John Colianni

Colianni was born in Paterson, New Jersey on January 7, 1966.[1] He grew up in suburban Maryland.[2] At the age of 14 he began piano lessons with Les Karr, who introduced him to Matthay exercises.[2] During his senior high school year, Colianni moved to New Jersey with his family.[2] In 1987 (several months after the release of his debut Concord recording), John was a cash-prizewinner in the First International Thelonious Monk Piano Competition, held at Baird Hall, The Smithsonian Museum, in Washington, DC.[3]

Colianni played in piano bars in Washington, and was pianist in Lionel Hampton's big band[4] for three years.[2] After that, he had residences with Mel Tormé and Les Paul.[2] Colianni recorded two albums for Concord Records in the 1980s, and a third, John Colianni at Maybeck, in 1994.[4] Following Paul's death in 2009, Colianni and the other members of the guitarist's band – Lou Pallo (guitar) and Nicki Parrott (bass) – continued performing together as the Les Paul Trio.[5] Currently, John performs with: The John Colianni Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece big band; The John Colianni Sextet, a small combo culled from the ranks of the Orchestra (see the Sextet's new release, below); The John Colianni Quintet (piano, two guitarists, bass and drums); The John Colianni Trio (piano, bass, drums); and as Solo Pianist. In these settings, John has been appearing in venues around New York, 2017-2018, ie Birdland, The Blue Note, Knickerbocker, Kitano, St. Peter's, Mezzrow, The Cutting Room, Zinc Bar, as well as on the road and overseas. In addition to dozens of performances annually in the US, Colianni has also been averaging over 40 European gigs a year.

In 1990, Colianni's playing style in a trio setting was described as "the essence of a swinging pianist, much as Earl Hines was, never settling into mere accompaniment figures, but giving everything a strong swinging pulse."[6]