- Has three sisters, Pamela, Karen and Janice, and two brothers James and Louis.
- Father James, mother Patricia.
- He recorded with Joe Wilder, Connie Kay, Emily Remler, Mel Lewis, and Lew Tabackin, and he recorded with the great rock idol, Steve Miller, as well as scores of other collaborations with an array of distinguished pop, rock, and jazz performers.
- He came in third in the 1987 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition in Washington D.C.
- In 2004 he worked with vocalist Anita O'Day.
- While John Colianni was in tenth grade, he was invited to play regularly with the University of Maryland Jazz Ensemble.
- From 2003-2009 he was a trio led by guitarist Les Paul.
- During his last year of high school, Colianni moved to New Jersey with his family.
- From 2010-2013 he toured and recorded with the trio of Larry Coryell.
- Duke Ellington performed a concert in 1974 at Georgetown University. Colianni was mesmerized by Ellington's piano work, orchestrations, and stage presence. Weekly lessons began at the age of 14.
- He was an American jazz pianist.
- Colianni also played gigs directed by Ella Fitzgerald's bassist, Keter Betts, who recruited 16-year-old John for "Jazz Stars of The Future," a troupe of young, local jazz musicians.
- While still in high school, John Colianni became active on the Washington D.C. jazz scene, playing in jam sessions at well-known venues such as The Pigfoot, One Step Down, Blues Alley, The Bayou, and Frankie Condon's.
- His debut album was released by Concord Records.
- He recorded with Mel Tormé and toured with him in the early 1990s.
- He was also a member of the late guitarist Larry Coryell's Trio, performing on Coryell's 2011 release, "Montgomery.".
- In 2016, John Colianni began organizing a big band at the urging of friends and fellow musicians familiar with his work as an arranger and pianist. The 17-piece band, The John Colianni Jazz Orchestra, performed swing, modern jazz, standards, and original compositions in various venues around New York City.
- From 1987 to 1990 he played with film director and clarinetist Woody Allen's Ragtime and Funeral Orchestra.
- Colianni played in jazz clubs in Washington D.C., and appeared as a teen with a traveling group of young musicians known as Jazz Stars of the Future. This group performed under the direction of Keter Betts.
- Colianni became a pianist in Lionel Hampton's big band for three years.
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