The story
Miles Dalto — known in the industry as KeyMaster — is a pianist, platinum-certified producer and composer, born and raised in New York City, whose career spans more than two decades.
Influenced by his father, Jorge Dalto, he grew up around legendary musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente and George Benson. His father played the piano solo on Benson’s “This Masquerade” — the Grammy Record of the Year, from Breezin’, the album that topped the pop charts. Immersed in the pop, funk, hip-hop and jazz of 1980s New York, Miles built a style that marries classical training to a deep feel for harmony and groove.
Losing his father to cancer at nine, young Dalto carried on his musical journey with a responsibility to continue the family tradition of expression through music. At 13 he auditioned for LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, studied classical and jazz piano, and started making beats in his Section 8 apartment on the Upper West Side. He went on to study under Mike Longo (Dizzy Gillespie’s pianist) and Ron Carter at City College in Harlem.
He cut his teeth in New York City’s nightlife, toured, and landed music-director roles with Tony Award winner Lillias White. Playing clubs by night and sessions by day, he moved from piano work on commercials to producing custom music for the ad world — leading to his first national campaign and a platinum #1 on Motown Remixed.
Later on, “KeyMaster” landed an in-house composer position at the top New York agency D’Exposito & Partners. For over fifteen years he has composed, mixed and arranged commercials for the agency and others, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey Advertising and McCann — a prolific run of more than 500 original-music placements across many of advertising’s biggest brands and most award-winning spots.
Since relocating to Hollywood, Miles has scored 22 episodes of television and a feature film — more than 350 music cues in all — along with 20 commercials for D’Exposito & Partners, and has produced over 35 official releases. A Billboard-charting producer with a #1 that put his name next to Marvin Gaye’s, he combines his diverse musical influences to move seamlessly between genres while holding onto his love of both timeless and modern approaches to music: a dynamic, virtuosic composer whose range runs from the subtlest nuance to the most over-the-top arrangements.
His attention to detail makes the music fit a scene frame by frame — creating the emotion that brings characters to life, enhancing the story with every cue, or writing a whole song. A team player, he has built a network of top singers, instrumentalists, engineers and fellow producers he collaborates with, and has relationships with top studios including Paramount, Sunset Sound and EastWest.
