Rome Sentinel

Beloved local musician Carmen Caramanica dies

BY THOMAS CAPUTO Staff writer

Carmen Caramanica, a wellknown musician and music educator from Utica, passed away at the age of 77 on Monday, Jan. 16.

Caramanica has had a long career in the music business and has shared the stage with stars like Lou Rawls, Tony Orlando, and Raquel Welch. Additionally, he made appearances as both a featured artist and a guest conductor on the Jerry Lewis telethons, and “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”

Caramanica also had the opportunity to play on recordings for a number of movie soundtracks and was a featured performer in concert halls all throughout the country.

Despite his success in the music business, Caramanica opted to stay close to home, opening the Carmen Caramanica Music Instruction Studio in New Hartford and the Carmen Caramanica Jazz Trio, which regularly played in the Mohawk Valley.

His autobiography, “It Started with a Guitar: Six Strings and a Dream,” was recently published by Caramanica in September 2022. It details his life story, including how he was hospitalized at the age of 10 with a bad hip, which inspired him to learn the guitar and ultimately led him to become a professional musician.

“Carmen was a role model for hundreds of local aspiring musicians, both with his musicianship and his ability to pass it on in his teaching,” said Monk Rowe, director of the Hamilton College Fillius Jazz Archive and friend of Caramanica. “Personally, for me, I played with him shortly after graduating from music school, and I consider that to be my graduate work, because he taught me, along with Rick Montalbano and Dolores Mancuso, how to actually play a gig.”

“He was always at the top of the mountain for local guitar players, especially,” Rowe added.

Caramanica’s funeral plans have not been made public yet.

Front Page

en-us

2023-01-18T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-18T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://romesentinel.pressreader.com/article/281505050334104

Rome Sentinel Co.