Paul Pesco | |
|---|---|
 Pesco in June 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | May 13, 1959 Canandaigua, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, funk, jazz fusion |
| Occupation(s) | Session musician, film score composer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass guitar, keyboards |
Paul Pesco (born May 13, 1959) is an American session guitarist, singer-songwriter, film score composer and record producer.
Pesco was born in Canandaigua, New York, to a Sicilian father (an opera singer and voice instructor) and Korean mother (an author). [1] The family lived for a time in Germany during Paul's youth before returning to New York. [1] He graduated from Northport High School in 1977. [2] As of November 2012, Pesco resides in Millbrook, New York, where he maintains a home recording studio. [3]
Beginning on the piano, Pesco would gradually build up a working proficiency with several different instruments before finding a natural fit with the guitar. He began seriously pursuing a career in music by working as a rehearsal technician at S.I.R. Studios, where he had brushes with numerous prominent artists. Having already played on some early sessions by a then-relatively unknown Madonna, Pesco was offered a position as a "utility man" (playing second guitar and keyboards) with Atlantic Starr on the band's 1982 tour, which would be his first prolific gig. Following this tour, Pesco was again recruited by Madonna to record on her self-titled debut album. [3]
Soon thereafter, Pesco joined up with the innovative techno funk group the System, performing on the band's studio albums as well as tours and becoming an instrumental part of launching the group's career. It was through his work with the System that he first came to the attention of the group Hall & Oates, with whom he would soon develop a long-term association.
These early gigs segued into future sessions with other high-profile artists, and his session career blossomed from there. He played on demos for disco artist Lourett Russell Grant. He became an in-demand session player throughout the 1980s and has remained one of the most sought-after session musicians into the present.
Meanwhile, Pesco had also maintained his working relationship with Madonna, having recorded and toured with her (the first album, songs "Lucky Star" and "Burning Up" as well as The Virgin Tour in 1985 and the Erotica album and subsequent Girlie Show World Tour in 1993). The Madonna demos on which he had played guitar prior to touring with Atlantic Starr initially secured her recording contract with Sire Records in the early 1980s, which have since been released as the Pre-Madonna album. [4]
In 1986, Pesco played on Steve Winwood's album Back in the High Life (on the song "The Finer Things") and on tour.
In 1989, Pesco released a solo album, Make It Reality, which featured himself on lead vocals, guitar, and often other instruments, backed by other session musicians.
In 1991, Pesco joined C+C Music Factory, creating the guitar parts for "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)", "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...", among many other songs. [5]
In 2001, he became musical director and guitarist for Jennifer Lopez, for her promotional tour and NBC music special. Pesco had worked with J-Lo in the studio, playing guitar on the song "Play" from her second album J.Lo.
In late 2002, he joined the house band for morning talk show The Wayne Brady Show on ABC. Around the same time, he worked on several film soundtracks including Around the Bend , Be Cool , Happy Feet and Robots with composer John Powell, the Brando documentary and the comedic short film, Basta Pasta with composer Andrea Morricone.
Pesco has also composed and performed on soundtracks for films such as Roxanne , Earth Girls Are Easy , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Encino Man , Wild Orchid , Coming to America , Fried Green Tomatoes , Boca and Tap .
In 2005, Pesco co-composed the musical score for the documentary film The Canary Effect from director Robin Davey.
Pesco has recorded and toured with Joan Baez.
He is a member and co-producer of John Blackwell's John Blackwell Project (4ever Jia album).
He is also a member of drummer Dave Weckl's group ( Multiplicity album).
Pesco was the lead guitarist and musical director of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates. [6] He also performed the same role for Daryl Hall's successful reality music television program, Live from Daryl's House, [6] and toured with Hall's solo band.
H&O were aware of Pesco because of his studio track record with the System, [6] and also his prolific work with many other artists. Initially, that led to Pesco playing guitar on their Ooh Yeah! album in 1988. He joined Hall & Oates again in 1996 for the recording sessions and tour for the Marigold Sky album.
He remained with the band until 2001, when he began working with Jennifer Lopez.
