“Matteo Pastorino’s bass clarinet engulfs us with probing and searing emotion, making even more impressive the calm clarity of his ensemble playing and his ability to ladle helpings of gravy on the lower frequency countermelodies.” WYNTON MARSALIS

Innovative voice of the clarinet in Europe, Matteo Pastorino was born in Sardinia in 1989.
He released his rst album, « V », with his quartet in 2014, followed by « SUITE FOR MODIGLIANI » on Challenge Records in 2017, an album inspired by the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, featuring New York guitarist Gilad Hekselman as a guest.
In March 2025, he returns with a new quartet album on the italian label A.Ma Records,
« LIGHTSIDE», alongside Domenico Sanna, Armando Luongo, and European bass star Dario Deidda.

Matteo has collaborated and continues to actively work with renowned artists such as David Linx, Guillaume De Chassy, Paolo Fresu, Antonello Salis, Gilad Hekselman, Joe Sanders, Shay Maestro, Francesco Ciniglio, Raphael Imbert, Francesco Bearzatti, Nicola Andrioli, and Sélène Saint-Aimé, to name a few. He has performed in many countries around the world, including France, England, Spain, Belgium, the United States, Pakistan, Senegal, and more.

He began playing the clarinet self-taught at the age of 13 and quickly developed a passion for jazz thanks to his father, a double bassist. From 2002 to 2007, he participated in the Nuoro Jazz wor- kshops led by trumpeter Paolo Fresu, where he was awarded multiple scholarships. During Siena Jazz 2009, he had the opportunity to study with Kenny Werner, Clarence Penn, Aaron Goldberg, and Miguel Zenón, winning the award for best musician, which allowed him to study with Chris Potter the following year. In 2008, he moved to Paris and enrolled in the specialized jazz program at the Paris Conservatory, graduating in 2012 with highest honors, unanimously awarded by the jury.

From 2013 to 2020, he spent one month each year in New York to perform, study, and exchange with musicians from the New York jazz scene.
In 2016 he created the San Teodoro Jazz Festival in Sardinia, Italy.

Awards:

Scholarship – Best Student at Nuoro Jazz (2007) and Siena Jazz (2009)
First Prize – Jazz Group Competition at Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris (2012)
Selmer Award for Best Soloist (2012), which made him an ambassador for the prestigious brand Second Prize and Audience Award – Monte Carlo International Jazz Soloist Competition (2014) Critics’ Award – Massimo Urbani International Competition (2015)