Bill Moio
Biographie Bill Moio
Bill Moio
Growing up in South Portland, Maine, Moio picked up guitar at age eight and later studied with a local guitar teacher before making his professional debut at age 15. After finishing high school, he was accepted to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied under the late William G. Leavitt. Seminal jazz guitar albums for him through his developmental years included Pat Martino's 1972 album, Consciousness, and George Benson's 1971 album, Beyond the Blue Horizon. As he recalled, "I remember listening to Pat's record for the first time. 'On the Stairs' was playing, and when that guitar break came in, I was like, 'What was that?' It was killer. Another revelation for me was hearing Benson's version of 'So What' on Beyond the Blue Horizon. My teacher played that for me when I was about 14, and I remember thinking, 'What's that? How do you do that?' That was it for me. I never went through Hendrix or Clapton or any of the rock guys, I just went straight into Benson and Martino and Wes and never looked back. Those guys will always be the masters, for me and for my generation."
Leaving Boston, he returned to Maine and began teaching at The University of Maine at Augusta. It was at this time that he founded his first band, The Bill Moio Quartet, which performed an eclectic blend of jazz, Latin and funk. Moio left Maine in 1978 and headed west to Nevada for a two-week engagement at the MGM Reno. Two weeks turned into nine months, and he later found himself immersed in the show circuit throughout Nevada, serving as the house guitarist for Harrah's Reno and Harrah's Lake Tahoe for seven years, then holding down the position of orchestra leader at Harrah's Tahoe for two years before finishing a three-year run in the showroom of The Rio Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Moio has also performed with the legendary soul band Tower Of Power and has appeared with such jazz artists as trombonist Bill Watrous, guitarists Joe Diorio and Jack Wilkins and organ great Joey DeFrancesco to name a few.
Now with Try This, Moio is showcasing his remarkable fretboard prowess and songwriting talents to a much wider audience. “I still practice every day and work on new stuff, ” he confided. “I really work on my time, so when I double it, it’s there. Because when you’re dealing with MIDI you have to be locked in. So I’ve been working on my Bach Sonatas and Partitas, and I always have my metronome close by. It’s something you just constantly work on. All with the great players that I’ve admired, their time is so strong. George Benson’s time and his feel is ridiculous. Everything about that guy is amazing. Music just flows out of him.”
