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Michele Ramo

MICHÉLE RAMO (pronounced: Me-KEL-ay) is an 8 string nylon fingerstyle jazz guitarist, jazz violinist, jazz mandolinist, composer and educator who specializes in bringing American Swing, Brazilian, Gypsy and Latin rhythms together in his playing, as well as composing and arranging for the guitar. A classical-jazz crossover artist in the truest sense of the word, Ramo has a unique and sought-after ability for blending his classical and jazz worlds into his writing, teaching and performance. Ramo is a self-taught guitarist whose formal training and higher education is in violin studies. Ramo always maintained his guitar playing alongside the violin and while working in orchestras. He attended guitar master classes in Italy with Aliro Diaz, and in the United States with Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Charlie Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass & Baden Powell. RAMO born on May 5th, 1964, grew up in the small Sicilian village of ‘Costiera’, located on the southwest coast of Sicily near the fishing port of Mazara del Vallo. He began violin studies at 13 and at the age of seventeen received his first professional contract with the Italian State Symphony opera orchestra “Orchestra Del Teatro Massimo in Palermo. He earned a Master's degree in violin from the music conservatory of Caltanissetta. Ramo toured Europe with the International Mediterranean Youth Orchestra �"“Le Juness Du Mediterranee”. In 1985 he was contracted with “Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana” and worked as Concert Master with “Orchestra Filarmonica Del Tirrreno touring Italy. After five years in various Italian State Orchestras, Ramo left the orchestra job and moved to the United States in 1987 to pursue his work as a composer and instrumentalist in Jazz. Ramo’s jazz festival performances include: The North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland), Molde Jazz (Norway), Fano Jazz (Italy) Montreal Jazz, Ottawa Jazz (Canada), Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Freiburg (Germany), Paris, Ile Del Re, Souillac, (France), Montreux- Detroit Jazz, Burlington Jazz, Arkansas Jazz (USA), Cork Jazz (Ireland), Barcelona, Madrid (Spain), Republica de Andorra, Athens, Corfu, Corintos, and Patras (Greece). Ramo has performed/toured or recorded with: Clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, Violinist Regina Carter, Sax player James Carter, Pianist Arturo O'Farrill, Trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, Drummer Roy Brooks, Bandoneon great Peter Soave, Accordionists Art Van Damme, Eddie Monteiro, Frank Marocco and with guitarists: Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Mundell Lowe, Howard Alden, Martin Taylor, Al Caiola, Les Paul, Gary Potter, Jorge Morel, Gilbert Biberian, Carlos Barbosa- Lima, Wayne Wright, Gene Bertoncini, Jack Wilkins, Frank Vignola, Jimmy Bruno, Rodney Jones, Patrick Sussois.

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4
Album Review

Michele Ramo: A Cigar & A Scotch

Read "A Cigar & A Scotch" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Hailing from the Mediterranean fishing town of Mazara, Italy, guitarist/violinist and composer Michele Pugielese-Ramo has been fishing the jazz waters of New York and Detroit for the last twenty-six years. Having recorded countless albums as leader during that time, his most recent endeavor, A Cigar & A Scotch, captures a gifted musician and his World Jazz Orchestra in a live setting that must have been exciting to experience in person. Whether performing on the smaller higher-pitched Requinto guitar, the 8-string ...

204
Album Review

Michele Ramo: Oh Lady Be Good

Read "Oh Lady Be Good" reviewed by Jim Santella


With a swinging program that recalls the spirit of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt, this contemporary trio of veteran jazzmen delivers straight from the heart. The cohesive program jumps in a lively fashion as the acoustic group delves into material steeped in tradition and mellowed with age.

Up-tempo romps like “Have You Met Miss Jones" and “Oh Lady Be Good" find the trio pulling out all the stops in a celebration of syncopation, swing and sunshine. Slower pieces, ...

251
Album Review

Mich: Ramo

Read "Ramo" reviewed by Jim Santella


Born in the Italian Mediterranean fishing town of Mazara del Vallo on the west coast of Sicily, guitarist Mick Ramo learned to play music from his earliest childhood years. By age thirteen, he had entered the music conservatory, where he studied violin. Professional engagements with the Italian State Symphony Opera House followed. Then he met jazz. Today, he calls the US home and immerses himself in all kinds of jazz performance activities that employ both his violin and his guitars.

161
Album Review

Mich: I Didn't Know About You

Read "I Didn't Know About You" reviewed by Jim Santella


Lyrical stuff happens when you find two veteran artists such as Mick and Mundy together as a guitar duo. They know intuitively what to say with their instruments.

The guitar has provided a similar framework for melodic excursion over many centuries. As Mick Ramo and Mundy Lowe blend their distinctive timbres together for a satisfying session of familiar standards, the melody is never far from their fingertips. Both artists prefer a kinder, gentler approach that entices. They both ...

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“Michéle Ramo’s guitar playing is outstanding and he is a composer to be reckoned with!” ~ guitarist Charlie Byrd

Primary Instrument

Guitar, 8-string

Location

Detroit

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Master Degree from Italian Music Conservatory. Ramo Music School / Guitar, Mandolin, Violin, Viola and other string instruments. www.RamoMusic.com

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

A Cigar & A Scotch

Self Produced
2014

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A Cigar & A Scotch...

Self Produced
2014

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Oh Lady Be Good

Moonboat Records
2006

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Ramo

Moonboat Records
2005

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I Didn't Know About...

Moonboat Records
2005

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