Jazz and Dixieland banjo arrangements dedicated to various artists who influenced the selections.

14 MP3 Songs in this album (30:05) !
Related styles: JAZZ: Dixieland, EASY LISTENING: Instrumental Pop

People who are interested in Roy Smeck Harry Reser should consider this download.


Details:
At age seven, Mike began taking lessons on the tenor banjo, from his father, Charles Currao. His father was an extraordinary musician who played with such notables as Jimmy Durante, Paul Whiteman and Bing Crosby.

Following in his dad's musical footsteps Mike has been performing professionally for the past forty years, playing guitar, tenor banjo, and mandolin. He has had a wonderful musical career performing with various musical groups, ranging from duets to thirty piece orchestras.

His experience includes playing banjo, guitar and mandolin for "Porgy and Bess", "Rhapsody in Blue", and "West Side Story", with the Northeast Philharmonic. He also performed in a variety of Broadway show groups, including several performances with Cab Calloway. In addition, he played banjo for many years with the All American Orchestra, the Banjo-Aires, and the Bobby Baird Dixieland Band.

Appearances ranged from nightclubs to concert halls, and even included the lobby of an office building, when invited to play at the grand opening of the Twin Towers in NYC.

Mike went on to study advanced banjo techniques for several years with Roy Smeck, a popular vaudeville star. This resulted in learning to do things on the banjo that he never knew were possible.

In the early seventies, Mike joined the Long Island Banjo Society, and eventually became one of their soloists. To date, their albums still contain his arrangement and solo performance of "The Doll Dance".

Mike was a 2007 nominee for the National Four String Banjo Hall of Fame. He was also on the teaching faculty of the Banjo Museum located in Guthrie, OK.

Mike is now residing in southwest Florida, where he remains very active on the banjo, giving private lessons, performing with local dixieland groups, and enjoying weekly sessions with the Gulf Coast Banjo Society in Venice, Florida.

For more information, please visit his web-site at http://flbanjo.com