MARIO CARRILLO

Artistic Bio

Mario grew up in a family where music was present in everyday life.

Heavily influenced by his parents (both working professionals of the music
industry and amateur musicians) since an early age, he started his basic
musical studies almost at the same time he started elementary school.
At the age of 12 he picks up the Acoustic Bass as his main instrument
and he studies classical Bass under great teachers at his hometown Madrid
such as Juan Cañada, Luis Navidad or Jesús Higuero. He continues his
classical studies and becomes part of important formations such as the Youth
Orchestra of Madrid or the Symphonic Orchestra of Chamartín (Madrid) with
whom he toured extensively around Spain and Europe. At the same time as
he starts a Diploma in Environmental Sciences at one of Madrid’s more
renowned universities.
In 2004 he finally becomes a student at the “Escuela de Música
Creativa” in Madrid where he is introduced to jazz and modern music and
studies under great teachers as Richi Ferrer, Andy Phillips (Berklee Alumni) or
Rafael Fernández de Larrinoa. During this period of his musical education,
Mario is introduced to many different styles from Jazz to Fusion, Latin,
Brazilian, Funk, Reggae, etc. All that added to his already rich classical
background made an excellent mix for his future music career.
In 2005 he meets Gabriel Casanova, keyboard and Hammond Organ
player with who he starts a prolific friendship and as a result of that they
create “Jazzlibitum”, a band that mixes funky grooves with jazz harmonies
and electric sounds. With Jazzlibitum he performed around the Madrid Jazz
scene. Jazzlibitum is still active in Madrid and the musical relationship
between Gabriel Casanova and Mario continues productively.
Is in 2006 when, sponsored by his parents, Mario comes to Berklee for
the first time to participate in the 5 Week Summer Program. During that
summer, he meets musicians and teachers from all over the world and he is
awarded with a Full Tuition Scholarship to come back to Boston and become
a Full Time Student at Berklee College of Music.
 This event changes his present and future life because he has to
cancel his already accepted application to study in the Superior Conservatory
of Jazz of Pamplona (Spain) to move to Boston, where he arrives in May 2007.

Currently, Mario is in his 6th Semester, pursuing a Degree in

Performance (in Acoustic and Electric Bass) and Music Education. He has
earned a place in the Dean’s List for Excellent Academic Performance every
single semester ever since he got to Berklee.
He has worked with great teachers such as Leo Blanco, Danilo Perez,
Wayne Ward, Bruno Raberg, Esperanza Spalding or John Lockwood and he is
fully involved in Berklee’s life being part of his fellow students’ projects: he
has recorded more than 60 sessions in 6 Semesters and played more than 40
Recitals and Senior Recitals including important venues as the David Friend
Recital Hall and the Berklee Performance Center. Recently he collaborated to
record the last release of Jazz Revelation Records “Common Ground”

His activity is also intense outside of Berklee’s doors, because he

keeps a busy gig agenda with many different bands of a wide variety of styles
and he is also part of the MIT Symphonic Orchestra with whom he plays and
works on music from the greatest composer of all time.

He is fully in Berklee’s life where he has started several musical

journeys, meeting amazing people and musicians.
He works with Aditya Balani Group where drawing from their ethnic
roots each musician adds a unique colour to their sound which is an exciting
blend of the spontaneity and harmonic interplay of Jazz with the sheer
intensity of Indian Classical melodies and rhythms.
ADRM Quartet is a group of Berklee exceptionally talented musicians
(most of them recipient of Berklee’s most prestigious awards like the Zildjian
Scholarship or the "Jazz Performance Award") who have started a journey to a
new approach to jazz harmonies and sounds using everything in their hands
to do it.
In Spring 2008 he meets Berklee Student Mina Cho from Korea with
who he starts “Mami Quartet”. They are working under the guidance of
Berklee Faculty Leo Blanco in a unique blend of Afro-South American
Rhythms with Jazz Harmonies.

Nowadays Mario keeps working towards his goals of mastering the

Acoustic Bass in the widest variety of styles and genres possible as well as he
goes deeper in the process of becoming a teacher.