Draft:John Ferrara

John Ferrara (born 29 December 1947 in Norwich, Connecticut) is a jazz pianist, teacher, and published author. He received a degree in composition from the Berklee College of Music in 1970.

John wrote two jazz piano instruction books, "Jazz Piano and Harmony: A Fundamental Guide" (2000) and "Jazz Piano and   Harmony: An Advanced Guide" (2001) which are available in Europe as well as the US. He has recorded two jazz CDs, "Intervals of Light" and "Duo New York" with bassist Harvie S. which was reviewed by Downbeat Magazine.

John has performed with numerous jazz luminaries since becoming a professional musician in 1963. These include Buddy Rich, Joe Williams (jazz singer), Nelson Riddle, Paquito D'Rivera, Chico Hamilton, Philly Joe Jones, Doc Cheatham, Major Holley, Al Cohn, Hal Crook, George Mraz, Clark Terry, and Charles McPherson (musician). He has played shows with Suzanne Somers, Vaughn Monroe, and Bob Crosby.

Internationally, John taught big band arranging classes in Denmark for a 1982 jazz seminar in Vejle. He subsequently conducted a big band in a final concert at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen.

John was an instructor at the Berklee College of Music from 1978 to 1981, teaching arranging, harmony, ensembles, and piano. His movie credits are "The Pallbearer" (1996) starring Gwyneth Paltrow, David Schwimmer and Barbara Hershey, and Theresa is a Mother (2012), an award-winning indie film released in 2012. He produced several instructional videos for jazz piano.

His New York studio was totally destroyed by a fire in 2016.

Discography

 * Lose One, Gain One with Carmen Leggio, Midge Pike, Bob Gaddy (1996)
 * Intervals of Light (2005)
 * Afterglow with vocalist Glenna Gibson (2006)
 * Duo New York with bassist Harvie S (2017)