George Colligan (born December 29, 1969) is an American jazz pianist, organist, drummer, trumpeter, educator, composer, and bandleader.

Early life and education

Colligan was born in New Jersey and raised in Columbia, Maryland. He attended the Peabody Institute, majoring in classical trumpet and music education. In high school he learned to play the drums and later switched to piano. His playing is influenced by

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

, Miles Davis,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, and McCoy Tyner.

Career

As a

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo ...

, he has worked with Phil Woods, Gary Bartz,

Robin Eubanks Robin Eubanks (born October 25, 1955) is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. His uncles are jazz pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant. His mother, Vera Eub ...

, Billy Higgins,

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

, Nicholas Payton, Steve Wilson,

Richard Bona Richard Bona (born 28 October 1967) is a Cameroon-born American multi-instrumentalist and singer. Early life Bona Penda Nya Yuma Elolo was born in Minta, Cameroon, into a family of musicians, which enabled him to start learning music from a y ...

, Cassandra Wilson, Christian McBride,

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in th ...

, Al Foster, Don Byron,

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

, Lonnie Plaxico, and Vanessa Rubin. Colligan received a Chamber Music America Award for composition and won the Jazzconnect.com Award. He has released over twenty albums as a leader and has recorded on over 100 albums as a sideman. Colligan has performed at festivals all over the world, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and the Cancun Jazz Festival. In 2007, for the first time, he played trumpet with the trio Mr. Trumpet at the annual

Festival of New Trumpet Music The Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music) is a nonprofit organization founded by jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas to encourage aspiring trumpeters. The annual festival consists of concerts and workshops over a two to three week period in New York ...

in New York City. He taught at the Juilliard School. In September 2009, Colligan moved to Winnipeg to teach at the University of Manitoba. He taught jazz history, piano, drums, trumpet, and led master classes. He was songwriter-in-residence at Aqua Books from February to March 2011. In July 2011, Colligan moved to Portland, Oregon, to teach at Portland State University.

Personal life

Colligan is married to jazz pianist Kerry Politzer.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

;With

*'' Pride'' (SteepleChase, 1999) With Gary Thomas *''

Found on Sordid Streets ''Found on Sodid Streets'' is the ninth album by saxophonist Gary Thomas recorded in 1996 and released on the Winter & Winter label.Noah Becker *'' Where We Are'' (ENTOUR, 2000) With

*''

Griot Libertè ''Griot Libertè'' is an album by bassist Buster Williams recorded in 2004 and released on the HighNote label. Reception The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow said "There are times when the group sounds a bit like the Modern Jazz Quartet, but other ...

'' (HighNote, 2004)

References

External links

georgecolligan.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colligan, George 1969 births Living people American jazz pianists American male pianists SteepleChase Records artists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Origin Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists