BIOGRAPHY
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A native of Los Angeles, California, Nick's music training began when he was four years old and took him into the world of jazz at the age of nine. Nick was born to Nicola D'Amico and Teresa Tirelli, both professional opera singers of note and prominent in the Italian American community. Nick D'Amico (Nicola Marcello D'Amico) became a member of the Musicians Union AFM Local 47 in Los Angeles at the age of 15 and graduated from Hollywood High School with a background in instrumental music as a pianist and woodwind player and percussionist, under the direction of Bob Williams. Nick attended LACC, studied with Bob MacDonald and played in the LACC studio band. He attended UCLA on a film scoring scholarship and, as a composition major, received opportunities to score for large orchestra during his 11 years at the Westwood campus. His talent was recognized early in his career and he has since played on thousands of recordings.
Either as a pianist and/or singer, he performed on hits for artists such as Diana Ross ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), David Clayton Thomas, many tracks for the late Gene Page, Joe Gottfried, and other producers of note. In 1968, Nick joined The Outsiders ("Time Won't Let Me") and went on the road with the group. The group changed their name to Climax in 1970 and Nick wrote the original arrangement, played keyboard and sang back up vocals for their hit, "Precious & Few". Nick also co-wrote other works featured on the same Climax recording. Nick left Climax in 1971 and moved on and toured briefly with several bands.
In 1972, Nick wrote some of the music for a Rock Opera entitled "Walking in My Time". The Production, a controversial musical protest of the Vietnam war, premiered in May of 1972 in San Francisco at the On Broadway Theatre. Pro-war critics gave mixed reviews of the show, but the show was a hit because of its antics and anti-war theme (every night the audience signed a protest letter to Nixon to stop the war). As well as the show was doing, the Vietnam War was very unpopular and the show closed when the war ended twelve weeks later.
In 1973 Nick D'Amico wrote his first classical concerto for piano and orchestra. It was not until 1982 that this work would be recorded on a 1901 Strich & Ziedler, the piano Nick first learned to play on. The recording of the piano only is available here on CD Baby, as a piano sonata entitled "The Courting".
D'Amico continued recording and doing live performances both as a player and a singer. He started his own local LA group and played the nightclub circuit in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Reno and Tahoe. Nick worked with his friend Kenny Davis, traveling to Texas with standing room only audiences and other major cities. He also did gigs with Buddy Rich, Peter Marshall, Andy Williams and other notables.
In 1980, Nick met his soon to be wife, Diane Burt, and not long afterward began arranging for The Caroling Company, an a cappella vocal ensemble, ultimately destined to promote the wonderful Alfred Burt Christmas Carols. Alfred Burt was Diane's father and Nick immediately fell in love with Mr. Burt's carols, "little masterpieces". Many of Nick's Christmas arrangements were featured on television and films, including "Deck The Halls", a four part invention he wrote for the opening credits of The Addams Family (1991) movie with Raul Julia and Angelica Huston.
In 1995, as a gift for his mother in law, Anne Burt, Mr. D'Amico remastered for CD the 1964 Grammy nominated Alfred Burt Carols recording, "This Is Christmas", and later that year he remastered for CD the original 1954 Burt Carols recording of "The Christmas Mood", featuring the Columbia Choir & the great Ralph Carmichael's Brass Ensemble on Columbia Records. Nick can't seem to get away from Christmas music, as in 2002, Brian Setzer's producer asked him to write a vocal arrangement to "O Holy Night" for the "Boogie Woogie Christmas" CD and Nick contracted The Caroling Company to sing back up vocals for Brian. Nick D'Amico produced 2003 The Caroling Company's hit CD, "A Christmas Present from The Caroling Company" released on VAG Records and, in 2004, he also produced "The Alfred Burt Carols Golden Anniversary Collection", featuring many of the major recording artists who have helped keep the carols alive since 1954. Nick has played keyboards on stage for Garth Brooks, Charley Pride and other performing artists.
Currently, he is recording a new piano/vocal jazz album and continues to promote his 2010 release of the latin-jazz CD "Evolution II, all original music that touches on each area of his expertise: piano, flute, percussion, singing, arranging, songwriting, producing.