"I remember it like it was yesterday...I'm eight years old and my buddy, Rich and I are looking through the basement window of Mt. Carmel Church (Niagara Falls, NY) where there's a dance going on. I see this multi-headed monster, with arms flailing and all this sound and energy blasting me, and people dancing... it was the first time I saw a live band and I said to myself, man I gotta be a part of this!!!! -- Thom Rotella Thom Rotella is nothing if not comprehensive, but then protean talent is an essential requirement for any successful studio musician. It's a prerequisite. For years, Rotella was among the handful of household-name musical artists who populated dozens of Hollywood first-call lists for recording sessions, concerts, club dates, TV shows, television commercials, film scores and more. Just a few of the artists who've engaged Thom Rotella's exceptional talent include Frank Sinatra, Norah Jones, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Nicks, Carly Simon, Debbie Harry, Burt Bacharach, Four Tops, the Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Lionel Richie, Bette Midler, Donna Summer, Seth MacFarlane, Don Was, Luciano Pavarotti, David Foster, Herb Alpert, Tom Scott and Cher as well as such GRAMMY winning jazz artists as Diane Schuurr, Stanley Turrentine, Gregg Karukas and Bill Cunliffe. And such Fortune 500 companies as Ford, Goodyear, Cadillac, Chevrolet and Taco Bell have availed themselves of Rotella's creative expertise by commissioning his original compositions for their ad campaigns and television commercials. And more often than not, that's Thom Rotella you're hearing on The Family Guy and American Dad among many others. We've also appreciated Thom's original music and performances on TV's Ellen DeGeneres Show, Extra, Sex and the City and China Beach. Additionally, he's lent his talents and imagination to any number of film soundtracks including Ted, Ted 2, Splash, Same Time Next Year, The Gods Must Be Crazy, Rumblefish, Mississippi Masala and many more. He also performed and composed an original score for the 2015 romantic comedy film Altos. In addition, Thom Rotella enjoys a multi-faceted career as a member of that exclusive club of studio musicians who've achieved an enviable notoriety and ubiquitous presence on today's popular music charts and broadcast radio. He's not only one of the most notable and enduring fixtures on L.A.'s studio scene but also an artist who routinely scores on both the smooth jazz and straight-ahead jazz charts. In 2019, Thom received a call from his old friend, producer and jazz guitarist, Chris Standring who, somewhere in the conversation, promised him a hit single. That single, "Eddie's Ready" an homage to the great jazz artist Eddie Harris, went to Number One on Billboard's Smooth Jazz charts. And Rotella's subsequent releases have all charted in the top twenty, including "Street Talk," Number One on Smooth Jazz radio and #3 on the Billboard charts and "Soul Kitchen" Number One on Watercolors. The guitarist's previous project titled Say Hey! is a compilation of all his hit singles plus some new bonus tracks. In addition Rotella is gigging with his 4tet, that features sax titan Ernie Watts. His latest straight-ahead jazz CD "Side Hustle" on HighNote Records, a followup to his album Storyline, is a nod to the jazz organ trio records the 60's. It features jazz legend Roy McCurdy on drums and Columbus, Ohio organist Bobby Floyd. And guest spots by Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, Eric Alexander on tenor and Lenny Castro on percussion. Kendall Kay (drums) and Gregg Karukas(organ) step in for the final track. The release date is 8/23/24 and is his 14th CD. The Backstory Rotella, a Niagara Falls native, grew up in a musical family, and as a six-year old, became enamored of his granddad's guitar and began serious lessons at age ten. Later, as a teen, he played in local rock bands but was soon precociously focused on jazz because of his irresistible attraction to the recordings of Wes Montgomery. His teacher, the redoubtable John Morell, had in fact taught another talented youngster years before: famous session guitarist Tommy Tedesco, someone for whom the overworked word legendary actually applies. The young Rotella had always kept a sharp eye out for Tedesco's name on album credits and was inspired to know that someone with whom he shared real cultural coordinates had become a big success in the recording world. So, steadfastly committed to his career path, the young guitarist soon gained the mandatory musical experience by hitting the road with a few lounge bands but sagaciously sought further artistic development at Berklee College in Boston, an institution that many consider to be the country's finest music school. It was there he studied with Bill Leavett and Gary Burton, both heavyweights in the jazz world. In the early 1970s, after the appropriate on-the-road seasoning and formal scholastic discipline, young Thom headed west where in short order he was networking in rehearsal bands and rapidly achieving visibility on the L.A. music scene. He says he met virtually every name guitar player in town except Tommy Tedesco. But despite his dad's relentless encouragement to connect with the famous guitarist, Thom was determined to make it on his own. Fate, however, had decided on another course. Thom's dad just happened to be paired in a golf foursome with Tommy T, who just happened to be visiting family in Niagara Falls. It was then young Thom got the word and made the call, one that had a profound influence on his future. Tedesco, the undisputed doyen of L.A. studio guitarists, had Thom accompany him to several studio sessions and showed him the ropes. The young guitarist's talent was unimpeachable and before long, with Tedesco's avuncular guidance, Rotella, too, found himself on studio first-call lists and quickly established himself as one of the town's hottest newcomers. What's happened since has been chronicled, at least in part, in the above paragraphs. And it's a great story. Making a living in the music business or in any of the arts can be difficult to say the least but Thom Rotella has achieved both commercial and critical acclaim. In addition to his first-call status in the rarified air of studio musicians, his numerous CD releases, that have garnered devoted fans all over the world, are proof that hard work, vision and developed talent remain an unwavering formula for success. And today Rotella is still in fast forward as he continues to burnish an extraordinary career by relentlessly exploring music that's both steeped in tradition and as modern as tomorrow.