Massimo Sammi was born in Genoa in 1975 and, under the influence of his older brother Walter, at age 8 starts learning classical piano taking lessons from Professor Mario D'Alba. Some years later starts studying jazz bass, under the guide of Professor Aldo Zunino.
He begins playing guitar at 12, after a holiday with his father spent in New York. There he has the chance to listen in a club Kenny Burrell, from whose incredible class and melodic taste is definitely fascinated.
He starts therefore to study seriously the instrument under the direction of Professor Ettore Cartegni, learning the basics of classical guitar with Sor studies, and the basics of contemporary playing on the " Modern method for guitar" di W. Leavitt, which granted him the musical and theoretical notions upon which developing during the years, his own style.
Meanwhile he starts to teach himself rock guitar, studying particularly the style of two artist that deeply influenced him: Joe Satriani and Steve Lukather. During the years, playing gigs in several rock-bands, gets more and more into the style of Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Sambora, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Steve Morse and Eric Johnson.
During the mid-90s begins to develop his knowledge of jazz under the guide of several teachers from his town. In the beginning the player from which he gets more influenced is Mike Stern, for his energy and direct kind of playing. He then continues by studying Larry Carlton, of which he likes mostly his ability to connect the blues to more jazzy kind of phrasing. He starts to concentrate upon the style of Pat Metheny, especially the records with the Pat Metheny Group, from which is fascinated for his unique way of playing jazz in absolutely unbound and free style. But most of all he is influenced by Wes Montgomery, which maybe is his primary jazz influence together with Chet Baker and Wynton Kelly.
Since 2004 he is a student of Charlie Banacos, chairman of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, with which follows the "jazz-phrasing" course by correspondence: his method has been really useful to him for improving and expanding his phrasing and improvisation technique.
In the same period starts playing in Italy in several jazz projects, that granted him a solid experience in ensemble playing.
He has been admitted, after passing the exam, as lyrics author and musical composer to the Italian Association of Authors and Publishers (S.I.A.E.), of which is a regular member.
He also passed the exams of solfege, mid-term of guitar (Vth year) in the "Niccolò Paganini" Conservatory of Classical Music in Genoa.
In July 2006 he wins the scholarship, offered by Fender and Godin, for participating to the "Summer guitar sessions – Mainstream jazz class" of Berklee College of Music in Bostonwhere he studies with Avi Rothbard, Jon Damian, Ed Tomassi, Rick Peckham e Ronan Guylfoille.
In the same year he wins a scholarship for enrolling at the New England Conservatory, where he's now pursuing a Bachelor's degree as a Jazz Performance Major, mentored by Jerry Bergonzi, Ken Schaphorst and Charlie Banacos. At N.E.C. he has the opportunity to attend classes and to play in various ensembles with, between the others, Dave Holland, Don Byron, Frank Carlberg, Ran Blake, Cecil McBee, John Lockwood, Ayn Inserto, Rakalam Bob Moses, Jerry Leake and Jamey Haddad.
