilio Donadio (alto saxophone, clarinet) - section mate on Presenta Cole Porter (1955), New Sound From Italy (1960) and Italian Jazz Graffiti (1988, track B3), and on the Basso-Valdambrini reissue Blues for Gassman (2003). Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Eraldo Volonté (tenor saxophone) - beside Pezzotta on Presenta Cole Porter (1955), the two-single set Jazz Ad Alto Livello (1960) and Cuppini's Sof' Stroke/Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Baldo Panfili (trumpet) - trumpeter alongside Pezzotta's trombone on Presenta Cole Porter (1955) and Armando Trovaioli's The Beat Generation (1960). Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Giorgio Azzolini (double bass) - bassist in Cuppini's big band on Sof' Stroke, Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band and Caprice, and a fellow credited name on La Canzone Nord-Americana (1963). Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Dino Piana (trombone, valve trombone) - trombone-section partner in Cuppini's big band on Sof' Stroke, Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band and A New Day, and on the Basso-Valdambrini reissue Blues for Gassman (2003), where Piana plays valve trombone to Pezzotta's trombone. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Emilio Soana (trumpet) - trumpeter in Cuppini's big band on Sof' Stroke, Gil Cuppini Groups & Big Band and A New Day, alongside Pezzotta's trombone, and the trumpeter on Pezzotta's own quintet album Sophisticated Lady (1975). Profiled on JazzProfiles.com
- Bio-only connection, not itemized in the credits: Discogs' group-membership record for the Orchestra del Momento, Aldo Rossi's late-1940s Milan band in which Pezzotta made his 1945 professional debut, also names Giorgio Gaslini and Volonté as fellow members; no individually dated recording credit ties Pezzotta and Gaslini together beyond that group-level listing.
- Other recurring partners, none with a jazzprofiles.com profile: Oscar Valdambrini (trumpet), Renato Sellani (piano), Lars Gullin (baritone saxophone), Fausto Papetti (alto and baritone saxophone), Nino Impallomeni (trumpet), Gorni Kramer, Armando Trovaioli, Cinico Angelini and Ely Neri (bandleaders).
More Dixieland Artists
See all 35 Dixieland artists →More Italian Jazz Artists
See all 391 Italian artists →- Mario Pezzotta on Discogs
- Mario Pezzotta on Italian Wikipedia
- Mario Pezzotta on Wikidata
- Mario Pezzotta on Spotify (possible match, not independently confirmed track-by-track beyond the specific albums linked above)
- Jazzitalia: Ricordo di Mario Pezzotta
- Il Discobolo: Orchestra Mario Pezzotta
- Mario Pezzotta on jazzprofiles.com
- r/ItalianJazz
- Discogs API, artist 722885 ("Mario Pezzotta") and its group entities, with all 106 releases and masters carrying his credit fetched individually. Discogs profile: born December 25, 1920 in Alzano Lombardo, died February 9, 2004 in Bollate.
- Wikidata Q3848951 - identity confirmation (Discogs artist ID, MusicBrainz, ISNI, VIAF) and instrument.
- Italian Wikipedia: Mario Pezzotta - early life, wartime Switzerland internment, the 1945 debut with Aldo Rossi, Gorni Kramer, the 1950 dixieland quintet, the La Scala and RAI principal chair, the Verona Conservatory and civic band, and the 1990 retirement and 2004 death.
- Jazzitalia: Ricordo di Mario Pezzotta - Giampiero Boneschi's tribute; personal character, the 1948 Milan anecdote with Franco Cerri, the "Buone vacanze con Mario Pezzotta" LP and "Trombonology."
- English Wikipedia: Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings and Glauco Masetti - recording dates and personnel for the 1959 Milan strings session.
- Spotify: album pages for Chet Baker With Fifty Italian Strings, New Sound from Italy, A New Day and Serenade In Blue, matched against Discogs title, billing and personnel.