About Marcello Carelli

Drummer, composer, bandleader, and educator Marcello Carelli has shared the stage with Grammy award-winning musicians such as John Daversa and Brian Lynch in small group and big band settings. He has also played with Eric Reed, Tamir Hendelman, Russell Ferrante, Dave Liebman, Ira Sullivan, John Beasley, and Shelly Berg, to name a few.
 
Carelli earned his master’s in jazz studies at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. He was the teaching assistant for 2-time Grammy award-winning drummer and composer, Peter Erskine. Prior to this, Marcello received his undergraduate degree in Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. He was a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholar there, having been chosen out of many applicants to play in a jazz quintet for four years with some of the finest young musicians in the country.
 
“His music is profound, it’s present, and it’s real,” said John Daversa, who worked closely with Carelli during his time at the Frost School of Music. Marcello is also an award-winning composer and arranger, as he has released two albums entitled “The Era” & “First Impressions” both comprised of almost all his original music. In Peter Erskine’s words “One listen to Marcello Carelli’s drumming was all it took to hook me, and I’ll bet that anyone hearing his drumming and his writing will come away with most favorable impressions.”
 
When Carelli isn’t making music, he is on the golf course. Marcello has been playing golf since he was 6 years old, and he is thrilled to have recently broken par for the first time in his life, the ultimate feat. He finds that the game teaches him a lot about the worthwhile journey of being a freelance musician, and the necessity to be patient as well as creative with every type of shot on the course.