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John Serry

Award winning, Grammy nominated jazz pianist / composer

About Me

John Serry (b. 1954) was nominated for a Grammy [Best Instrumental Arrangement] for his composition, Sabotage, on his debut album, “Exhibition” (Chrysalis, 1979). His second album, “Jazziz” (Chrysalis, 1980), received 4 stars in Downbeat, feature review of the month in Keyboard magazine and it inspired the naming of JAZZIZ magazine by its publisher. In 1995, John was awarded the Grand Prize in the JAZZIZ magazine Keyboards on Fire pianist/composer competition (Dave Brubeck and Bob James, judges; grand piano from Steinway.) John Serry’s CD, “Enchantress” (Telarc, 1996), was well received: “He has a strong sense of melody, his touch is confident, his ideas are sensible and his playing is beautifully controlled ” –Downbeat “What a pleasure to find that he is back, still turning out charts that turn heads by turning corners.” –Keyboard. “Serry’s fleet fingered runs on songs like the jaunty, catchy “DYT it” are both technically impressive and subtle… Serry’s ballads are equally disarming… Listen and prepare to be enchanted.” –JazzTimes. Serry has performed at Birdland, the Blue Note, the Montreux Festival, the 606 Club (London), Covent Garden (featured on BBC “Jazz Legends Live”), Steinway Hall and numerous festivals, clubs and venues in the U.S and abroad. Players which have appeared in his groups and recordings include John Riley, Peter Erskine, Carlos Vega, Anthony Jackson, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Sheppard, Gerry Niewood, Ted Nash, Mike Sembello, and Barry Finnerty, among others. His CD, The Shift (SPCo Records, recorded 2006, released 2013), with his London quartet, Dave O’Higgins – sax, Mark Mondesir – drums, Sam Burgess – bass / Mike Mondesir – elec. bass, is available at CD Baby http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnserry, iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play and Facebook facebook.com/johnserry1 (Shop Now button). Download the first track, Pockets, free at https://www.dropbox.com/s/t1ti19w39a8jkwu/1.%20POCKETS%20mp3.mp3. “Serry returns to the studio in top form on The Shift (SPCo)…The leadoff track,“Pockets,” our selection, showcases the ensemble’s esprit de corps, as they wend their way through the lilting composition. Serry’s playing is as colorful and expressive as ever.” –JAZZIZ magazine (Summer 2013 issue). John Serry's new album, Disquisition (SPCo Records, 2017) - a trio album with Paolo Ghetti bass and Bruno Farinelli drums - is available at CD Baby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnserry2), iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Facebook (www.facebook.com/johnserry1) and other outlets. Free download of the title track at media.allaboutjazz.com/media.php?id=11274. “During his long career, pianist John Serry has covered quite a lot of territory, stylistically and geographically. The classically trained New York native crafted sophisticated fusion releases such as 1979's Exhibition and 1980's Jazziz (and yes, that is where we got the name). Serry took a long hiatus before recording the mostly acoustic quartet album Enchantress in 1996, and then, after another decade, 2006's The Shift. Now living in Europe, the pianist has been working with an acoustic trio for the past nine years, and his latest recording, Disquisition (SPCo), reveals a tight unit that thinks and acts as one. In the company of bassist Paolo Ghetti and drummer Bruno Farinelli, Serry revisits a few older compositions and offers some new tunes. Among the latter is the title track, our selection, a strong statement that begins with crashing, McCoy Tyner-esque chords and Elvin Jones-like splashing and moves into bluesy and introspective sections.”—Jazziz magazine, Spring 2018 issue, Jazziz on Disc. John has lived in Europe since 2004 – London, Spain, Prague, Germany, Italy, France. He has written music and played on soundtracks for film, television and commercials in New York and Los Angeles. He has played for well known artists including piano for Patti Austin, The BBC Big Band, Doc Severinsen and Kyle Eastwood and percussion for Aretha Franklin and Liza Minelli. He has arranged for Marian McPartland, Canadian Brass and network television. He has played in musicals on Broadway, in the West End (London) and international tours and has conducted at Radio City Music Hall. His commissioned classical concert works featuring percussion have been played at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, as well as in concert and recital halls worldwide. He has played piano and percussion on classical music concerts and recordings of works of Stravinsky (with Robert Kraft), Bartok and numerous others. While a student at the Eastman School of Music (MM and BM), he won Best Pianist, Best Composer and Best Group (as a member of Auracle) at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival (Sonny Rollins, Jack DeJohnette et al, judges) and later was pianist/composer on the Auracle album, Glider (Chrysalis, 1978) co-produced by Teo Macero. John has taught workshops, seminars, master classes, lessons, classes and coached ensembles at Juilliard, Peabody, Musician's Institute (L.A.), The Royal Academy (London), Music Academy 2000 (Bologna), The University of South Carolina (Director of Jazz) and numerous other schools of music. John is a native New Yorker, an art enthusiast and frequent traveler. Contact: [email protected], [email protected], +33 769545691 (France)

Visit www.johnserry.com, www.facebook.com/johnserry, www.facebook.com/johnserry1, www.myspace.com/johnserry (also Wikipedia and Wikipedia en francais).

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