Joe Coco is an american songwriter, singer and guitarist; he has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe since 1970.

From New York City's Folk City, L.A.'s famous Troubadour, to Italian Blues Festivals and Switzerland's Atlantis Club, he creates poignant, often satirical images with a clear, strong, emotive voice. Aprolific songwriter (575 songs and 35 albums since 1979), many of his songs reflect a strong social conscience.

From 1992 through 1996, Joe was a resident in Portugal and Sicily. During that time he headlined concerts while opening for FONTELLA BASS("Rescue Me”) and WILLIE MURPHY. Opening for Belgium's PERRY ROSE in Europe's largest club ATLANTIS, Basil, Switzerland led to a four-nightengagement in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1996 with partner Michele Lotta (harmonica & guitar).

Coco developed a passionate blues drive with a country style guitar approach oftight rhythmic patterns while flat or finger picking melody and bass lines. Slide guitar is his trademark, with a rapid, razor sharp attack. Joe's voice isvery soulful.

Joe's first success came in 1978 while opening concerts for B.B.KING and COMMANDER CODY in Flagstaff and Phoenix, Arizona. This led to his first album NEVER SATISFIED which brought him to the attention of Charles Kopelman's Entertainment Company in New York where his songs were pitched to BARBARA STREISAND, JUDY COLLINS, LORETTA LYNN, and GLEN CAMPBELL. While recording with Warner Bros Music in New York City from 1980 through 1982, Joetoured the Northeast college concert circuit opening for JOHN HAMMOND and LEONREDBONE.

In the summer of 1996, while living in Sicily, Joe composed BLUES HOUSE - A Blues Opera. Among the first blues operas ever written, the 27 songs were recorded with MICHELE LOTTA and released in 1997. The double album is in the prestigious archive collections of THE ROCK 'N' ROLL HALL OF FAME, Cleveland; W.C. HANDY FOUNDATION, Memphis;FOLK LIFE CENTER of the SMITHSONIAN, Washington D.C; INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF BLUES FOUNDATION, Boston; SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY and BROADCAST MUSICINC., Nashville.

Since 1995, Joe's fruitful collaborations with Michele Lotta have continued to with VIRGIN WOOD, INCANDESCENT, SYMBOLS OF POWER and SOUND OF THE SUN. While on tour in Italy with TOMMY, '98-99 Joe recorded THESE YEARS and SHE'S A MYSTERY, in theatre rehearsal studios and hotel rooms. WHERE THE RIVER MEETS THE SEA are songsabout discovering Joe's Sicilian roots as a resident in Italy 1993-97. Among Coco's 35 albums, 1989's ARIZONA--THE BALLADS, also a double CD, featured songs about culture shock, and coming ofage. They reflect his eleven years as a resident of the Southwest. In 1986 Joe collaborated with Luis Tomas of Arizona to produce the R&B, Jazz spiced instrumentals of SOLAR ECLIPSE AND A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, which saw the single"Pecho" air nationally on the video program VH1.

Joe is arare musician who has combined his music with stellar accomplishments in the visual arts. With a Master of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers Universityin 1986, he has had 53 solo exhibitions, including three International shows ofhis series IF WALLS COULD SPEAK (created in Portugal & Sicily, between 1992-97). With over 425 works in over 250 public and private collections, Joe's work is represented in MOMA, San Francisco, GALLERIA NAZIONALE DI ARTE CONTEMPORANEA, Rome, GULBENKIAN MUSEUM, Lisbon and the INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, Boston.

Michele Lotta begins his professional career as a radioconductor and dj at the onset of private broadcasting, and continues for the next 20 years. He starts playing guitar and harmonica at a very young age and discovers his passion for the blues at the start of the 1980’s. He has collaborated as a photographer and journalist with specialized magazines such as Il Blues, Musica Jazz and Blue Time since 1989.

