Roberto Catalano was born in Catania, Sicily, where he began his music career as a self-taught guitarist in 1973. He is a scholar, a teacher, a composer, and a multi-instrumentalist. He holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and his main interests include Mediterranean music cultures, popular music, jazz, organology, and music from the Near East.

As a guitarist he has performed with different ensembles in major cities such as Rome, London, Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles. He has opened shows for major jazz artists such as guitarist Jim Hall and pianist Michel Petrucciani and played with accomplished musicians such as jazz guitarist John Scofield. As an arranger he has written scores in several contemporary styles, among these the most notable is a piece taken from the Sardinian vocal tradition known as "canto a tenores" and arranged it for the four strings of Grammy Award winner, Kronos Quartet. Roberto Catalano is a collector and maker of musical instruments. His collection includes, thus far, about one hundred seventy instruments from the world over.

Email: favax@earthlink.net