#469 Tony Miceli- Vibraphonist, Educator, and More!
This week’s guest is Tony Miceli. Internationally renowned jazz vibraphonist Tony Miceli has established himself as one of the primary voices on the mallet instrument, winning hearts and minds wherever he plays. His achievements, however, go much further beyond. A sought-after recording artist, Miceli is an inspired educator who delivers vibraphone master classes the world over, enriching the students of Ireland, Germany, South Korea, Italy, for example, with an accompanying concert finale. Miceli promotes the instrument through his brainchild, vibesworkshop.com, a virtual meeting place and teaching tool for some 4000 student and professional members. He is also the co-creator of the World Vibes Congress, a formal gathering of players who share the desire to bring public awareness to the vibraphone. It is worth noting that Miceli is part of Team Omega, an elite group of vibes players that includes only three others, headliners David Friedman, Joe Locke, and Stefon Harris. At All About Jazz, Victor Schermer describes him as
“... a vibraphonist of astonishing virtuosity, musical resilience,
and inventiveness. His vibes playing is nothing short of
phenomenal.”
Miceli was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1960 and grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey. He began to play classical guitar in his youth before later turning to piano, trumpet and drums. It was in college that he and the vibraphone cemented an unbreakable bond of mutual give and take. Philadelphia now claims him as its own as he settled there in 1978 while attending the University of the Arts, where he is now an adjunct associate professor. He also teaches at Temple’s Boyer College of Music and is a guest lecturer at the Curtis Institute of Music. Miceli connects with a growing group of musicians living in the Germantown neighborhood who are revitalizing its jazz scene with local performances, jams and a new recording studio.
2018 saw Miceli issue his latest CD, Invitation, an album of solos that expresses warmth and clarity. Standards like Jimmy Van Heusen’s “But Beautiful” sound so effortless they float. Gloria Krolak, host of Good Vibes, the only radio program dedicated to the vibraphone, noted recently
“Miceli’s compass points to tunes with no end of nuance
and subtlety. He gives the phrase ‘soft touch’ a whole
new meaning.”
As the originator of The Jōst Project, with vocalist Paul Jōst, Miceli racked up two more wins with albums that plug into new generations for jazz by playing the classic rock they grew up with. The first, Peace and Love, was released in 2017, then Can’t Find My Way Home in 2013. Miceli also appears on Jōst’s 2014 Breaking Through. A champion of rock-inspired repertory, Miceli moves easily from one genre to another. Also in 2014, violinist Diane Monroe and Miceli collaborated on a duo album, Alone Together. Wrote Victor Schermer on the All About Jazz website,
“Monroe and Miceli are adept and resilient musicians of
the highest caliber, so they are able to weave their
combined sounds into many expressive variations that
create ‘tone poems’ and tell stories.”
In 2009 Miceli’s group Monkadelphia released Crepuscle, a follow-up to Monkadelphia, both devoted to the revolutionary jazz pianist himself, performing his music in an innovative, contemporary way.
Miceli has performed at jazz festivals and clubs too numerous to list. A partial roll call starts at Hilton Head Island’s Jazz Vibes Showcase in 2019 with Team Omega, then to the Daegu Festival in Daegu, Korea; the International Percussion Festival in Lima, Peru; the Limerick Jazz Festival in Ireland; and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Closer to home he has played at the Jazz Bridge Concert Series, Peace Day Kickoff, the Rhythm Festival, Please Touch Museum Jazz Festival, all in Philadelphia, as well as those in Media, Reading and Dauphin County, PA, and the Longwood Gardens Festivals. The Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, NJ and the Somers Point Jazz Festival in Somers Point, NJ; the Rehoboth Beach Festival in Delaware, and the Vail Colorado Jazz Festival have all hosted Miceli.
Miceli plays with the highest caliber musicians. As a group leader, sideman, and recording artist, he has performed with numerous top musicians including David Liebman, Jimmy Bruno, Ken Peplowski, John Blake, Diane Monroe, John Swana, Joe Magnarelli, Steve Slagle, Larry McKenna, Gerald Veasley and many others. Chris’s Jazz Café, Philadelphia’s premier jazz club, is a frequent gig for Miceli and friends, and he performs annually at the Percussive Arts Society convention in Indianapolis.
