“Someday all good music will return from its assorted labels which inhibit it.” — Charles Mingus

Long hailed as a shining star in his hometown of Pittsburgh, bassist Tony DePaolis is also a singular songwriting voice with a keen ear for arranging. DePaolis, the son of musical parents, first began his professional career performing alongside Horace Silver alum, drummer Roger Humphries. DePaolis also did notable stints with vocalist Sandy Staley and guitarist Jimmy Ponder. He spent most of the late 20-aughts on the bandstand with then up-and-coming trumpet star Sean Jones.

In 2009, DePaolis recorded and released his highly ambitious debut album, The Contemporary Dynamic. Sprawling across two discs, the double-album featured over thirty-six artists, including drummer Daru Jones, saxophonist Jacob Yoffee, vocalist Gene Stovall, and guitar legend Joe Negri.

DePaolis’ compositions and arrangements have appeared on releases by Charles “Poogie” Bell, Colter Harper, Francesco Lo Castro, Erik Lawrence, Reid Hoyson, Tony Campbell, and Paul Cosentino’s Boilermaker Jazz Band. In 2019, DePaolis was the recipient of a grant from the Heinz Endowments and Pittsburgh Foundation for the completion of a new original recording project. The project, titled Life Unbound, was written for quartet, sextet, septet, nonet and strings, has an anticipated release in 2023.

DePaolis was born and raised in Pittsburgh. He attended Johns Hopkins University for Film Studies. He was a participant in the 2008 iteration of the Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program. DePaolis currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.