PAUL PESCO

Producer / Composer

 

Beginning on the piano, Paul Pesco gradually built up a working proficiency with several different instruments before finding a natural fit with the guitar. He began seriously pursuing a career in music by working as a rehearsal technician at S.I.R. Studios, where he had brushes with numerous prominent artists. Having already played on some early sessions by a then-relatively unknown Madonna, Pesco was offered a position as a "utility man" (playing second guitar and keyboards) with Atlantic Starr on the band's 1982 tour, which would be his first prolific gig. Following this tour, Pesco was again recruited by Madonna to record on her self-titled debut album.

 

Soon thereafter, Pesco joined up with the innovative techno funk group, The System, performing on the band's studio albums as well as tours and becoming an instrumental part of launching the group's career. It was through his work with The System that he first came to the attention of the massively successful group Hall & Oates, with whom he would soon develop a long-term association.

 

These early gigs segued into future sessions with other high-profile artists, and his session career blossomed from there. He became an in-demand session player throughout the 1980s and has remained one of the most sought-after session musicians into the present.