Internationally known on the web, Miceli provides online instruction, information, and video interactive classes. He is proprietor of Miceli Music, LLC., incorporating the website: www.studymusiconline.com, which currently offers www.vibesworkshop.com
He enjoys endorsements with: Malletech; Applied Microphone Technologies and Beiner Bags.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Wally Reyes! “Few drummers playing today can successfully combine the rich history of Latin, Afro-Cuban and World Percussion with the drum set. For Walfredo Reyes, Jr., fusing the two disciplines has been his driving passion. In fact, by blazing this path, Reyes has challenged the technical levels of our instrument. Born in Cuba, raised in Puerto Rico, and culminating his musical style in the U.S., Wally (Walfredo Jr.) learned the traditions from the master, his father Walfredo Sr. He married those principles with his love of the drum set, coming up with his own truly global rhythmic style. Simply put, Wally is able to sound like a drummer and a percussionist at the same time. Add blistering chops and a penchant for playing unusual patterns to the mix, and you have only a small idea of what this man can do.
Not surprisingly, this “one man percussion show” has gathered an impressive list of gigs over the years, including touring and / or recording with: Carlos Santana, Traffic, Steve Winwood, Jackson Browne, Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, David Lindley, Ricki Lee Jones, Richard Marx, Sergio Mendes, Smokey Robinson, Robbie Robertson, Joe Sample, Boz Scaggs, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Johnny Hallyday, Khaled, Lindsey Buckingham, Chicago and many others.
Because of his versatility, Walfredo is one of the most in demand musicians in the world today. He continues to expand his talents to recording, producing, composing, education, live performance, and touring.” (Written by Rick Van Horn).
Happy Birthday to Nate Morton! Self-taught from age 5, Nate's formal drum set training began during high school with Grant Menefee in Baltimore, Maryland. He continued his education in Boston, Massachusetts as a performance major at the renowned Berklee College of Music, studying with drummers such as Ed Uribe, Ian Froman, John Ramsay and Ron Savage. Upon graduating in 1994, he taught and played locally in Boston until moving to Los Angeles in 1999 where he has since amassed live performance and recording credits that include Natalie Cole, Michael Bolton, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Richard Marx, Paul Anka, Paul Stanley, Pete Murray, Pink, Paulina Rubio and Thalia among others. Nate was also the hard hitting force, driving the house band, on the Mark Burnett shows, ROCKSTAR:INXS and ROCKSTAR:Supernova. He cites Animal from The Muppet Show as his first and biggest influence.
In 2010, he was the house band drummer on Bonnie Hunt's day time talk show, as well as performing with Cher for her string of appearances at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Now, you can catch him grooving during prime time on the NBC hit show, THE VOICE.
Nate is proud of his personal and professional relationships with the following companies: Pearl, Zildjian, Remo, Roland, Sennheiser, E-PAD!, Cympad, KellySHU, and BFSD.
Happy Birthday to Jack Mansager! Jack has been a freelance percussionist and educator in the New York City area for the past 25 years. A native of Norwalk Connecticut, Jack enjoys playing a variety of percussion books on broadway in Disney’s The Lion King, and, back in 2001, was a featured performer in the Tony award winning show Blast!. He was a founding member of the original Percussion People and is excited to be back performing at The Players Theatre. Jack currently lives in Hackensack with his wife and daughter, and teaches music, educational technology, and robotics at The Town School in Manhattan.
Happy Birthday to Marc Quiñones! Marc is an American percussionist, a longtime player in salsa music, and a member of the Southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band.
Born in The Bronx, New York Dic !8,The began playing drums and congas at the age of three and was playing professionally at the age of nine. In his youth he played timbale with Latin music stars such as Tito Puente and co-founded a group named Los Rumberitos. At the age of 17 he joined the salsa music band of Rafael de Jesus. He then graduated from high school.
Quiñones spent the next five years in salsa master Willie Colon's band, playing every percussion instrument at one time or another. His ability to sight-read music led to him becoming musical director of the band for the last two years; he also co-produced one of Colon's albums. He then spent two years playing with Rubén Blades as well as playing on and touring for David Byrne's Latin music Rei Momo project. In 1989 Quiñones joined the jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra where he played for two years.
After a chance meeting with Butch Trucks in 1991, he was recruited to join The Allman Brothers Band. There he plays alongside drummers Trucks and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson: the general pattern is that Trucks is the timekeeper, Johanson adds colors, and Quiñones establishes rhythms that the guitarists can play against.
When the Allmans are not active, Quiñones plays with various salsa bands and works as a session musician for albums (such as Marc Anthony's 2001 Libre), television soundtracks, and commercials.
