Mike Melito has been involved in drums and music most of his life. Mike studied many years with RPO percussionist John McNeill. He also has studied drum set with the legendary Ray Mosca who worked in Oscar Peterson’s Trio as well as Ahmad Jamal and Benny Goodman to name a few.
He has been teaching for 35 years and has been on the faculty at Eastman Community Music School for 10 years. He has helped produce several successful drummers in his teaching career. Many have gone on to become professional touring drummers as well as drummers on the Rochester music scene and music teachers themselves. Mike loves teaching all levels of snare drum and drumset. His students consistently score high on NYSSMA solo’s on both snare drum and drumset and many have made all county and all state over the years. He believes in building a solid foundation through rudiments and proper technique which will enhance the student’s feel, time keeping and coordination in any style of music. He has been a guest clinician at various high schools and colleges over the years.
Mike has an extensive performing and recording career as well.. He can be seen playing around Rochester with Bob Sneider’s Trio as well as freelancing all over upstate NY and New York City with various artists. Mike also is house drummer for The Rochester International Jazz Festival and has been since inception backing many artists who come to town to play the festival. He has backed jazz legends such as James Moody, Benny Golson and Barry Harris. He has also backed Benny Green, Todd Coolman, Peter Bernstein, Eric Alexander, Vincent Herring, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen, Gary Smulyan, David Hazeltine and many others.
He has recorded seven CD’s under his own name and over twenty five recordings as a sideman. His latest CD, To Swing Is The Thing, came out on the Cellar Live Label and continues to get a lot of airplay all over the country.