Joey Calderazzo was born in New Rochelle on February 27, 1965. He is a jazz pianist. Calderazzo started piano lessons at the age of seven, inspired by a neighbor. Calderazzo was able to quickly progress in a home where many family members were playing drums and singing. He became the youngest member Gene Calderazzo’s rock band at age 14. Calderazzo began to listen to Chick Corea and McCoy Tyner, even though he was much older than the other members of the band. Calderazzo met Michael Brecker in a clinic and the saxophonist soon introduced Calderazzo the jazz world. He was part of the touring Michael Brecker Quintet that began in 1987. Calderazzo also played on two tracks from his 1988 album, Don’t Try this at Home. Calderazzo recorded In the Door (Blue Note) in 1990. Brecker was also a part of Calderazzo’s first disc. He played on it with Jerry Bergonzi, his brother Gene, and Branford Marsalis, Calderazzo’s Berklee roommate. To Know One (recorded 1991), with Bergonzi u0026 Marsalis featured, the rhythm section completed Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, while The Traveler (recorded in 1992) featured two different trios. Secrets (Sledgehammer Blues, formerly AudioQuest Music) recorded 1995, took a different musical direction, as Bob Belden was surrounded Calderazzo’s trio with a seven piece ensemble. Calderazzo contributed as composer, pianist and composer to Tales from the Hudson. He also played the role of composer, composer, and co-producer for Two Blocks from the Edge. Bergonzi was also a frequent guest in a well-documented quintet. Calderazzo began to have a closer relationship with Marsalis, when he took one of the keyboard seats in Marsalis Buckshot LeFonque. He also toured with the group, contributing to Music Evolution. Calderazzo took over the Branford Marsalis Quartet’s chair after Kenny Kirkland passed away in 1998. Calderazzo’s close working relationship with Marsalis, still active today, required a new level of maturity and scope from him that complemented his own growth. This period is evidenced by Joey Calderazzo’s Columbia (recorded 1999), his final trio recital, along with John Patitucci, Jeff ‘Tain, Watts, as well as his contributions to Marsalis CDs Contemporary Jazz and Footsteps of Our Fathers. He also contributed to Marsalis’ DVD Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” Live in Amsterdam. Braggtown, the latest Branford Marsalis Quintet release, includes Calderazzo’s “Hope” composition as well as his piano. Calderazzo was signed as one of Branford’s first artists on the Marsalis Music label in 2002. This coincided with his latest growth spurt. His interest in jazz history and sounds extracted from the piano first surfaced on Haiku (Marsalis Music 2002), his first all-solo album. They were also present on his 2006 solo piano tour of Europe. These songs are what define his current Marsalis Music album Amanacer. It features duo and trio performances as well as solo tracks. Calderazzo is now a Wake Forest resident and continues to perform solo piano, as well as as a leader of a trio and as part of the Branford Maralis Quartet. Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo recorded their first duo album Songs of Mirth and Melancholy in June 2011. It was released on Branford’s Marsalis Music record. Their world premiere performance took place in Koerner Hall at TD Toronto Jazz Festival on June 29, 2011. From Wikipedia
