Joe Abba - Check Hook (2022)

Born and raised in New York, Joe Abbatantuono began playing drums at the age of eight years old. For over 25 years, he has provided the drums and percussion for countless artists of all genres, from Jazz to Rock to Funk to Pop to Metal to Classical to Hip Hop. He has worked with countless composers and performers, including but not limited to: Daniel Breaker, Donny McCaslin, John Scofield, David Hillyard, Baba Israel, Morgan James, Pacha Massive, Tommy and CJ Ramone, Jerry Jemmott, Harvey S., Sean Nowell, Gene Pritsker & The Composers Concordance, Lew Soloff, Dave Douglas, Jessica Simpson, Adam Rogers, Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra, Costas Baltazanis, Pacha Massive, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Shayna Steele, and Brian Charette.

He is a member of the Afro Jazz Project, Molly Tigre, whose debut album came out in May, 2019 as well as The New York Jazz Exchange, a Swedish and American Jazz Project he founded with Fredrik Olsson. They have two albums out, "Stockholm Swinging," (Voted one of 2012's best jazz albums of the year) and their 2016 self titled studio album. His current project, The Funk Unit, perfectly blends funk, soul, jazz, and hip hop; Joe Abba's band performs originals he has written, as well as classic funk, soul, and hip hop standards. His debut album drops on Composers Concordance Records this March 2022. Joe also leads an international jazz group called The Gen X Quartet, with Nick Mancini-vibraphone, Trifon Dimitrov-bass, and Paul Tynan-Trumpet. This group performs and educates across the country, teaching students from grade school through college, about jazz music and making a living as an artist in the 21st century. Joe recently produced Jaana Narsipur's debut album, coming out in 2022.