Double bass player and bassist Ares Tavolazzi attended cello and double bass courses at the Ferrara Conservatory of Music and then played in the Italian pop music
After moving to Milan, he worked as a session player in the recording rooms of the Milanese city along with drummer Ellade Bandini and keyboardist Vince Tempera. With the two musicians he formed the proto-prog group The Pleasure Machine in 1969. In the capacity of a turn player, he collaborates with Francesco Guccini, Paolo Conte, Mina and Eugenio Finardi
Following the dissolution of the group The Pleasure Machine, the Ferrara bassist joined Area, replacing Patrick Djivas, who had moved on to the rock-progressive band PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi)
The band formed by Demetrio Stratos, Patrizio Fariselli, Paolo Tofani, Giulio Capiozzo will illustrate the Italian jazz rock scene of the 1970s decade along with Giovanni Tommaso’s Perigeo
Unlike the latter, elements of experimental and electronic music can be traced in Area’s musical proposal, as well as strong political and socially engaged content with often radical stances
With Area, Ares Tavolazzi recorded ten albums, including 1974’s Caution Radiation Area , to participate in various national and international events and festivals
In 1983, having exhausted his experience with Area, Ares Tavolazzi approached jazz by playing at the Capolinea in Milan, then leaving for New York. In the American city he immersed himself in the local jazz scene, pondering the choice to devote himself professionally to this musical genre
Back in Italy, he joined the orchestra of Canadian composer and pianist Gil Evans, whose ranks included saxophonists Steve Lacy and Pietro Tonolo
Among the most internationally acclaimed double bassists, with numerous awards from specialized magazines to his credit, Ares Tavolazzi over the years has collaborated and recorded record works with numerous Italian and international musicians, including, Kenny Wheeler, Marco Tamburini, Stefano Bollani, Franco D’Andrea, Massimo Urbani, Enrico Rava, Gianni Basso, Gianluca Petrella, Claudio Fasoli, Enrico Pieranunzi, Lee Konitz, Max Roach, Sal Nistico, Danilo Rea, Phil Woods, Roberto Gatto, Tino Tracanna, Barbara Casini
Essential discography: You and the Night and the Music (1999 – Splasc(H) Records), Let’s Face the Music and Dance (2001 – Splasc(H) Records), Volare – Stefano Bollani with Ares Tavolazzi and Walter Paoli (2002 – Venus Records), Godot and other theater stories (2008 – Dodicilune), TrioKàla – Rita Marcotulli, Ares Tavolazzi, Alfredo Golino (2016 – Nicolosi Productions)
