Marco Panascia (pronounced pana-SEE-ah) is an Italian-born bassist, composer and educator, and a longtime Manhattan resident. His proficiency in many different musical settings, and his strong doubling skills on the acoustic and the electric basses have earned him wholehearted praise worldwide. Panascia has made a name for himself by being featured in the groups of several jazz luminaries, such as Kenny Barron, Andy Bey, Kevin Mahogany, Eric Reed, Dado Moroni, Alvin Queen, Francesco Cafiso, Peter Bernstein and Tamir Hendelman, and he is also known for his tenure with young jazz piano sensation Eldar Djangirov, which delivered sold-out performances in three continents, and culminated in a Grammy-nominated CD release on the Sony Masterworks label. In the pop and R&B fields, Panascia has performed with Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Holliday and Brian McKnight, and has toured in Canada and the United States with the award-winning Italian operatic pop trio, Il Volo. Mentored by L.A. studio legend Carol Kaye, Panascia was the first prize winner of the 1998 Edinburgh International Double Bass competition in Scotland, and went on to earn a a Bachelor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, as a full tuition scholarship recipient. Currently an adjunct faculty member at the New School University in Manhattan, he often gets invited to teach clinics and masterclasses in the United States and abroad. Lately, he has been been featured in the pit orchestras at Disney's "The Lion King" and "Frozen" on Broadway, and has become a first-call bassist on the cabaret scene in New York City and beyond. Aside from being featured as a sideman on more than 50 recordings, Panascia's first album as a leader, "Bass Duo Live", was released in 2014, and it documents an unedited live concert with Dario Deidda, one of Italy's most celebrated jazz musicians, on a swinging and highly conversational acoustic/electric bass duo performance. The album is available on CD Baby, iTunes and Bandcamp, both in physical and digital form. For more information, please visit www.marcopanascia.com