Tony Miceli (born July 1, 1960) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

vibraphonist and educator. He was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and grew up in

Willingboro, New Jersey Willingboro Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the state's South Jersey region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,889, an increase of ...

. He is on the faculty of the University of the Arts,

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

and University of Southern Mississippi. He also performs in jazz clubs, concert halls and festivals around the world. He has played jazz standards, jazz interpretations of classical music (a repertoire that includes Villa Lobos, Mozart, and Bach) Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and other rock musicians from the 1960s. Miceli has worked with David Friedman,

Joe Magnarelli Joseph Anthony Magnarelli (born January 19, 1960) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. Early life and education Magnarelli was born in Syracuse, New York. He received a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Fr ...

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

, Elio Villafranca,

Steve Slagle Steve Slagle (born September 18, 1951) is an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Slagle was born in Los Angeles and grew up in suburban Philadelphia. He received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music and received a master's degree in M ...

Dave Stryker Dave Stryker (born March 30, 1957) is an American jazz guitarist. He has recorded over twenty-five albums as a leader and has been a featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and Kevin Mahogany. Career Stryker grew up in Omaha, Nebr ...

, Peter Bernstein,

Gerald Veasley Gerald Veasley (born July 28, 1955) is an American jazz bass guitarist. Veasley was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he played in R&B groups as a teenager. He worked with Joe Zawinul from 1988 to 1995, and began releasing h ...

, and Joanna Pascale. Miceli has performed at the Degu Jazz Festival (Korea), Reading Jazz Festival, the

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is a large performing arts venue at 300 South Broad Street and the corner of Spruce Street, along the stretch known as the Avenue of the Arts in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is owned an ...

, the

Jazz Standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

, the Zinc Bar, 55 Bar, the Wexford Art Center (Ireland), and the Mallet Institute (Düsseldorf Germany). He is the creator and moderator of the Vibraphone Community website.

Early life and education

Miceli was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in 1960 and grew up in

Willingboro Township, New Jersey Willingboro Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the state's South Jersey region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,889, an increase of ...

. He began to play classical guitar in his youth before later turning to piano, trumpet and drums. He began playing vibraphone in 1978 as a student the University of the Arts. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in performance in 1982, he began a career that included composing, recording, teaching, and performing.

Career

In the 1980s and early-1990s, Miceli toured extensively through Germany with the percussion group “Mallet Madness”. Featuring Miceli on vibraphone with Ron Von Strattun (drums), Bernd Zinzius (Bass) and Christoph Eidens (vibes and marimba), Mallet Madness played jazz versions of rock songs, in a trio reminiscent of the guitar trios of the 60's, with vibraphone replacing guitar as the feature instrument. The group played clubs and festivals throughout

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

including Schlag, Wekstatt, Jazz Fruhling, Deutsches Percussion, Symposium, Stadtgarten Restaurant, Rundfunk, K14, Blue Stage, Mulheimer Jazz Club, and the Essen Jazz Festival. In 1995, Miceli started "The Rock Band" with bassist Kevin MacConnell and Drummer Harry "Butch" Reed. A result of Miceli's early

Rock Music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

influences, the group covered several

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

bands including

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

, and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. This group ultimately became "The Jōst Project" when vocalist Paul Jost was added to the lineup in the 2000s. In the late 1990s, Miceli created the Philadelphia-based group Monkadelphia, a group "dedicated to performing the music of

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

in an innovative, contemporary way." Playing Monk's work, along, with Chris Farr on saxophone, Tom Lawton on piano, Micah Jones on bass, and Jim Miller on drums, was a "difficult challenge which they embrace with vitality, panache, and sophistication." The group recorded a selection of 11 tracks called simply "Monkadelphia" in 2000 (Dreambox Media).Monkadelphi
Monkadelphia
Dreambox Media Website 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2013. In 2009, Miceli's group Monkadelphia released ''Crepuscle'', a follow-up to ''Monkadelphia''. Miceli has performed at several jazz festivals and clubs, including the Hilton Head Island Jazz Vibes Showcase in 2019 with Team Omega; the Daegu Festival in

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

; the International Percussion Festival in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

; the Limerick Jazz Festival in Ireland; and the Montreal International Jazz Festival. He has also played at the Jazz Bridge Concert Series, Peace Day Kickoff, Rhythm Festival, Please Touch Museum Jazz Festival, Longwood Gardens Festivals, Exit Zero Jazz Festival, Somers Point Jazz Festival, Rehoboth Beach Festival, and Vail Jazz Festival. As a group leader, sideman, and recording artist, he has performed with David Liebman, Jimmy Bruno, Ken Peplowski, John Blake, Diane Monroe, John Swana,

, Larry McKenna,

and others. He makes regular appearances at Chris's Jazz Café and performs annually at the Percussive Arts Society convention in Indianapolis.

Discography

As leader

* ''Thelonious 4 Meets Tony Miceli'' (Dot Time, 2013) * ''Alone Together'' with Diane Monroe (2014) * ''4,042 Miles'' (Audio & Video Labs, 2015) As member * ''Monkadelphia'', Monkadelphia (Dreambox Media, 2000) * ''Crepuscule'', Monkadelphia (Dreambox, 2010) * ''Can't Find My Way Home'', The Jōst Project (Dot Time, 2013) * ''Looking East'', The Philly 5 (2003) * ''On a Sweet Note'', Electric Mingus Project (2003)

As guest

* ''Band Shapes'', Olivier Hutman (2002) * '' 'Round in Circles'', Ron Kerber (Dreambox, 2004) * ''Excerpt This!'', Adam Unsworth (2006) * ''So in Love with You'', Rosie Carlino (2006) * ''Places'', Mark Knox (2007) * ''Maplewood Avenue'', Jimmy Bruno (2007) * ''Once Upon a Time'', Katie Eagleson (2007) * ''Medicine Man'',

Tom Tallitsch Tom Tallitsch (born 1974) is an American jazz saxophonist. He is also a composer, music educator, piano teacher for students with autism, musical director for the Big Sky Project Dance Company, and jazz radio host. His most recent recording is ...

(2008) * ''Thankfully'', Gina Roche (2011)

References

External links

*
Tony Miceli ''All About Jazz Profile"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miceli, Tony 1960 births Living people American jazz vibraphonists University of the Arts (Philadelphia) faculty