Happy Birthday to Ivan Llanes (Episode 386 and Episode 279). In an ever-expanding and increasingly globalized music industry, Cuban American percussionist and singer Ivan Llanes stands out as one of the most exciting musicians of his generation. Originally hailing from Camaguey, Cuba, Ivan has earned himself a top tier reputation in New York City for both his broad range of percussion skills as well as his distinctive voice and song writing style. Ivan is currently a member of jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker’s quintet, with whom he has performed in notable jazz festivals throughout the United States and has been featured on TV shows including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Ivan is also lead vocalist with latin supergroup People of Earth, with whom he has performed alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic and New World Symphony, among others. Prior to relocating to the United States in 2011, Ivan toured Cuba, Europe and the United States with legendary Cuban flutist Maraca. Since moving to the United States, Ivan has performed and/or recorded with Grammy-winners Arturo O’Farrill, Nella, Carlinhos Brown, Descemer Bueno as well as with Emmy award winning composer Katreese Barnes. As a prolific and creative composer, Ivan has led collaborative projects on Congahead, the premiere latin music youtube channel, with over 250k views across his various productions. He also leads his own project, Ivan Llanes and The Cuban Way, which has performed in some of NYC’s most prestigious venues including National Sawdust, Bonafide, Fat Cat, the Bronx Museum, and at the Havana Film Festival. Currently, the group is completing its first album entitled “La Vida Misma”, scheduled for release in 2023. On the educational side of his career, Ivan has collaborated with organizations including 92Y, Carnegie Hall, and Marquis Studios to share his passion and knowledge with young people throughout New York and New Jersey. In Ivan’s words: “I play all Cuban music genres, as well as styles from the United States and beyond. There is always a message of love, peace, joy and acceptance in my playing and I believe that when I share my music, art and culture with the world I can make an impact”.
Happy Birthday to Victor Pablo! Victor Pablo Garcia Gaetan comes from a musical family from San Juan, Puerto Rico. At an early age, his father Victor Garcia - a pianist/composer - taught him his first rhythms: Puerto Rican plena on panderos, martillo on bongo, marcha on conga, cascara and campaneo on timbales, and songo on drumset.
In New York City Victor Pablo performs in Broadway pits, chamber concerts, jazz jams, salsa gigs, singer-songwriter shows, bombazos, plenazos, and is a member of contemporary percussion quartet Mobius Percussion, bomba/jazz group Fernando García Band, the TM Street Band, and is co-music director/composer/drummer for People of Earth.
Victor is a versatile freelancer in the New York City music scene. Percussionist for Public Work’s Hercules and, he’s worked as timpanist for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes since 2016. VP often works in other Broadway and Off-Broadway shows such as Beetlejuice, The Lion King, On Your Feet!, TINA, Cirque Du Soleil: Paramour, Pacific Overtures, Invisible Thread (Witness Uganda), Flaco Navaja’s Evolution of a Sonero, Fuerza Bruta NYC.
He appears in recordings of Gilberto Santa Rosa, Victor García & La Sonora Sanjuanera, Fernando García, TM Street Band, Albert Sánchez, to name a few, and he can be seen in shows like Mozart In The Jungle, America’s Got Talent, and Especial Banco Popular De Puerto Rico Para El Mundo. He’s performed with artists like Arturo O’Farrill, Los Pleneros de la 21, Andy Montañez, Ismael Miranda, NG2, Michael Stuart, DLG, Frankie Negrón, Cita Rodríguez, Nestor Torres, Dayramir González, La Sonora Sanjuanera, Wordless Music Orchestra, Itai Kriss, La Mecánica Popular, Flaco Navaja, Nina Rodríguez, Redobles de Cultura, La 95 Salsa Orchestra, Orchestra of the Americas, Delaware Symphony, Symphony In C, Philadelphia Orchestra Percussion Group, Sõ Percussion.
At age 7 he studied with veteran drummer and educator Tony Sánchez, who taught him music theory as well. Later on his family moves over a town to Carolina where he studied with David Marcano at Escuela de Bellas Artes before enrolling at Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan. There he studied classical and popular music with Diana Valdés, Fermín Segarra, Mariano Morales, who also taught harmony. During the time he was also a student of Tito De Gracia, and Rolando Morales-Matos who is a dear mentor and friend. Victor later attends Temple University where he earns his BM and MM in Classical Percussion studying with Alan Abel, Chris Deviney, Glenn Steele, and Don Liuzzi.
Victor Pablo is an artist for Meinl Percussion, and has published some of his pieces on Bachovich Music Publications.
Happy Birthday to Terreon Gully! Terreon is one of the most influential artists of his generation. Widely recognized for his creativity, versatility and authenticity, Terreon is in high demand. His innovative and distinct sound has inspired artists such as Dianne Reeves, Christian McBride, Stefon Harris as well as John Beasley’s Monk’estra to make him a member of their bands.