His photos collection, "Clickin’ the Blues" (often hosted by several cultural associations) is part of the archives of the most famous music institutions of the world: the "Rock & Roll Hall of Fame" in Cleveland, Ohio.

15 years of work with Joe Coco, gave birth to 17 music collections – one of which is the colossal "Blues House - A Blues Opera" . Concerts in Italy and abroad, two Switzerland tours and an opening act in Sicily for the Gospel singer Fontella Bass follow.

Together with the blues band King Biscuit Time, he brings to life the records "LoveThat Stuff" (1995) and "Low Fidelity" (2001) and appears at several international festivals with some of the greatest performers of the"Devil’s Music": Michael Coleman, Nine Below Zero, Maurice John Vaughan, Fabio Treves, Climax Blues Band, J.Monque’D, James Harman, Andy J.Forest, John Primer, Jimmy Johnson, Sugar Blue, Popa Chubby, Sherman Robertson, Keb' Mo', Phil Guy, John Hammond …

He plays the harmonica in both electric and acoustic sets and acoustic/electric guitars.

In 2003 Michele open the website Spaghetti & Blues (www.spaghettiblues.it), a cultural space for the Italian blues band.

DISCOGRAPHY

SMALL WONDERS / J. Coco & M. Lotta featuring Roger Parr Jr. 2009 PRcd-0048 Time 42.06 11 Songs

GRANDFATHER'S LAND/ J. Coco & M. Lotta featuring Roger Parr Jr. 2007 PRcd-0046 Time 61.00 14 Songs

GARDEN STATE/ J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2006 PRcd-0044 Time 52.06 14 Songs

SEPTEMBER SKY / J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2006 PRcd-0043 Time 52.41 13 Songs

VIRGIN WOOD/ J.Coco & M.Lotta P 2005 PRcd-0042 Time 54.46 13 Songs

SCARLET ROAD/ J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2004 PRcd-0041 Time 52:17 12 Songs

INCANDESCENT/ J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2003 PRcd-0040 Time 53:37 14 Songs

EMERALD CROWN/ J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2002 PRcd-0039 Time 47:42 12

SOUND OF THE SUN/ J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2002 PRcd-0035 Time 49:24 13 Songs

SILVER LOOM/ J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2002 Prcd-0038 Time 68:30 16 Songs (Comp.)

SYMBOLS OF POWER (W.W. III Is Here)/ J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2002 PRcd-0034 Time 50:31 12 Songs

STREETS OF LIGHT / P 2001 PRcd-034 Time 50:10 13 Songs/J. Coco & M.Lotta P 2001 PRcd-0033 Time 39:52 10 Songs

SURRENDER / J. Coco & M. Lotta P 2000 August PRcd-0032 Time: 50:00 14 Songs

THESE YEARS / J. Coco & M. Lotta P 1999 March PRcd-0031 Time: 50:31 13 Songs

SHE’S A MYSTERY / J. Coco & M. Lotta P 1999 March PRcd-0030 Time: 39:36 10 Songs

JOE COCO & MICHELE LOTTA / J. Coco & M. Lotta P 1998 Sept. PRcd-0029 Time: 57:51 14 Songs (Comp.)

OUT OF THE BLUE / J. Coco & M. Lotta P 1998 August PRcd-0028 Time: 49:16 12 Songs

BLUES HOUSE - A BLUES OPERA / J. Coco & M. Lotta P 1997 February V.1 PRcd-0025 Time: 90:00 18 Songs ---V.2 PRcd-0026 Time: 42:21 9 Songs

SOME SUMMER / J. Coco & M. Lotta Volume 9 P 1997 January PRcd-0027 Time: 45:27 12 Songs

TAKE ME HOME / J. Coco & M. Lotta Volume 8 P 1997 Oct. PRcd-0026 Time:60:00 14 Songs

PROTECTED BY ANGELS / J.Coco & M. Lotta Vol 7 1996 Feb. PRcd-0023 Time:43:20 12 Songs