♊

Marco Chelo

Musician · Entrepreneur · Technologist · Travel Organizer · Sailor

"Why choose one path when you can navigate them all?"
A Gemini with too many passions and not enough lifetimes.

Listen to My Music View My Work
Marco Chelo

20+ Years

In Music

♊ ABOUT ME

Many Lives, One Journey

They say Geminis live multiple lives at once. With ADHD as my superpower, I've never been able to settle for just one passion — so I embraced them all.

🎷 The Musician: Studied with masters like Clifford Jordan, Marc Mommaas, and Patience Higgins. From NYC jazz clubs to West African fusion with DafinaRoots Band.

💼 The Entrepreneur: Founded Viaggiare Network (Italy's 4th largest travel agency chain), Online Development and Marketing, and co-founded the New York Jazz Workshop.

💻 The Technologist: 16 years at NY State Insurance Fund IT department, plus building platforms with Sabre, proprietary databases, Django, and React.

✈️ The Travel Organizer: 15 years running Viaggiare Network in Italy. Now combining all passions at NYJW — organizing jazz study trips to Italy, Japan, and Brazil.

⛵ The Sailor: Because sometimes the best ideas come when you're navigating by the stars.

25+

Years Tech

15

Years Travel

4

Companies

3

Albums

3

Continents

DISCOGRAPHY

The Sound

Featured Project

DafinaRoots Band

Bridging West African traditions with jazz and global sounds. A multiethnic ensemble celebrating heritage while embracing innovation, creating vibrant fusions that bring communities together through the universal language of music.

Spotify YouTube Website
🌍

DafinaRoots

West African Fusion

Albums & Collaborations

🥁
Mandé

Mali In New York

With Makane Kouyaté, Malian griot and master drummer who performed with Salif Keita. West African Mandé traditions meet jazz.

Apple → Spotify →
🎷
NYC Jazz

Il Collettivo

NYC jazz quintet: John Austria (keys), Fred Pratt (bass), Keith Jordan (guitar), Vince Warren (drums) & Marco Chelo (tenor sax).

Listen →
✨
Neo-Soul

Saint Woke

Featured on "Ezekiel 25:17" — genre-bending neo-soul, jazz, and conscious lyricism.

Apple → Spotify →

Upcoming Performances

08

JAN

Shrine

Thu 10PM-12AM

Details →

29

JAN

Silvana

Wed 8-10PM

Details →

06

FEB

Shrine

Fri 10PM-12AM

Details →

13

MAR

Shrine

Fri 10PM-12AM

Details →

14

MAR

Silvana

Sat 10PM-12AM

Details →

24

APR

Shrine

Fri 10PM-12AM

Details →

08

MAY

Shrine

Fri 10PM-12AM

Details →

23

MAY

Shrine

Sat 10PM-12AM

Details →

PORTFOLIO

Built with Passion

Django WordPress React

New York Jazz Workshop

Full-stack platform for NYC's premier jazz education center. Booking, payments, student management — plus organizing jazz study trips to Italy, Japan & Brazil.

Co-founder & CTO
Django Tailwind

NY Music Institute

501(c)(3) nonprofit platform with event management, registration system, donation processing, and content management.

Board Member & Tech Lead
HTML/CSS JavaScript

DafinaRoots Band

Modern responsive website for West African fusion band. Event listings, band profiles, streaming integration, and social media.

Designer & Developer
Sabre GDS Database

Viaggiare Network 🇮🇹

Italy's 4th largest travel agency chain. Built proprietary reservation database leveraging Sabre GDS technology.

Founder Legacy Project

Tech Stack

Python Django JavaScript React TypeScript Tailwind CSS PostgreSQL Sabre GDS Heroku AWS HTMX Alpine.js

JOURNEY

The Path

2024 - Present

🎷 DafinaRoots Band

Performing original West African fusion across NYC venues including Shrine and Silvana.

2023 - Present

🎵 NY Music Institute

Co-founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Built Django platform for events, registrations, and donations.

2023

⛵ NYC to Bahamas

Purchased a 50-year-old 27ft sailboat and embarked on a 4-month journey down the US East Coast to the Abaco Islands, Eleuthera, Cat Island, and the Exumas.

2007 - Present

🎹 New York Jazz Workshop

Where all passions converge: music, code, and travel. Built the platform + organize jazz study trips to Italy, Japan & Brazil.

2006 - 2022

💻 NY State Insurance Fund

16 years in IT department. Enterprise systems, database development, and digital transformation.

2000s

🌐 Online Development & Marketing

Founded digital agency. Web development, SEO, and online marketing strategies.

Late 1990s - Present

🎷 NYC West African Music Scene

A fixture in the West African music scene. Performed with Makane Kouyate Denbaya, Abou Denbele Danaya Band, and Mamoudou Konate Simbo's DafinaRoots Band at S.O.B's, Groove, Zinc Bar, Barbès, Nublu, Shrine, Silvana & more.

1990s

✈️ Viaggiare Network

Developed Italy's 4th largest travel agency chain. Built proprietary database systems with Sabre technology. Offices in New York, Rome, and Milan.

GET IN TOUCH

Let's Connect

Whether you're interested in booking a performance, discussing a tech project, or just want to chat about jazz, I'd love to hear from you.

[email protected] 917-340-0270