THOM MANNO Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist/Bassist/Pianist/Composer "The Paragon of Aesthetic Virtue". Thom Manno comes strongly out of a very musical family, his mother being a former classical singer and cellist, and his father, also a former singer and an active composer/conductor. Many other relatives of his are also musicians. Early on Thom studied piano and double bass. His bass teachers include the principal bassist of the MET Orchestra, Laurence Glazener as well as Louis Kosma, Alvin Brehm, Mike Richmond (jazz and classical), and Dave Clark (jazz and classical). Thom was a music major at SUNY Purchase and also studied at The Berklee College of Music, The New School and New York University. He was the principal bassist of the Purchase Symphony, the NYU Orchestra and the Berklee College Jazz Band. He also studied songwriting and composition at Purchase with Jim McElwaine, and at the New School with Henry Gaffney. Thom Manno's songs are an amalgam of the Pop/Reggae/Ska/Funk and Folk idioms and are intensely personal and expressive. Of the 16 songs on his CD "The Paragon of Aesthetic Virtue," 13 are entirely his own compositions. The remaining three were written with Remileku, Laurence Mason , Michael Gigante and Brian Halverson. His music is moving, expressive and full of passion, and his song texts explore the very personal aspects of one's being.