Carmelo Venuto
Guitarist and double bass player, born on 16 July 1983 in Catania. He studied with the Masters Claudio Cusmano, Marco Micheli, Paolo Ghetti and Nello Nicotra.

In 2011 he obtained the first level Academic Diploma in Jazz Double Bass at the G.B. Martini of Bologna with 110 cum laude.

In 2021 he obtained the two-year course in Jazz Guitar at the V. Bellini Conservatory in Catania with 110 cum laude.

He attended the specialization courses of Umbria Jazz 2002, Siena Jazz 2003, Nuoro Jazz 2004, Isola Jazz 2005 and We Love Jazz 2006. Winner of the scholarship for the best students at Siena Jazz 2003 and Nuoro Jazz 2004.

He attended the Masterclasses of Steve Swallow, Adam Nussbaum, George Garzone, Jeff Berlin, Pat Martino, Adam Ben Ezra, Dick Oatts, Pietro Tonolo, Bob Minzer, Pietro Condorelli, Ramberto Ciammarughi, Bebo Ferra, Sandro Gibellini.​

In 2012 he won the national prize "Chicco Bettinardi" with the "Line Out Quartet" (Alessandro Presti, Roberto Brusca, Emanuele Primavera).

Since 2012 he has been part of the "Raffaele Genovese trio", with which he records the album "Musaico".

He performs in quartet with Johel Frahm, Lage Lund and Marcello Pellitteri for Reggio in Jazz '12.

Also in 2012 he played double bass with the Steve Grossman quartet for a series of concerts in southern Italy.

In 2013 he plays in Anthony Strong's Italian tour.

Since 2014 he has been playing with the "Emanuele Primavera quartet", with whom he records the albums "Replace" and "Above the below".

He plays in the band "AngoloGiro", with which he wins the competitions "Salotto Muzika 2009" and "Faenza rock 2010" and reaches the final stages of "Meditarraneo Sound Fest", "Premio Pigro" and "Arezzo Wave" Sicilia 2017.

With the AngoloGiro he produces together with "Cartura", a Catania art workshop, the show "Oppure Parlo" (2012), original music with sets and papier-mâché puppets. With Cartura and "Sulla Luna", a company that deals with videomapping, he produces the show "Inventable" (2015), which explores the interaction between music, puppetry and projections.

With "Orchestrina Futù", a group parallel to the AngoloGiro that deals with soundtracks, he creates the music for various videomapping shows, commercials and short films.

He is one of the founders of the "MagmaFunk" collective, which experiments with the union of jazz funk and rap.

In 2022 he recorded as guitarist the first album in his name in a quartet with Giuseppe Tringali, Riccardo Grosso and Rosario Di Leo. ​

He has played in numerous festivals including: Fano Jazz, Calagonone Jazz, European Jazz Expo, Catania Jazz, Play Music Festival, JazzIt Fest 2014, Nomos Jazz, Piacenza Jazz, Vittoria Jazz, Nuoro Jazz, Milazzo Jazz, Ortigia Jazz 2013, Noto Jazz , Piazza Jazz 2012, Palermo Jazz 2012, "Sergio Amato" International Jazz Festival 2011, Pas de Trai, "Italian jazz for the lands of the earthquake", Ragusa Jazz Happening. ​

He has played with: Steve Grossman, Joel Frahm, Lage Lund, Anthony Strong, Marcello Pellitteri, Carlo Atti, Massimo Manzi, Emanuele Cisi, Paolo Fresu, Ellade Bandini, Nico Menci, Peter King, Mario Biondi, Fabrizio Puglisi, Claudio Cusmano, Andrea Beneventano, Dino Rubino, Orazio Maugeri, Stjepko Gut, Salvatore Bonafede, Butch Morris, Rosario Giuliani, Francesco Bearzatti, Fabrizio Bosso, Ben Van Gelder, Sebastiano Ragusa, Alessandro Presti, Alessandro Lanzoni… ​

Since 2015 he has held master classes in various Sicilian music schools.