Artie Barbato was brought up in a well known musical family and began writing and playing jazz tunes at a young age. In High School he led and performed with his own combo and wrote two big band arrangements before he was 16 years old. He went on to study at Berklee College of Music while taking private lessons with The Buddy Rich Big Band soloist, Jeff Stout, Mike Marra, John Neves and Leon Merian.
Equally versatile at playing jazz and all genres of music, he has played with musicians all over the world including the Australian band, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, who Billboard Magazine referred to as “the Aussie genius”. In Washington DC, Artie performed at President Clinton’s Inaugural Ball, while locally playing the Boston Garden, Great Woods, supporting Bryan Ferry and Sinead O’Connor, also at the House of Blues, The Paradise Club, Ryles and Scullers Jazz Club. The Boston Globe called his trumpet playing with Epic Records signed band, O Positive, “wailing”, while Rhythm Magazine said “mellifluous trumpet lines from Artie Barbato”.
Most recently, Artie has recorded with English Rock legend, Wreckless Eric, on his latest 2 albums, Construction Time and Demolition and Transience, playing all brass, including French Horn and Euphonium. With the release of the albums, Artie performed numerous live gigs in New York playing bass, brass and keyboards with Wreckless Eric. This led to recording with New York based musician, songwriter and novelist, Amy Rigby on her latest album, The Old Guys.
Artie’s love and dedication to music extends to sharing this passion with his students.