About Marcello

Multi-award-winning Marcello Cardillo is a drummer and composer from Naples, Italy. He has performed alongside some of the world’s most renowned musicians and he is currently living in New York City, where he regularly performs in some of the city’s most historic venues.

Watching his father, Marcello started playing the drums around the age of 5. By the age of 14 he was already playing with some of the most renowned names of the music scene of Naples, and very soon all-around Italy, collecting at a very young age national and international recognition.

At 18 he moved to the Netherlands to study at the Conservatory of Amsterdam where he got his Bachelor and his first Master degree. During those years he got the chance to play with names such as: John Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Bob Mintzer, Vince Mendoza, Jesse van Ruller, Riccardo del Fra, Alex Sipiagin, Justin DiCioccio, Ben van Gelder, and many others.

After spending one semester in exchange from Amsterdam at The New School of New York in 2019, where he studied with Masters such as Reggie Workman, Charles Tolliver, Andrew Cyrille, and Rodney Green; Marcello came back to the big apple in 2020 to start his second Masters degree at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. Here he studied with Kendrick Scott, Miguel Zenon, Buster Williams, Dayna Stephens, John Riley.

Soon Marcello got into New York City’s vibrant jazz scene starting playing in historic clubs such as Smalls, Dizzy’s, The Django, Nublu, Café Bohemia, Minton’s Playhouse etc. Notable collaborations during this period are with legendary bassist Buster Williams, Steve Wilson, Stacy Dillard, Logan Richardson, Troy Roberts and Fabrizio Bosso, to name a few.

Marcello is currently recording, teaching and performing around New York City and abroad.