A Brief Biography

At age seven, Mike began taking lessons on the tenor banjo, from his father, Charles Currao. His father was an extraordinary musician who played with such notables as Jimmy Durante, Paul Whiteman and Bing Crosby.

Following in his dad's musical footsteps Mike has been performing professionally for the past forty years, playing guitar, tenor banjo, and mandolin. The first major musical experience took place at age 10, when he and his twin brother, Vince, appeared on "live" TV and radio with the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. Since then he has had a wonderful musical career performing with various musical groups, ranging from duets to thirty piece orchestras.

His experience includes playing banjo, guitar and mandolin for "Porgy and Bess", "Rhapsody in Blue", and "West Side Story", with the Northeast Philharmonic. He also performed in a variety of Broadway show groups, including several performances with Cab Calloway. In addition, he played banjo for many years with the All American Orchestra, the Banjo-Aires, and the Bobby Baird Dixieland Band.

Appearances ranged from nightclubs to concert halls, and even included the lobby of an office building, when invited to play at the grand opening of the Twin Towers in NYC. For four years, he enjoyed a concert tour with his son, Michael, who has since dedicated himself to an engineering career.

Mike went on to study advanced banjo techniques for several years with Roy Smeck, a popular vaudeville star. This resulted in learning to do things on the banjo that he never knew were possible, and the banjo quickly became his favorite instrument. Working as a guitarist was very enjoyable, however the banjo always seemed to represent fun, good times and smiles.

In the early seventies, Mike joined the Long Island Banjo Society, and eventually became one of their soloists. To date, their albums still contain his arrangement and solo performance of "The Doll Dance", on which he plays all parts on banjo, guitar and bass.

It was then that Mike enrolled two students who have since become quite popular in the banjo world. Namely, Frank Rossi, who was recently inducted into the Four String Banjo Hall of Fame and Bob Barta who has performed playing banjo at Carnegie Hall, New York. It was recently announced that Mike is a 2008 nominee for the National Four String Banjo Hall of Fame. He is also on the teaching faculty of the Banjo Museum located in Guthrie, OK.

Mike is now residing in southwest Florida, where he and his wife of forty years, Marge, are enjoying an early retirement. He remains very active on the banjo, giving private lessons, performing with local dixieland groups, and enjoying weekly sessions with the Gulf Coast Banjo Society in Venice, Florida.

HOME REVIEWS PHOTOS CONTACT LINKS BYTES