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Mike Melito
About Me
Born and raised in Rochester NY, Mike Melito has played drums most of his entire life. He started his professional career at age 16 playing with Vibraphonist Joe Locke. The great saxophonist Joe Romano was in the house the first gig Mike played with Locke and Romano hired Mike for a series of gigs. Work started to snowball for Mike. He soon started working all over upstate NY with Saxophonist JR Monterose, Trumpeters Sal Amico and Joe Magnarelli and pianist Bill Dobbins. He started to lead his own groups as well. Mike has gone on to work with some of the worlds greatest jazz musicians. Some of them include legends James Moody, Benny Golson, Barry Harris and Junior Mance. Younger stars Vincent Herring, Harry Allen, John Swana, Grant Stewart, Eric Alexander, Steve Turre, David Hazeltine, Ken Peplowski, Dennis Irwin, Ralph Lalama, Peter Bernstein, Danilo Perez, Benny Green and many others. Mike has recorded seven critically acclaimed CDs , MY CONCEPTION 1997, BOUT TIME' 2001, THE NEXT STEP 2004, IN THE TRADITION 2008 CD THE RIGHT TIME, NEW YORK CONNECTIONS 2017, YOU'RE IT! with pianist Dino Losito 2019 and his latest is TO SWING IS THE THING 2023. Mike's CDs are available from amazon and through him directly at www.mikemelito.com He appears on several CDs as a sideman as well was featured in the 12/09 issue of Downbeat magazine. Mike is the house drummer for the Rochester International Jazz Festival as a member of the Bob Sneider Trio and endorses Canopus Drums and Istanbul Agop Cymbals. He works hard at trying to carry on the tradition of his heros Philly Joe Jones, Papa Jo Jones, Art Taylor, Art Blakey, Billy Higgins, Jimmy Cobb and Frankie Dunlop.
