Jimmy Alleva is a talented Italian American crooner and tenor. He specializes in classical Neapolitan music, but his shows include romantic old-school Italian American songs. Jimmy was born in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens, NY. He graduated from Holy Cross High School in 1986. It was at an early age when Jimmy discovered his admiration for Italian music. The Alleva family was a musical family. In fact, his older brother, Nicholas, was a popular singer in Queens.
Jimmy is extremely proud of his Italian heritage. It is the reason he started taking intense lessons to learn more Italian from an instructor from Rome in 2012. It is also why he performs the songs of legendary Italian American singers such as Jimmy Roselli, Jerry Vale, Dean Martin, Mario Lanza, and Sergio Franchi. While growing up, his family played the songs of those wonderful artists.
Jimmy's maternal grandparents were from Nola, a small town in the Italian region of Campania. The town is a suburb of Napoli. His paternal grandparents were from Sanza, another small town in Campania in the province of Salerno.
When Jimmy was a child, each Saturday his family would go over to his grandfather's butcher shop. There, his grandfather would encourage Jimmy and his brother to learn Neapolitan songs. His grandfather would pay them five dollars for each song that they learned. Those were good times for the Alleva family.
His brother Nicholas passed away in 1996. The death of his brother deeply affected him. Nicholas was a tremendous inspiration in his life. It was during that time that Jimmy felt it was the right moment to pursue a career in singing. That was his opportunity to keep the memory of his brother alive and participate in something that he truly loved to do.
Like Michael Bublé and Andrea Bocelli, Jimmy is one of those unique performers who appreciates the great music of the past, whether it is a romantic Jerry Vale song or a version of "O Sole Mio." Jimmy has performed at spectacular events in NYC such as the Columbus Day Parade, Feast of San Gennaro and Dance of the Giglio. He has even impressed people with his amazing voice in Ohio at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Festival in Youngstown. He has performed at many private parties, weddings and Italian restaurants on the East Coast. Jimmy recorded his debut album “Love & Romance” and released it independently in the summer of 2008.
Jimmy is regularly on Rocco Mesiti's popular New England radio show, Dolce Vita, every Sunday morning on WTCC 90.7FM in Springfield, MA. He also has a YouTube channel and website where you can listen to songs from his albums. When Jimmy is not entertaining, he enjoys hanging out with his family and working out. He likes to go skiing and ride his motorcycle as well.