Terreon has mastered a variety of musical genres. He performs, tours and records extensively with a variety of artists. From jazz legends and modern masters to the hottest hip hop icons, Terreon has worked with the best: Kurt Elling, David Sanborn, Nicholas Payton, Kenny Barron, the Stones Project, Sting, Keyon Harrold, Queen Latifa, Yerba Buena, Charlie Hunter, Abbey Lincoln, Joe Locke, Marc Cary, Russell Gunn, Lizz Wright, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Maria Schneider Big Band, Jacky Terrasson, Eldar, Me’Shell NdegeOcello, Lauryn Hill, Pharoahe Monch, Mos Def, and Common as well as a host of other artists. In addition to live performances, Terreon is also known for his exceptional work in the studio, producing and recording for CDs, films, and commercials; including his first solo project “TANKTIFIED”.
Happy Birthday to Doug Perkins! Doug Perkins specializes in new works for percussion as a chamber musician and soloist. His performances have been described as “terrific, wide-awake and strikingly entertaining” by the Boston Globe and he has been declared a “percussion virtuoso ” by the New York Times. He has appeared at venues of all types including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Millennium Park, the Alaskan Tundra, Central Park Lake, and countless others.
Over the last 15 years, Doug has commissioned and premiered over100 pieces works and with such composers as David Lang, Steve Reich, Paul Lansky, John Luther Adams, Nathan Davis, Larry Polansky, Christian Wolff, Glenn Kotche, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Tristan Perich. He founded the percussion quartet So Percussion and the Meehan/ Perkins Duo, and performs regularly with Signal, eighth blackbird, the Chicago Symphony’s MusicNOW, and others.
Doug’s critically acclaimed recordings as a soloist, conductor, producer, and member of the Meehan/ Perkins Duo and So Percussion can be heard on the Bridge, Cantaloupe, Harmonia Mundi, New Focus, and New World labels. They have been called “brilliant” by the New York Times and named to numerous Top10 of the Year lists. He produced John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit and it was named one of 2013’s top records by NPR, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the New Yorker, New Music Box, and Time Out New York. His latest record of Tristan Perich’s Parallels was named one of Rolling Stone’s 20 Best Avant Records of 2015.
Lately, Doug has been organizing large-scale events that encourage a sense of community and new ways of experiencing live music. His production of Iannis Xenakis’ Persephassa in and around Central Park Lake and John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit in New York City were named Top Ten Performances in 2010 and 2011 by the New Yorker, New York Magazine, and Time Out NY. Alex Ross called Inukuit at the Park Avenue Armory, “one of the most rapturous listening experiences of my life”. He also recently directed the premiere of John Luther Adams’, Sila, at Lincoln Center. Most recently, Doug premiered Tristan Perich’s, Drift Multiply, at the Red Bull Festival in New York and recorded it for an upcoming release in the fall of 2020.
Doug is an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of Percussion at the University of Michigan. He is additionally an Associate Professor of Music at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Previously, he was the Founder and Director and founder of the Chosen Vale International Percussion Seminar, served with eighth blackbird as an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Chicago, and was previously on the faculty of Dartmouth College where he taught percussion and directed the Contemporary Music Lab and the concert series The Way to Go Out.
Doug received his Bachelor’s degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Masters and Artist Diploma degrees from Yale University, and his Doctorate from Stony Brook University. His principal percussion teachers were Jack DiIanni, Jim Culley, and Robert Van Sice.
Happy Birthday to Charley Poole! Charley Poole has been a fixture on the New England drum and bugle corps scene for more than 60 years since he first played snare drum with St. Paul’s Drum Corps in 1956. He moved to Prospect Drum Corps for seven years starting in 1962, then played snare drum with Boston Crusaders in 1970 and 1971.
He won individual snare drum titles at the state, regional and national levels: four Connecticut state championships; four Northeastern state championships and three national individual snare drum titles.
He has been the arranger, caption head and instructor for many of the best-known New England drum lines, including 27th Lancers of Revere, Massachusetts from 1977 to 1986; East Coast Jazz of Malden, Massachusetts; Fitchburg Kingsmen; Connecticut Yanks Ancient Fife and Drum Corps of Bristol; Fifth Maine Regiment of Portland; St. Aedan’s Emerald Cadets of New Haven and Connecticut Hurricanes.
He has served as a judge with DCI, DCA, WGI and Bands of America. He has taught, arranged and adjudicated drum corps, percussion ensemble and marching band events across the United States, Canada and Japan.
