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Dr. Dennis J. Melillo

Playing the guitar and singing in public since 1966.

About Me

I have been interested in music since I was a young child and always sang in school choruses and church choirs. I seriously began lessons on the guitar when I was 12 years old. Through high school and college I played in rock bands, blues bands and as a solo folk music performer. In my early 30's I began to seriously study jazz and have been playing and singing jazz professionally at restaurants, bars, nursing homes (don't laugh they're a great audience!) and concerts for the past 40 years. I hope to play in public as long as I am able.

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My Jazz Story

When I was 5 years old my parents brought me to dinner at the home of man who worked with my father. Fritz and his wife were from West Virginia but now lived in New Jersey. After dinner, Fritz and his wife brought out their instruments; a guitar, a 5 string banjo and an autoharp. I was so delighted by the music that I was laughing non-stop from pure joy. A few years later Fritz gave me a guitar and I have been playing over 60 years. I have been studying and playing jazz for over 40 years and have had the good luck to have jammed or gigged with some well-known players.

My House Concert Story

For over 13 years my wife and I have volunteered at a local 18th Century historical site. On-site is a 125 year old barn which we restored to have concerts to better to savor the sounds of music. The sound is like being in the box of a fine guitar. Over the years we have presented Eric Mintel with Nelson Hill, Gary Staples also with Nelson Hill, Nancy and Spencer Reed with Eliot Zweigmann, LaCucina, Walt Bibinger, and many others. Our audiences are usually about 100 to 150 people. The audience demographic skews older and always leave satisfied.