Press release –
Halfway to Mellowtown is the debut album from Austin-based Cento Threeo, a Jazz / Americana trio led by guitarist and composer Don Cento. The album was recorded by Stuart Sikes (White Stripes, Cat Power, Loretta Lynn) at Church House in the band’s hometown with Cento producing. Halfway to Mellowtown is being released June 19 June by SecondBridge Records on 12” LP vinyl, CD, digital download and streaming services.
The album was cut live in two days with Don on guitar, drummer Norm Bergeron and Phil Spencer on bass. All eleven numbers – mainly Cento originals – are rooted in composition but make ample room for improvisation. The trio’s sound merges the sophistication of late-’90s jazz guitar records and classic ’60s post-bop with the textural sensibilities of Americana and indie rock – a unique fusion born from Cento’s diverse musical background.
“The Judy Valve” opens the album with a steady ramp up, shifting focus around the band. “It Takes What It Takes” began as a vocal song but finds a new life as an instrumental while retaining it’s pop-tune structure. “Dennis Muren” is an homage to the FX wizard from Industrial Light & Magic, that hits the laughing gas and give nods to composer and conductor, Jack Elliott. The eerie blues-waltz “Make the Silence Louder” opens Side B with a crack. “Filibuster in E Minor” is all noir ostinato, that plays a game of cat-and-mouse at the intersection of Henry Mancini and David Lynch. The album’s final track is the Rosanne Cash song, “Seven Year Ache,” the album’s only cover tune, whose melody Cento toys with like it’s made of Silly Putty.
Don Cento’s three-decade career spans jazz, indie rock, and Americana. He has toured and recorded with numerous award-winning artists including Sarah Jaffe, Ume, Little Jack Melody, and Chomsky. His production work extends across genres from metal to classical with artists like Matt Kivel, Jerry David DeCicca, and Vitskär Süden on labels like Drag City, Bloodshot, Ripple Music, Worried Songs, Idol Records and Tompkins Square. His contributions to these projects have been admiringly noted in features on NPR’s Weekend Edition, Uncut, SPIN, The New Yorker, and Aquarium Drunkard. As a solo artist, Cento has released music under the moniker El Cento and with instrumental group Shibboleth, scoring placements with both on FOX, MTV and Discovery.
Cento Threeo marks Don’s return to Jazz and represents his most personal artistic statement to date. The project began as a casual outlet for reimagining ’60s and ’70s FM classics through an atmospheric, jazz-adjacent lens. What started as a covers project quickly evolved as Cento reconnected with his love for jazz and began writing original compositions in earnest.
Following the recording of Halfway to Mellowtown, the drum seat in Cento Threeo was taken over by Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainright, St. Vincent).
