"Danilo Marrone is the Eddie Van Halen of Harmonica." Morrison
Introduction
Introducing Danilo “Nilo” Marrone—a master of the diatonic harmonica whose playing blends deep emotion with incredible technical command. Drawing on rich blues traditions and dynamic melodic phrasing, Nilo brings a warm, soulful, and captivating sound to every note. Whether laying down tight, expressive grooves, or soaring through evocative solos, his performance is pure musical passion.
His interest in the harmonica was sparked by American harmonica virtuoso Peter "Madcat" Ruth, whom Marrone cites as the inspiration for starting his harmonica journey, especially a DVD by Peter “Madcat” Ruth entitled The Ins and Outs of Harmonica. That DVD really opened up a whole new world of the possibilities of playing solo harmonica. Peter "Madcat" Ruth is a complete master musician and one of Nilo's favorite players.
Marrone's repertoire spans traditional Chicago blues, jazz, folk, spirituals, classical, world-music, and original compositions. Nilo utilizes standard 10-hole diatonic harmonicas as well as specialized tunings (such as harmonic minor harmonicas) to create distinctive modal textures and Eastern-sounding melodies.
Harmonica--A Personal Story
"The reason I became interested in learning the harmonica probably started with John Lennon’s incredibly melodic harmonica playing on the early Beatles records. I was (and will always be) a huge Beatles fan. The portability and versatility of the little harmonica always appealed to me. Another major influence was listening to Junior Wells playing and singing with Buddy Guy on the album Hoodoo Man Blues when I was a sophomore in college. That album changed my life. Junior Wells’ playing introduced me to other great blues icons Big Walter and Little Walter and, eventually, Sonny Boy Williamson II. I actually got to see Junior Wells play live at a small venue in Uppsala University in 1994; he smiled at me and patted me on the back as he got off stage.
On my 35th birthday, I decided that it was time to really try to learn to play the harmonica. I love jazz and decided that I would try to learn the original recording of Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock with solos by Freddy Hubbard on trumpet and the incredible Dexter Gordon on saxophone. Since the song is in the key of F, I purchased a diatonic harmonica in the key of Bb and started playing along with the recording in cross-harp (second position). It turned out that this project was a masterclass in improvisation, especially since I was learning the song by ear. To my amazement, I discovered that the harmonica is so versatile that it can sound both like a trumpet (Freddie Hubbard's first solo) and a saxophone (Dexter Gordon's second solo). After that, I purchased diatonic harmonicas in different keys in order to play along with other favorite songs. At this time, I also started writing songs on harmonica."
Feel free to contact me at danilomarrone@gmail.com for more information.
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