He is a member of the National Association for Music Educators, Massachusetts Music Educators Association, National Association of Rudimental Drummers and the Marching Percussion Committee of the Percussive Arts Society. He has presented clinics for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association and Ohio Music Conferences. He is a signature artist with Pro-Mark Drum Sticks, Evans Drum Heads, Zildjian Cymbals and Pearl Drums. He is a member of the Massachusetts Drum Corps Hall of Fame and the DCI Hall of Fame.
Gig Alerts
The NYC Winter Jazz Fest is happening in New York City from January 8th-13th. Friend of the show, Obed Calvaire is one of the performing artists.
The Ground Up Music Festival is happening in Miami, FL from March 13th-15th.
The World Vibes Congress is happening in Kutztown, PA on January 4th from Noon-9pm and it is FREE.
Friends of the show, Warren Wolf and Stefon Harris will be part of the festivities.
Educational Spotlight
Episode #3 of the Working Percussionist Podcast is up, featuring friends of the show,Paulo Stagnaro, Marcos Lopez, and Marcos Torres of the Conga Chops educational website.
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording was chosen by Tony. It is “Pools” performed by Steps Ahead. With Michael Brecker-Sax, Peter Erskine-Drums, Eddie Gomez-Bass, Mike Mainieri-Vibes, and Eliane Elias-Piano.
Music News
Cancellations at the newly Trump-renamed Kennedy Center are piling up as artists pull out of performing at the venue following a controversial decision to add Trump’s name to the memorial building. -Article
These are some of the cancellations at the Kennedy Center for 2026.
The cancellation of a jazz performance on Christmas Eve at the newly renamed ‘Trump Kennedy Center’ has prompted a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages. -Article
Below is one of the messages writer, Toby Morton has received.
The Kennedy Center is ending the year with a new round of artists saying they are canceling scheduled performances after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the facility, prompting the institution’s president to accuse the performers of making their decisions because of politics. -Article
Daddy Yankee joins an already stacked lineup for Puerto Rico’s celebration as part of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. -Article
Tony Miceli Interview
The song leading into the interview is from Tony’s forthcoming album. The song is called, “Hip Chip”
Damon and Tony start the interview recounting the first time Tony was on the podcast with David Friedman back on Episode #57.
Shout-out to Leigh Howard Stevens.
Tony talks about the Wells-Rapp Mallet Research Center.
Shout-out to Andrew Veit.
Tony goes into detail about the World Vibes Congress and all the performers and events.
Tony runs the Vibes Workshop (dot com).
Damon mentions some of the configurations that Tony plays with like his duo with Diane Monroe, The Eliot Zigmund - Tony Miceli Quartet, The Philadelphia Mallet Ensemble (ft. Tony Miceli, Behn Gillece, Morgan Walbridge, Oliver Mayman)
Other groups like Unison, or Monkadelphia as well.
Tony mentons his BandCamp page and SteepleChase releases. Shout-out to Nils Winther.
Tony talks about the skills you need to be a working professional.
Shout-out to Julian Lee.
Tony talks about substances and vices.
Tony teaches at Temple University and Curtis Institute of Music and Southern Mississippi University with friend of the show, Dr. John Wooton.
Tony talks about the non-profit his sister is starting in Costa Rica.
Tony talks about greatness.
Shout-out to Paul Edelman and Joe Sherr.
Tony played drums, piano, classical guitar, and trumpet before landing on the vibraphone and marimba.
Tony talks about practicing and the piano books he’s been using.
Tony mentions the videos Warren Wolf would put together.
Tony was born in Cincinnati, OH, then moved to Valley Forge, PA and ended up in Willingboro, NJ before going to college at the University of the Arts. His dad is responsible for his pursuit in music.
Shout-out to Settlement Music School.
Tony picks the iconic recordings for the week. The other honorable mentions are “Alone At Last” by Gary Burton and “Symphony No. 5, in C Minor, Op. 67” by Ludwig Van Beethoven.
Damon mentions the new Shoshana Bean album, “Only Smoke” and “The Purple Project” by Martin Bejerano. The drummer that Damon couldn’t remember is David Chiverton.
Shout-out to Nick D'Amico.
Tony uses Malletech instruments and mallets.
Damon and Tony talk about inclusion vs. political correctness.
You can follow Tony (aside from the Vibes Workshop listed above) on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
The song leading out of the interview is, “Green Dolphins Treat” from the album, ‘Nico's Dream’. Performed by Tony on vibes, Paul Bollenback on guitar , Lee Smith on bass, and Byron “Wookie” Landham on drums.
