Mike Melillo

Mike Melillo stands out as a gifted modern jazz pianist whose reputation would likely stand higher today if he had never settled in Italy. Rutgers provided his formal training, after which he directed the resident trio at Clifton, New Jersey’s Tap Room and thereby gained steady exposure to leading figures in the music. Between 1965 and 1967 he performed in Sonny Rollins’ ensemble, shared leadership of a unit with guitarist Harry Leahey in 1967, and afterward devoted himself chiefly to writing while residing first on a New Jersey farm and, from 1973 onward, in the Poconos. That same year he began an association with Phil Woods, joining the alto saxophonist’s quartet and quintet and remaining a regular member until launching his own projects in 1980. Two years after that decision he relocated to Italy, where he continued to lead groups yet remained largely removed from international attention. Following a long absence from recording as a headliner that stretched back to the 1988 album Recycle, he returned in 1995 with Alternate Changes for Bud; Bopcentric appeared two years after that.