Giuseppe Merolla

Drummer and composer. Born in Naples on 2 December 1969. Son of the singers Gino Morelli and Tina Barone, brother of the singer Anna Merolla, he made his debut at the age of five alongside his parents, as a musician, singer and actor. He toured Italy and Europe, went to the USA and Canada; he met [a52833] who was impressed by the skill of the little one and called him "Little Joe (19)" (stage name used for the first recordings). At the age of seven he had taken drum lessons from Antonio Golino and Walter Scotti, and that was his instrument even though he graduated in trumpet at the conservatory of San Pietro a Majella. Played with the best Italian jazz players from Enrico Rava to Guido Pistocchi, from Antonio Balsamo to Marco Zurzolo. In 1996 he went to america.