In 2010, Pesco rejoined Hall & Oates upon the death of the band's longtime bassist, Tom "T-Bone" Wolk. [7] He remained with the band through 2013 and had a highly visible role during Live from Daryl's House broadcasts. [3]
On January 6, 2014, Pesco publicly acknowledged his departure from the Live from Daryl's House show and the Hall & Oates band. On his Facebook page, Pesco wrote, "I am no longer involved with LFDH or H&O ... I was replaced ... Not sure why ... Sorry that I couldn't be more informative." [8] He added, "No one is more disappointed than I am ... I loved being a part of LFDH." [9] He concluded, "Sometimes the tail wags the dog. I think Daryl and John made a decision based on misinformation and lies... It's a shame..." [10]
He appeared on June 26 at Summerfest 2014 in Milwaukee.
| Year | Album | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | A Sailor from the moon (Mike Blum Remix) | Lord feat. Begüm Günceler & Tom Hooker | Guitar |
| 2013 | Sex, Love & Reggae | Gyptian | Guitar |
| 2012 | All of Me | Estelle | Guitar |
| 2012 | Kaleidoscope Dream | Miguel | Composer, Guitar |
| 2012 | The Crossing | Sophie B. Hawkins | Guitar |
| 2011 | Endless Planets | Austin Peralta | Mixing, producer |
| 2011 | Laughing Down Crying | Daryl Hall | Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Photography, producer |
| 2011 | My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) | Mary J. Blige | Guitar |
| 2010 | By Request (album) | Paulo Gonzo | Guitar |
| 2010 | Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 4 | Kitaro | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 2009 | Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall & John Oates | Daryl Hall & John Oates | Composer |
| 2009 | The Collection | Whitney Houston | Guitar |
| 2009 | The Element of Freedom | Alicia Keys | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 2009 | The End: A New Beginning | John Krondes | Guitar (Electric) |
| 2008 | Greatest Hits (Steel Box Collection) | Cyndi Lauper | Main Personnel |
| 2008 | Original Album Classics | Cyndi Lauper | Main Personnel |
| 2007 | Jazz Club: Jazz for the Road | Guitar (Electric) | |
| 2007 | Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 3 | Kitaro | Guitar (Electric) |
| 2006 | Fresh and Furious: Hip Hop's Beginning | Grandmaster Flash | Drum Programming, Guitar |
| 2006 | Happy Feet Original Soundtrack | Guitar | |
| 2006 | Reflections (A Retrospective) | Mary J. Blige | Guitar |
| 2006 | Spiritual Garden | Kitaro | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 2005 | Abdel Wright | Abdel Wright | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 2005 | Multiplicity | Dave Weckl | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 2005 | Robots Original Score | John Powell | Bagpipes |
| 2005 | Sounds of Life: A Musical Journey for Childbirth and Beyond | Guitar | |
| 2005 | The Essential Daryl Hall & John Oates | Daryl Hall & John Oates | Composer, lyricist |
| 2005 | X-Periment/Pleasure Seekers | The System | Composer, Guitar |
| 2004 | Seldom Blues | Alexander Zonjic | Guest Artist, Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 2004 | Ultimate Daryl Hall + John Oates | Daryl Hall & John Oates | Composer |
| 2003 | Do It for Love | Daryl Hall & John Oates | Composer, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 2003 | Live in Concert | Daryl Hall & John Oates | Composer |
| 2003 | Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai | Kitaro | Guitar (Electric), Slide Guitar |
| 2003 | Sophistication | Grady Nichols | Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Main Personnel, Soloist |
| 2002 | O2 | O-Town | Guest Artist, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 2002 | Duboc | Carol Duboc | Guitar |
| 2002 | Groovology | Gerald Albright | Guest Artist, Guitar (Electric) |
| 2002 | VH1 Behind the Music: The Daryl Hall and John Oates Collection | Daryl Hall & John Oates | Composer |
| 2001 | Ballads | Mary J. Blige | Guitar |
| 2001 | Dirty Little Secret | Stella Soleil | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 2001 | Hypnotic | Paul Taylor | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 2001 | J.Lo | Jennifer Lopez | Guitar |
| 2001 | Love Session | Silk | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 2001 | MYOB | Deborah Gibson | Guitar |
