Born: September 25, 1954 Primary Instrument: Vocal
Jerry Velona is a singer/songwriter and musician based on Arlington, Massachusetts. He attended Berklee College of Music and has been free-lancing and playing for years in clubs throughout Massachusetts and New England. “If anyone is doing a book about dives in the Boston area, see me for research”, he joked. Jerry has written and recorded dozens of original compositions which he has performed with his band Joint Venture. He won a Billboard songwriting award for his song Hip Hop No More. The song was part of an eponymous CD released in the late 90’s which received national airplay including heavy use in several episodes of MTV Cribs and on an HBO special. Jerry’s voice has been featured in commercials, a cartoon pilot and on the song “At Last (you’re there)”, from the documentary film, “Lifestyles of the Poor and Unknown”. “The story of my life”, he cracked.
Jerry studied drums from an early age and has played with a wide variety of rock, pop and funk bands starting in the 7th grade. At Berklee, Jerry studied with the late, great Alan Dawson and continued studying privately with him for several years. Jerry also studied with his uncle, Ted Sommer, one of the great sidemen, drummer/percussionists of the postwar era. He continues to freelance as drummer. Jerry has been called a “chameleon vocalist” for his ability to capture the essence of a wide variety of singing styles from popular standards of the 1940's through 60's soul and modern rock.
Jerry has performed at nightclubs and lounges singing songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and many of the great songwriters of the classic era of American pop music. He studied voice with legendary Boston vocal instructor Dante Pavone.
Jerry has released 5 CDs of original music. The styles span a full range of styles from rock and soul to funk, accoustic and jazz. “I'm a music marketer's nightmare,” he laughs, “my problem is I love all kinds of music and when a certain song idea hits me, it's generally accompanied by a certain musical style. I've decided to just go with it and hope that I can bring in a wide spectrum of listeners.” His latest EP, released in October of 2012 is entitled Dream Girl. It's Jerry's first jazz release and contains five tracks that run the gamut from smooth, contemporary jazz to dixieland to swing. It's available for sale and download at www.cdbaby.com/jerryvelona4.
