Showing keyboard aptitude by his early teens, John started to take lessons from pianist Les Karr, who himself had studied under Teddy Wilson at New York’s Juilliard School of Music. Interestingly, Les was also the first cousin of pianist Dick Hyman. For John’s lessons, Les emphasized technique and introduced studies of the Mathe’ System, a method that advances digital dexterity and maximizes the capacity for speedy, high-velocity piano playing. John, noted for fleet “chops,” often cites the important role these exercises had on his musical growth.

“My musical conception developed during these lessons with Les, who was an exceptional instructor, able to convey and impart an approach to music and the piano that combined a concise but meaningful study of classical theory and jazz-oriented idioms,” Colianni notes.

While still in high school, John became active on Washington D.C. and Maryland’s jazz scene, playing in jam sessions at well-known venues such as The Pigfoot, One Step Down, Blues Alley, The Bayou, The Famous Ballroom (Baltimore), Frankie Condon’s (Rockville, Md.), Mr. Y’s Gold Room (where John jammed under the watchful aegis of the club’s resident pianist John Malachi, himself a celebrated D.C. musician), and many more.

During this period, John also played gigs directed by Ella Fitzgerald’s bassist, Keter Betts (also a Maryland resident), who recruited the then 16-year-old John for the revue “Jazz Stars of The Future,” a troupe of young, local jazz musicians who performed concerts in DC and Baltimore. While John was in the 10th grade, Jazz Studies Director George Ross recruited him to play regularly with the University of Maryland Jazz Ensemble.

During his senior year in high school, the Colianni family relocated to the Jersey Shore in the Atlantic City area. There, the talented teen caught the attention of local pianist Carlton Drinkard, former accompanist to the one and only “Lady Day”—Billie Holiday. Drinkard (loosely portrayed by Richard Pryor as “Piano Man” in the film “Lady Sings the Blues”), recruited players for John’s new trio, and coached him in creating new arrangements.

Another milestone in John’s blossoming career occurred at 19, when he visited Lionel Hampton backstage in Atlantic City. After that meeting and an informal audition in Hampton’s NYC apartment, Colianni toured internationally and recorded three albums during his three years with the band.