Cento Threeo Press & Reviews
“Carefully crafted, whimsically relaxed, and somehow both raw and smooth, the record almost casually checks boxes for both melody and spontaneity.”Austin Chronicle
“The latest offering of his trio impresses with meaningfully simple melodies imbued with subtle swing and a band sound tailor-made for a Coen Brothers flick.”Jazz Journal
“Ceaseless interaction and expressiveness from all three as they put their personalities into the whole.”The Vinyl District
“Cento’s reverberant, razor-wire leads bite deep.”Jazziz Discovery
“Halfway To Mellowtown grows in interest with each listen.”LA Jazz Scene
Press
...Don Cento plays instrumental jazz the right way...
Video Feature →...atmospheric originals... The interplay between Cento and his sidemen is particularly solid
By R.K. Watkins
Read the Review →4/5 Stars
Like a short hitch down a long, lonesome stretch of highway, Halfway to Mellowtown is a memorable trip that's certain to twang your heartstrings on many emotional levels.
By Ken Hohman
Read the Review →Graded on a Curve
It never sounds like Cento is doing too much, which leads us to the abilities of his bandmates to bring something more than support. There is improvisation in the mix, and, in particular, a few knockout bass solos from Spencer, but there is also ceaseless interaction and expressiveness from all three as they put their personalities into the whole.
By Joseph Neff
Read the Review →Always Halfway There
Don Cento of the Austin trio Cento Threeo discusses the band's debut album 'Halfway to Mellowtown' and its jazz and Americana roots, the Ahmad Jamal influence, and a creative process built on long friendships rather than deliberate genre strategy.
By Steven Garnett
Read the Interview →By Marty Gunther
Read the Review →Halfway To Mellowtown grows in interest with each listen
By Scott Yanow
Read the Review →By Larry A Brechner & Ester Golden
Listen to the Podcast →By Rob Elba
Fantastic chat with a fantastic host about one of the greatest albums of all time.
🎧 Listen to the Intervew →By Michael Toland
Lovely review of Halfway to Mellowtown
Read the Review →By Mike Watt
Great, great convo with a legend. An honor.
Listen to the Intervew →A Broad Spectrum
By Mary Foster Conklin
Over cover of Seven Year Ache was included on this jazz show with an emphasis on Women Who Inspire. Great playlist of tunes
Listen to the Show →PODCAST: Introvert Extract
By Brian Sek
Very cool Show on WAYO-FM. I picked a bunch of songs and tried to justify my choices.
Listen to the Intervew →Melted
By Frankie Hollywood
Amazing conversation with the legendary Frankie Hollywood
Listen to the Intervew →The Big Saturday Thing
By Mike Lidskin
Great, deep conversation
Listen to the Intervew →MAGNET EXCLUSIVE: FULL-ALBUM PREMIERE OF CENTO THREEO’S “HALFWAY TO MELLOWTOWN”
By Hobart Rowland
Song-by-song rundown / tidbits
Read More →Don Cento and Matt Kivel Love Charles Grodin
By Annie Fell
Don Cento is an Austin-based guitarist and composer who leads the instrumental jazz/Americana trio Cento Threeo. Matt Kivel is a songwriter and musician based in LA, whose latest record Escape from L.A. came out at the end of last year (and features contributions from Don). The debut Cento Threeo record Halfway to Mellowtown is out tomorrow, and to celebrate, the frequent collaborators got on a call to chat about it, and much more.
Read More →Podcast
By Jedd Beaudoin
This is a really good chat. Jedd is a deep, insightful and musical soul
Listen to the Intervew →Review
By François van de Linde
The latest offering of his trio impresses with meaningfully simple melodies imbued with subtle swing and a band sound tailor-made for a Coen Brothers flick.
Read More →Review
It’s refreshing to hear something which feels at once familiar, comfortable, and at the same time, new. It’s like a sunset drive along the beach, with the top down.
Read More →Review
Cento Threeo moves with considerable care toward a balance between composed and improvised sections. The guitar delivers solos that are measured in both length and virtuosity, never straying too far from the atmosphere of the opening theme, thus allowing even non-jazz lovers to keep hold of the thread of each piece as a whole.
Read More →Podcast
By Mark Shea
Great conversation with a multi-facedted host
Listen to the Interview →Exclusive Premiere: Cento Threeo’s “It Takes What It Takes” Previews ‘Halfway to Mellowtown’
An early vocal sketch becomes an instrumental ahead of 'Halfway to Mellowtown,' out June 19.
By Lauren Leadingham
What started as a rough sketch with unfinished lyrics eventually took a different form, resurfacing as an instrumental.
Read More →Cento Threeo “Make the Silence Louder” Halfway to Mellowtown
By Bob Weinberg
Cento’s reverberant, razor-wire leads bite deep
Read More →SONG PREMIERE: Cento Threeo Lean Into the Unexpected with Easygoing Blues-waltz “Make the Silence Louder”
Today, Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of the eerie blues-waltz “Make the Silence Louder,” a slowly simmering number that lopes along in easygoing yet mysterious fashion. Filled with unexpected, occasionally sneaky phrases and meter changes, the tune is best enjoyed while sipping a glass of wine and savoring its clever journey.
Read More →New releases April-May 2026
Read More →INTERVIEW: Cento Threeo
Read More →PODCAST: Don Cento-Producer, Guitarist, Composer, Designer, CenTones Studio, Austin, Texas!
Watch the Interview →A Dirty Dozen with DON CENTO of CENTO THREEO – April 2026
Read More →Contact
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