A Dirty Dozen with Don Cento of Cento Threeo – April 2026

Photo credit: Barbara FG

According to a recent press release: “Cento Threeo is an instrumental trio performing original compositions that live somewhere between straight-ahead jazz, a midwestern sunset after a thunderstorm, and Ernie Kovacs’ dressing room. Conversational musical improvisation that ebbs and flows and gives and takes.” We get guitarist Don Cento to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Halfway to Mellowtown is the debut release from Cento Threeo. We’re a jazz guitar trio working in a classic and durable format, filtering straight-ahead jazz through my experiences writing, playing and producing indie rock, pop and Americana. Those lessons inform the compositions and encourage the improvisation to be melodic, unhurried and conversational. The album was recorded live-in-the-studio over two days in December 2024. Of the eleven tracks on the record – all instrumentals – nine are my compositions. Bassist Phil Spencer contributed one song and the lone cover is the classic “Seven Year Ache” by Rosanne Cash. There aren’t any Easter Eggs (none conscious anyway…) however a couple of the songs began life as vocal tunes. Maybe I got lazy and never finished the lyrics, but they work well as instrumentals. Someday perhaps I’ll commit to a lyric.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

In seventh grade I played French Horn in band. I was mediocre which meant I sat in the middle of the first row, right in front of the conductor. One day, instead of band class we had a guest artist: flamenco guitarist Ronald Radford. He sat on the conductor’s podium, about six feet in front of me. At this point in my life I was aware of music, maybe even a little curious, but I had never been that close to something as electrifying as a live flamenco guitar performance. I was struck by lightning. My brain was immediately rewired and I went home and begged my parents to take me to his concert that night (they did). I bought a tape, got his autograph and immediately started saving money to buy a guitar. Forty years later, I still haven’t learned how to play flamenco guitar…

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Beyond Ronald Radford initially ringing my bell, I can’t pinpoint a single performer. I’m the sum of decades of listening to tons of records and hanging with  lots of incredible musicians across a variety of genres and backgrounds. Keeping my ears and mind open has been the best guide.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

If I had to choose just one – and since it’s a hypothetical – I’m going to choose someone who’s no longer with us. The late, great Quincy Jones. His career touched so many high points of American music. From Count Basie to Michael Jackson. He embodied everything I care about in music: spirit, groove, melody, arrangement, intellectual curiosity and constant re-invention.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

I enjoy running. During the pandemic my wife and I began running and have kept it up since then. We’ve run a handful of half-marathons and a few other races. She’s much faster than me.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Cento Threeo is at its heart a jazz guitar trio: Electric guitar, upright bass and drums. Straight ahead at times, midwestern at times, abstract at other times. As far as a comparison… there was a review of the first record I ever produced wherein the reviewer compared it unfavorably to Randy Newman. Ironically, Randy Newman was one of the artists that had inspired us in the making of that record.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

We haven’t had an opportunity to cook for each other, but Phil and I have been known to enjoy a martini now and again. And we’re all pretty mild-mannered so we haven’t had a sing-a-long. Maybe we don’t spend enough time around campfires.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

A friend alerted me that Elvis Costello was dining at his restaurant. I hightailed it down there and briefly interrupted his dessert. He was very pleasant.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician is other musicians. I’ve been fortunate to play with some great writers and players and I always absorb something new. Dream job… A cynical, world-weary yet principled private eye.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

What’s your favorite chord? A nice, jangly G Major. I figured I’d be okay if no one ever asked again whether I played lead or rhythm guitar.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

There’s not a single moment. There’s many. Decisions I made or didn’t make. Opportunities passed. Foot in mouth moments (hundreds). But they all add up to today and are buried somewhere in the playing and writing on this record.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I’d like to have been a fly on the wall for Pet Sounds. I’d love to see those iconic songs emerge from Brian Wilson’s mind, filter through some of the best musicians to ever do it, and hang in the room.

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Category: Interviews