Music in Homes Concerts 2011-12
Trumpet master, Detroit Jazz Laureate Marcus Belgrave joins Italian-born, 8-string guitarist/violinist Michéle Ramo for an evening of chamber jazz spanning rhythms from Hot Jazz, Gypsy and Latin to Bebop and beyond.
Marcus Belgrave, Detroit’s official Jazz Laureate, winner of numerous awards and honors, and legendary master jazz trumpeter, was born in Chester, PA. He is best known for his longtime association with Ray Charles.
Recently, at the request of Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, he performed and represented Detroit as part of the Lincoln Center Motor City Jazz Masters tribute which Included Yusef Lateef, Curtis Fuller, Charles McPherson, and Ron Carter.
A true musical Renaissance man, there isn’t much trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, recording artist and producer, Belgrave can’t boast is on his curriculum vitae. He is a professor of music at Oberlin University, in Oberlin, Ohio, and is the co-founder of the Jazz Studies Program at the Detroit Metro Arts Complex and the Jazz Development Workshop in Detroit.
His career as a player has intersected with an unparalleled variety of musicians across several musical generations including Ray Charles, with whom he collaborated extensively, Ella Fitzgerald, Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Dolphy, Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson and many others. He has mentored and recorded with pianist Geri Allen, bassist Bob Hurst, alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett, and percussionist/composer Lawrence Williams.
This list of musicians only scratches the surface of his many musical collaborations. He can be heard on hundreds of legendary recordings. The collective impact of Belgrave’s mind, music and vision is felt across the spectrum of identities for which he has become rightfully recognized both within and outside of the jazz community. His diverse musical range including his tribute to Louis Armstrong is unparalleled and has been enthusiastically received by audiences all over the globe.
Read more about Marcus: marcusbelgrave.com
Michele Ramo is a jazz violinist, 8-string-nylon fingerstyle jazz guitarist, composer and educator who specializes in world music. He brings American Swing, Brazilian, Gypsy, Latin, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Rhythms and Cultures together in his playing, as well as composing and arranging.
Ramo 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 14, and by the age of 17 he received his first professional contract with the Orchestra Del Teatro Massimo (Italian State Symphony Opera Orchestra) in Palermo.
Continuing his classical career, Ramo earned a Master's degree in violin from the music conservatory of Caltanissetta, and toured Europe with Le Juness Du Mediterranee (International Mediterranean Youth Orchestra).” 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 moved to the United States in 1987 to pursue his work as a composer and instrumentalist in jazz.
Ramo has a unique and sought-after ability for blending his classical and jazz worlds into his writing, teaching and performance.
Ramo has performed, toured or recorded with numerous guitar greats such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Mundell Lowe, Martin Taylor (U.K.), Howard Alden, Al Caiola, Les Paul, Gary Potter (U.K.), Trefor Owen (U.K.), John Etheridge (U.K.), Andy MacKenzie (U.K.), Tony DeCaprio, Gene Bertoncini, Jorge Morel, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Wayne Wright, Jack Wilkins, Vic Juris, Jimmy Bruno, Frank Vignola, Vinney D'Arrigo, Mark Marino, Joe Carbone, and others.
His work with jazz musicians is a standout. He has performed and toured with jazz musicians Paquito D'Rivera, James Carter, Regina Carter, Roy Brooks, Marcus Belgrave, Chuck Redd, Bandoneon great Peter Soave and Broadway singer Jill O'Hara.
Detroit Jazz Magazine describes Ramo as "a classical/jazz crossover in the truest sense of the word."
