Joe Vannelli is an Italian-Canadian

Italian-Canadian

An Italian Canadian is a Canadian of Italian descent or heritage. According to the 2006 census of Canada, 1,445,335 Canadians consider themselves to be of Italian origin. The Italian-Canadian population climbed by more than 12% and half have combined Italian origins along with another ethnic...

 musician, composer and record producer. He was credited on most records of his brother, Gino Vannelli

Gino Vannelli

Gino Vannelli is an Italian-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and composer.-Early years:Born in Montreal, Quebec, Vannelli is one of three sons born to Russ and Delia Vannelli. Russ, his father, was a big band musician. As a child, Gino's greatest passion was music, and he began playing...

, and in collaboration with youngest brother Ross Vannelli, the three have won many awards.

Vannelli studied music theory in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, and learned to play piano. He was influenced by artists like Bill Evans

Bill Evans

William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...

, Oscar Peterson

Oscar Peterson

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...

, Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck

David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

 and Errol Garner. During the seventies he developed an interest in electronic instruments; he was one of the early synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 players. He contributed to most of Gino's albums as a composer, producer, arranger, programmer and engineer.

Apart from his work with Gino and Ross, he has been credited by many artists like Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

, Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt

Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...

, Gary Morris

Gary Morris

Gary Gwyn Morris is an American country music artist who charted a string of countrypolitan-styled hit songs throughout the 1980s....

, David Meece

David Meece

David Meece is a Contemporary Christian musician who enjoyed success in the mid 80s throughout the early 2000s with more than 30 Top 10 hits ....

, Kudasai, Marilyn Scott

Marilyn Scott

Marilyn Scott is an American jazz vocalist.Scott got her start performing locally at age 15. She went to college in San Francisco, singing in both jazz and pop ensembles there. She was noticed by Emilio Castillo, a member of Tower of Power, who hired her to do backing vocals for the group...

, Jimmy Haslip

Jimmy Haslip

Jimmy Haslip is an American electric bass player and record producer best known as a founding and current member of the pioneering fusion group Yellowjackets...

, Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Known for her eclectic musical style, her recordings have encompassed several different genres, including pop, soul, dance, jazz and adult contemporary...

, Pat Thomi, Don Sebesky

Don Sebesky

Don Sebesky is an American jazz trombonist and arranger.-Biography:Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton...

, Kit Chan

Kit Chan

Kit Chan is a Singaporean singer.-Music:She was a member of the pioneer generation of Singaporean singers to successfully break into the international market, marked in particular by her breakthrough into the competitive and highly critical Taiwanese market with her hit Mandarin album Heartache ...

, Bill Meyers, Gianni Bella and Glenn Jones

Glenn Jones

Glenn Jones, , is an American R&B/soul singer.-Career:He started his career as a gospel singer and has since, managed a successful move into the R&B field. He got his start in R&B in 1980 when Norman Connors featured Jones on a track on his album, Take It To The Limit...

.

Vannelli has won six Juno Award

Juno Award

The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...

s and was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including one for best arrangement.

Source

• Joe's bio page on Gino Vannelli's official website
• Biography #6, HISTORICA : The Canadian Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.