| 2001 | The Very Best of Miki Howard | Miki Howard | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 2000 | Against All Odds | Take 5 | Guitar |
| 2000 | Another Rosie Christmas | Rosie O'Donnell | Guitar |
| 2000 | Love Songs | Najee | Guitar |
| 2000 | Movimiento perpetuo | Sentidos Opuestos | Guitar |
| 2000 | Tamar | Tamar Braxton | Guitar |
| 2000 | X | K-Ci & JoJo | Guitar |
| 1999 | G | Gerald Levert | Guitar |
| 1999 | Mary | Mary J. Blige | Guitar |
| 1999 | On the 6 | Jennifer Lopez | Guitar |
| 1999 | Smoke This | Lynch Mob | Engineer, Guest Artist, Guitar, Keyboards, producer, Vox Organ |
| 1999 | The Game | Chico DeBarge | Guitar |
| 1999 | Tonight | Silk | Guitar |
| 1998 | All the Colors | Sonny Southon | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 1998 | For Art's Sake | Art Porter Jr. | Guitar |
| 1998 | Pre-Madonna | Madonna | Guitar |
| 1998 | Midnight | Jeff Lorber | Guitar |
| 1997 | Forever More | Charito | Guitar, Percussion |
| 1997 | Marigold Sky | Daryl Hall & John Oates | Guitar |
| 1996 | Billy Mann | Billy Mann | Guitar (Electric), Sitar |
| 1996 | Ladae! | Ladae! | Guitar |
| 1996 | Second Wind | Herb Alpert | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 1996 | The Craft | Guitar | |
| 1996 | Women: Live from Mountain Stage | Guitar, Vocals (Background) | |
| 1995 | Faith | Faith Evans | Unknown Contributor Role |
| 1995 | Let's Go Bang | Jennifer Love Hewitt | Guitar (Electric) |
| 1995 | Ring Them Bells | Joan Baez | Dobro, Guitar, Vocals |
| 1995 | Roberta | Roberta Flack | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 1995 | The Finer Things | Steve Winwood | Guitar |
| 1995 | Your Heart's in Good Hands | Al Green | Guitar |
| 1994 | Always & Forever | Eternal | Guitar, Sitar |
| 1994 | Cindy Mizelle | Cindy Mizelle | Guitar |
| 1994 | My Life | Mary J. Blige | Guitar |
| 1994 | Undercover | Art Porter Jr. | Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Wah Wah Guitar |
| 1994 | Vive en mí | Manuel Mijares | Guitar |
| 1994 | West Side Stories | Jeff Lorber | Guitar (Rhythm), Wah Wah Guitar |
| 1993 | The Colour of My Love | Celine Dion | Guitar |
| 1993 | Music Box | Mariah Carey | Guitar |
| 1993 | 21 Really Cool Songs | Sugar Beats | Musician, Unknown Contributor Role |
| 1993 | A Matter of Time | Vertical Hold | Guitar |
| 1993 | L.A. Blues Authority Volume II: Glenn Hughes – Blues | Glenn Hughes | Guitar |
| 1993 | Call Me Nightlife | Nokko | Guitar |
| 1993 | Don't Look Back | Al Green | Guitar |
| 1993 | I'm No Angel | Carole Davis | Bass, composer, engineer, Guitar, producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 1993 | Magical Duos | Saxophone | |
| 1993 | Nick Scotti | Nick Scotti | Guitar |
| 1993 | The Donna Summer Anthology | Donna Summer | Guitar |
| 1992 | Celine Dion | Celine Dion | Guitar |
| 1992 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Original Soundtrack | Guitar, Keyboards | |
| 1992 | Cool | Bob James | Guest Artist, Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 1992 | Deeper and Deeper | Madonna | Guitar |
| 1992 | Encino Man Original Soundtrack | Guitar, Programming | |
| 1992 | Erotica | Madonna | Guitar |
| 1992 | Exposé | Exposé | Guitar |
| 1992 | Greatest Remixes Vol. 1 | Clivillés & Cole | Guitar, Vocals |
| 1992 | Just an Illusion | Najee | Guitar |
| 1992 | Live | Patti Austin | Guitar |
| 1992 | Pocket City | Art Porter Jr. | Guitar |
| 1992 | Sin Red | Valeria Lynch | Guitar |
| 1992 | Sofia Shinas | Sofia Shinas | Guitar |
| 1992 | Time for Love | Freddie Jackson | Guitar |
| 1992 | Tyler | Tyler Collins | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 1991 | Aidalai | Mecano | Guest Artist |
| 1991 | Different Story | Deborah Blando | Guitar |
| 1991 | Emotions | Mariah Carey | Guitar |
| 1991 | Just One Night | Samantha Fox | Guitar |
| 1991 | Mistaken Identity | Donna Summer | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 1991 | No More Games/The Remix Album | New Kids on the Block | Unknown Contributor Role |
| 1991 | Ricca | Ricca | Guitar |
| 1991 | Victims | Steel Pulse | Guitar |
| 1991 | What Comes Naturally | Sheena Easton | Guitar |
| 1990 | Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Guitar |
| 1990 | Unison | Celine Dion | Guitar |
| 1990 | 1990 | David Rudder | Composer |
