NICOLA MARCELLO D'AMICO
(Nick D'Amico)
BIOGRAPHY

Nick D'Amico, born Nicola Marcello D'Amico, is an American Composer-Musician,
a recording artist, a noteable studio musician and arranger who was very active as
a session player in Hollywood from the early 1960's to the late 1980's, playing on
several well known recordings.
In the 1990's, Nick built and opened his own recording facility and began producing recordings
in the genres of jazz, classical, pop, new age and holiday music.

As a composer-arranger, Nick wrote many classical and jazz pieces, some of which won
public acclaim. Several recordings were launched afterwards and one of his titles, Evolution II,
an original latin jazz/pop album released in 2010, received international attention when it was
ranked at number one on the World Music charts for 23 straight weeks in 2011. However,
a very serious bicycle accident in 2010 prevented D'Amico from promoting the recording
with any personal appearances and he soon after retreated from live music but not from
recording. He is still active in the recording end of the business and works on releases
for himself and other artists in the field of Jazz, Classical and Pop music.

EARLY LIFE

A native of Los Angeles, California, Nick D'Amico (Nicola Marcello D'Amico) began
learning music on his father's piano at the age of four and his interest in playing and singing
took him into the world of classical music and jazz at the age of nine. Nick was born to the
Maestro Nicola D'Amico and
Teresa Tirelli D'Amico (in Italiano),
both professional opera singers of note and prominent in the Italian American
community. He was the youngest of his generation, 16 years younger than his sister
Elvira, the youngest of 3 older sisters.
The D'Amico Family webpage is:
Famiglia D'Amico

Nick D'Amico became a member of the Musicians Union AFM Local 47 in Los Angeles at
the age of 15 and graduated from Hollywood High School with a background in choral and
instrumental music. As a young composer, pianist, woodwind player and percussionist, he
was able to perform as a soloist under the direction of Bob Williams. Nick attended LACC
in 1965 and 1966 and studied with Bob MacDonald and played in the LACC studio band.
He attended UCLA starting in 1967 and earned a degree in neuroscience, thereafter
attendiung medical school before winning a film scoring scholarship. He earned an MFA in
1974 and enjoyed teaching music theory. As a composition major, he received opportunities
to score for large orchestras during his years in university, earning a DMA in 1977
He taught music theory at UCLA in 1977. He also gave private lessons in voice.

His other fancies included sports car racing, bicycles and road cycling. His interest in
racing cars was brief, having been talked out of the dangerous sport by a friend of the
family before his start at college. He was an avid athlete in high school, a gymnast and
track runner, setting a school record in 1964 for the 1 mile run (4:37). In college he played
competitive tennis. However, the sport of cycling seemed to become an ongoing passion
and, although he joined 4 racing teams over a 10 year span, his music career made training
for races almost impossible.

CAREER

The days of rock & roll: As a session player, either as a musician and/or singer, he performed
on hits for artists such as Diana Ross ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), recorded tracks
for David Clayton Thomas, many sessions for the late Gene Page, Joe Gottfried, and other
producers of note. In 1968, Nick joined The Outsiders ("Time Won't Let Me") and went on
the road with the group, writing some of the songs the group would record. The group
changed their name to Climax in 1970 and Nick wrote the original arrangement,
played keyboard and sang back up vocals for their #1 hit, "Precious & Few". Nick also
co-wrote other songs featured on the same Climax recording. Nick left Climax in 1971
after creative differences with the band and he moved on touring briefly with several
rock bands until he decided in 1974, when he became disenchanted with the rock and
roll culture, that jazz was always his calling.

Photos of Nick with The Outsiders and Climax (1968 to 1971)

In 1972, Nick D'Amico, was asked to write music for a Rock Opera entitled "Walking in
My Time". The production, a controversial musical protest of the Vietnam war, premiered
in May of 1972 in San Francisco at the On Broadway Theatre. Pro-war critics gave mixed
reviews of the show although raving about the music score, with the exception of Herb
Caen, who called the music "unfailingly beautiful". But the show would never become a hit,
despite its short lived popularity. It included many over the top antics with an anti-war theme
(every night the audience signed a protest letter to Nixon to stop the war). But, regardless of
how well the show was doing, the Vietnam War was very unpopular and the show closed when
the war ended four months later.

In 1973, D'Amico recorded an album of original songs, entitled "Evolution",
produced by Jim Hilton (The Iron Butterfly). The album wasn't picked
up dispite Hilton's having submitted it to several major record labels and
was never released.

That same year, he wrote his first classical concerto for piano and orchestra.
The work is entitled"The Courting". He has since written a second concerto for
piano and orchestra but has yet to publish it. Both piano concertos are still
waiting to be recorded but there is a piano sonata version of Piano Concerto #1
which is currently available for purchase .

D'Amico continued recording and doing live performances both as a player and a singer.
He started his own local LA group and played the nightclub circuits of Los Angeles, Las
Vegas, Reno and Tahoe. Nick also worked with his good friend Kenny Davis, traveling to
Texas to perform for standing room only audiences in Dallas and other major cities. He also
did gigs with Buddy Rich, Peter Marshall, Andy Williams and other notables.

In 1980, Nick met his soon to be wife, Diane Burt, and not long afterward began arranging
for The Caroling Company, an a cappella vocal ensemble, ultimately destined to promote
the wonderful Alfred Burt Christmas Carols. Alfred Burt was Diane's father and Nick
immediately fell in love with Mr. Burt's carols, "little masterpieces". Many of Nick's
Christmas arrangements were featured on television and films, including "Deck The Halls",
a four part invention he wrote for the group, featured in the opening credits of The Addams
Family (1991) movie with Raul Julia and Angelica Huston.

PRODUCING

In 1995, as a gift for his mother in law, Anne Burt, D'Amico remastered
for CD the 1965 Grammy nominated Alfred Burt Carols recording,
"This Is Christmas"
and later that year he remastered for CD the original
1954 Burt Carols recording of
"The Christmas Mood",
featuring the Columbia Choir & the great Ralph Carmichael's Brass Ensemble on
Columbia Records. D'Amico couldn't seem to get away from Christmas music, as
in 2002, Brian Setzer's producer asked him to write a vocal arrangement to
"O Holy Night"
for the multi million selling "Boogie Woogie Christmas" CD and Nick contracted
The Caroling Company to sing back up vocals for Setzer. The following year (2003),
Nick D'Amico produced The Caroling Company's first hit CD,
"A Christmas Present from The Caroling Company",
released on VAG Records. In 2004, he also produced the landmark recording,
"The Alfred Burt Carols Golden Anniversary Collection",
featuring many of the major recording artists who have helped keep the carols
alive since 1954. D'Amico also played keyboards on stage for Garth Brooks,
Charley Pride and other performing artists.

D'Amico remastered The Caroling Company's CD in 2009 and re-released
it for Grammy consideration. His 2010 Grammy listed CD, "Evolution II, is an
all original Latin Jazz/Pop CD that features him on piano, flute, vibraphone,
percussion, singing, writing all the arrangments. He also produced the recording.