cliftonaires

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Clifton Music presents ...............

Ronnie I's

The Producer

Ronnie Italiano is the owner of Clifton Music, UGHA President, producer and engineer of the Cliftonaire's first CD "Our Gift to You".

" I have produced group harmony Music since 1973 and can honestly say that this CD is my finest, replacing Ladies First Vol. 2 as #1. I was fortunate to have the guys (Cliftonaires) as the group backing up my ladies on two fabulous CD3. Now they have their own, demonstrating the talent these veteran Vocalists possess.

In my opinion, "Our Gift To You" will set precedent for this genre of music. I could not imagine another group attempting a project like "Our Gift To You" because of the intricate harmonies and invoked arrangements, not to mention the talent and passion put into the project by this all-star aggregation, the Cliftonaires. "Our Gift To You" offers the full spectrum of group harmony: street corner /pop/ jazz/soul and R&B. The Cliftonaires ... a versatile group, "Our Gift To You"...the best of its type. Enjoy it!"

Your Proud Producer, Ronnie I.

The Group

	Jack Scandura hails from the lower East Side of NYC and has been involved with music most of his life. Jack sang and recorded with Rickie & the Hallmarks on Amy records. He was also with the Uniques on Roulette records and helped the Concords with "On a Cold and Frosty Morning". Jack recorded with the Blue Stars in 1974 for Arcade records. He also sang with several variations of the Blendaires and recorded for Story Untold records in 1980. The Blue Stars reformed from 1984-89 and they recorded an LP for Clifton records. Jack is currently singing with the Five Discs as well as the Cliftonaires.
	Joel Katz grew up in Saddle Brook, NJ where he began singing in high school. After high school, Joel formed several bands, the Platinums and the Twilights who enjoyed a large following around the metro area. He also recorded as Joel and the Connotations and Joel and the Autumns. Joel disbanded his last group, the Twilights in 2000 and joined the Five Discs. He is now a core member of the Cliftonaires. Joel did double duty on the new CD. Besides singing with the group he also did the engineering chores at his Broadway South Studio in Fairlawn, NJ.
	Phil Granito also has a long musical background and played guitar, sang and wrote songs at an early age. He joined his first real group in the 1980's; the Heartaches who had recorded on Catamount records. Phil later had the distinction of being the only "white guy" who sang with the reformed Teenagers in the 80's. Around 1988, Phil became a member of the Duprees and still performs with them today. He recently became a core member of the Cliftonaires.
	Louis Vinci grew up in New Jersey and began singing in school choruses and at church. He joined a group, the Cartels in 1990 and then sang with various R&B groups afterwards. In 1998 he was appearing regularly at New York's famous "Windows On The World" restaurant with his group Bim Bam Baby. He is now a core member of the Cliftonaires. Louis is also an accomplished dancer.
	John Clemente grew up in the Bronx, NY. He taught himself to sing harmony listening to his sisters record collections and started collecting records at the age of 9. By the early 20's john was ready to join a vocal group. A friend convinced John to join a group called the Fine Tunes. After that short lived association, John hooked up with some new singers and they formed the Echelons in 1987. They recorded "A Christmas Long Ago" which has become a Christmas staple on radio stations. By 1988, John was singing with the Infernos and stayed with them for 2 years. During that time he recorded with the Eddie Brian Group and cut 2 songs "Christmas Shopping and "Back to '55". John rejoined the Echelons in 1990 and the group recorded 3 singles. They disbanded in 1995. In 1997 John was doing some singing in the NJ/NY coffeehouse circuit. He also filled in with another NJ acappella group Remembrance and became a fulltime member in 1998. John now sings with a vocal group/band called Desire. He is also a core member of the Cliftonaires.

Photo Gallery

Guest Artists

The Cliftonaires have been fortunate to include some very talented artists on their new CD. Ami Ortiz is the lead singer of the Chantels and does an incredible lead on "You Belong to Me". Sandra Italiano, along with being the First Lady of UGHA, can be heard singing lead on "It's a Pity to Say Goodnight. Sandra was also featured on the Clifton Music "Ladies First CDs. Dickey Harmon sings with the Del-Vikings and helps out with a fantastic version of "Angel". Darral Campbell sang with the Ecstasies of Philadelphia and does a super job on "I Cover the Waterfront. Wayne Smith, although not on the CD, does a great job filling in at times during live performances.

The CD

Track Information

Ordering Information

You can contact Ronnie at Clifton Music on 973-365-0049

Click on Clifton Logo and order online