| 1990 | Contribution | Mica Paris | Guitar |
| 1990 | Gonna Make You Sweat | C+C Music Factory | Guitar |
| 1990 | Make the Difference | Tracie Spencer | Guitar |
| 1990 | Anything Is Possible | Debbie Gibson | Guitar |
| 1990 | Swingin' | Dino | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 1990 | Wild Orchid Original Soundtrack | Associate Producer, composer, producer | |
| 1989 | 24/7 | Dino | Guitar |
| 1989 | A Night to Remember | Cyndi Lauper | Guitar |
| 1989 | Desert Wind | Ofra Haza | Guitar |
| 1989 | Home | Stephanie Mills | Guitar |
| 1989 | Master of the Game | James "J.T." Taylor | Guitar |
| 1989 | Passion in the Heart | Shirley Lewis | Guitar |
| 1989 | Raw | Alyson Williams | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 1989 | Riverdance | Peter Moffitt | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 1989 | So Happy | Eddie Murphy | Guitar |
| 1988 | CK | Chaka Khan | Guitar |
| 1988 | Roll with It | Steve Winwood | Guitar |
| 1987 | Don't Disturb This Groove | The System | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 1987 | Finer Things in Life | Chuck Stanley | Guitar |
| 1987 | Never Never Land | Simon F. | Guitar (Electric) |
| 1987 | Scars of Love | TKA | Guitar |
| 1987 | The Hunger | Michael Bolton | Guitar |
| 1987 | Whitney | Whitney Houston | Guitar |
| 1986 | Come Share My Love | Miki Howard | Guitar |
| 1986 | Back in the High Life | Steve Winwood | Guitar |
| 1986 | One Step Closer | Gavin Christopher | Guitar, Keyboards |
| 1986 | Destiny | Chaka Khan | Guitar, Guitar (Electric) |
| 1986 | Dial My Number | Pauli Carman | Guitar |
| 1986 | Heartbeat | Don Johnson | Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 1986 | Hot Together | The Pointer Sisters | Guitar |
| 1986 | Inside Out | Philip Bailey | Composer |
| 1986 | Never Felt So Good | James Ingram | Guitar |
| 1986 | Souvenirs | Jenny Burton | Guitar |
| 1986 | While the City Sleeps... | George Benson | Guitar |
| 1985 | Chillin' | The Force M.D.'s | Drum Programming, Guitar |
| 1985 | Everybody's Crazy | Michael Bolton | Guitar |
| 1985 | How Could It Be | Eddie Murphy | Guitar |
| 1985 | Pleasure Seekers | The System | Composer, Guitar |
| 1985 | Street Called Desire | René & Angela | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 1985 | They Said It Couldn't Be Done | Grandmaster Flash | Additional Personnel, Drum Programming, Guitar |
| 1985 | Love Games | Evan Rogers | Guitar |
| 1984 | Chinese Wall | Philip Bailey | Composer |
| 1984 | I Feel for You | Chaka Khan | Guitar |
| 1984 | Let Me Be the One | Angela Bofill | Composer, Drum Programming, Guitar |
| 1984 | Step By Step | Jeff Lorber | Bass, Guitar |
| 1984 | X-Periment | The System | Guitar, Primary Artist |
| 1983 | Doin' It My Way | Howard Johnson | Guitar |
| 1983 | Madonna (album) | Madonna | Guest Artist, Guitar |
Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily played the electric guitar and provided backing vocals. The two wrote most of the songs they performed, either separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock and roll, soul music, and rhythm and blues.
Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980), and was a prominent contributor to several studio albums by Michael Jackson, including Thriller (1982). Lukather has released nine solo albums, the latest of which, Bridges, was released in June 2023.
Daryl Franklin Hohl, known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Hall & Oates, with guitarist and songwriter John Oates. Outside of his work in Hall & Oates, he has also released five solo albums, including the 1980 progressive rock collaboration with guitarist Robert Fripp titled Sacred Songs and the 1986 album Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, which provided his best selling single, "Dreamtime", that peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. He has also collaborated on numerous works by other artists, such as Fripp's 1979 release Exposure, and Dusty Springfield's 1995 album A Very Fine Love, which produced a UK Top 40 hit with "Wherever Would I Be". Since late 2007, he has hosted the streaming television series Live from Daryl's House, in which he performs alongside other artists, doing a mix of songs from each's catalog. The show has been rebroadcast on a number of cable and satellite channels as well.
