Pablo Menares

Arguably the most in-demand Chilean jazz bassist of the early 21st century, New York-based Pablo Menares has a rich, multi-decade resumé taking in countless studio dates and live performances. With a graceful, fluid technique -- countering the harder tone often found in players of contemporary jazz and post-bop -- he is a dependable, ever-present sideman, offering an innate musicality to projects led by fellow Chilean artists such as the guitarist Nicolás Vera and saxophonist Melissa Aldana. A thread running through both the early part of Menares' career in Santiago and the period following his move to Brooklyn in 2009 has also been frequent collaboration with the drummer Félix Lecaros. However, it is Menares' appearances on Aldana's Blue Note albums -- 2022's 12 Stars and 2024's Echoes of the Inner Prophet -- that perhaps represent his highest-profile recordings.