Johnny Trama

Johnny Trama was born on a August morning in metro New York City. His passion for music was noticed immediately, in fact he attended a performing High School. He studied under the legendary Dave Burns. Burns is best known for his days as a trumpeter for Dizzy Gillespie. Johnny also studied with Rodney Jones. Jones, as some of you know, worked with Maceo Parker and Etta James, just to name a couple.The academic world thought highly of him - Berklee offered him a full music scholarship. It seemed like a good idea at the time, however studying got in the way of performing.Boston discovered him as a guitarist for "The Daddy's." Later he became an integral part of "The Rockett Band." He's also played with the likes of Ron Levy's "Wild Kingdom." Many of you remember Ron Levy from his days as the keyboard player for B.B. King and the proud owner of two Grammys. Johnny and vocalist Peter Prince got together and created "Peter Prince and the Trama Unit." Music fans and critics in Boston, NYC and all of New England rave about their amazing recreation of the Stax sound. Trama also helps out John Brown's Body, one of the best touring reggae bands not related to Marley in the business. If that isn't enough, he also plays lead with Toussaint & the China Band. Be sure to check out the audio files found on this site.In addition to his professors, Johnny's early influences also included Jimmy Page, George Benson, Grant Green, Otis Redding, Mark Ford and others - which is why it is hard to categorize his playing and song writing. We encourage you to check out Johnny's music on line and in person!