Thomas Eugene Stinson is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stinson formed Bash & Pop, acting as lead vocalist, guitarist and frontman. In the mid-1990s he was the singer and guitarist for the rock band Perfect, and eventually joined the hard rock band Guns N' Roses in 1998.
John William Oates is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates along with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, serving as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
The Bacon Brothers is an American music duo consisting of brothers Michael Bacon and Kevin Bacon.
The System is an American synth-pop duo that debuted in the 1980s, composed of vocalist-guitarist Mic Murphy and seasoned session keyboardist David Frank. The band was founded in 1982 in New York and backed up by Paul Pesco on electric guitar and Kris Khellow on keyboards and synthesizers. The group is sometimes referred to as being "emotio-electro" because of its hi-tech, synthesizer-driven sound, married with passionate vocals and sensitive lyrics.
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk was an American musician and bassist for the music duo Daryl Hall & John Oates and a member of the Saturday Night Live house band.
James Jeffrey Weider is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the Band. He joined the reformed version of the Band in 1985 to replace original guitarist Robbie Robertson.
Sacred Songs is the first solo album by American singer/songwriter Daryl Hall. It was produced by guitarist Robert Fripp, who also played on the album.
Marigold Sky is the fifteenth studio album by American pop music duo Hall & Oates. The album was released on September 17, 1997, by Push Records. It reached #95 on the Billboard 200 and #179 on the UK Albums Chart.
Ooh Yeah! is the thirteenth studio album by American pop rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, released on April 28, 1988. It was their first studio release in four years and their first with Arista Records. Though the album went platinum in the United States and produced a No. 3 entry with the single "Everything Your Heart Desires", as well as the singles "Missed Opportunity" and "Downtown Life" reaching number 29 and 31 respectively, it charted lower, and sold fewer copies than the band's previous albums. Ooh Yeah! is the last Hall & Oates album with Janna Allen contributing to the writing team. She died in 1993 of leukemia.
Along the Red Ledge is the seventh studio album by American pop music duo Hall & Oates. The album was released on August 21, 1978, by RCA Records. The biggest hit from the album was "It's a Laugh". The follow-up single was "I Don't Wanna Lose You".
Livetime is a live album from 1978 by musical group Hall & Oates.
Caleb Quaye is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with Shawn Phillips in the 1970s. He is the son of singer/pianist Cab Kaye, younger brother of musician Terri Quaye, and elder half-brother of singer Finley Quaye.
Monte Lee Pittman is an American musician and studio musician based in Los Angeles, known largely as Madonna's long-time guitarist and for playing for heavy metal band Prong. He has also worked as a solo artist.
Laughing Down Crying is the fifth solo album by American recording artist Daryl Hall. It was released on September 27, 2011, on Verve Records. Co-producer and bandmate T-Bone Wolk died during early recording sessions for the disc; Hall dedicated the record to him. Hall debuted the album on a two-part episode of his series Live from Daryl's House.
Eliot Lewis is an American rock, and soul singer, multi-instrumentalist and solo artist. He is best known for his work with Average White Band (1989–2002) and Hall & Oates (2003–2023). Lewis was the original featured musician on Live from Daryl's House, an Internet-based show hosted by Daryl Hall that now can be seen on its popular YouTube channel. In addition, Lewis maintains his own successful solo career as well as a prolific output of music.
Live from Daryl's House is an online music series that debuted in the autumn of 2007. The show features singer-songwriter Daryl Hall performing with his band and various guest artists at his home in Millerton, New York. The show provides a performance space that is an alternative to live concerts and studio sessions for popular artists. This allows the artists to "…have fun and [be] creatively spontaneous". The majority of shows include a segment in which Hall and the guest artist prepare food from different cuisines for everyone to eat. The food comes from various local restaurants and the chefs of those establishments walk Hall and guest through the preparation of the food.
Shane Theriot is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is the musical director, guitarist, and band leader for Hall & Oates and musical director/guitarist for the television show Live from Daryl's House. As a composer for TV his music has been used by ESPN, HBO, and Showtime Networks. He is the author of several books on guitar styles, including New Orleans Funk Guitar Styles, and instructional DVDs.
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