Elena Piccione

Italian piano player, Elena Piccione started playing the piano at seven years old under the direction of Stefania Tigossi. She distinguished and encouraged Elena’s ability and in that same year she started performing both solo repertoire and chamber music.

Child wonder, at twelve years old Elena provided for her first solo recital and after one year she entered the Conservatorio di Musica “N. Paganini” in Genoa, to begin an execution degree. Elena’s advancement was quickened and at eighteen years old she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Pianoforte.

She has performed in numerous imperative venues and celebrations in Italy and Europe. They incorporate Lucca Chamber Music Festival, Journée Mondiale de la Philosophie at UNESCO 2005, Lions International, Camogli Festival, Alassio Festival, A.gi.mus., Soirée Musicale in Rovereto, Stresa International Music Festival “Dino Ciani” , “Dino Ciani” Concerts in Milan, in a joint effort with the Venice Biennale. She has performed at the Full Moon Concerts at the WMDC in Rotterdam, Dag van de Romantische Muziek at Rotterdam Erasmus Park and at the Universitat Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Since 2010 Elena has contemplated with Giovanni Alvino who is both pianist and pedagogue. Additionally she brought masterclass with the extraordinary musician Andrei Gavrilov.

Elena’s broad collection, going from baroque to contemporary music, incorporates the complete mazurkas, waltzes and improptus by Chopin, the complete piano trios and piano sonatas by Mozart, incredible fills in and additionally rarities by Russian composers.

She also plays in duo with the pianist Giovanni Alvin.

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Kenny G

Amidst to breathing difficulty due to asthma, Kenneth Bruce Gorelick better known as Kenny G, blew  a way to the pinnacle of his success as Grammy award winning saxophone player.

Kenny G was born in Seattle, Washington and came into contact with a saxophone when he heard someone performing with one on The Ed Sullivan Show. Thereof, he studied under a local trumpet player and played along with records and eventually honed to perfection.

His childhood was undistinguished. He experienced rejections like when he tried out for the high school jazz band. Persistently, he tried again the next year and was accepted.

His musical career spurred when he was 18 years old as a sideman for Barry White Love Unlimited Orchestra. During his College years at University of Washington, he played with a funk band and began his solo musical career.

In 2003, the Recording Industry of America (RIIA) recognized Kenny G as the 25th highest selling artist in America with 48 million albums sold in the U.S. as of mid-2006. Consequently, he won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Forever in Love.

Kenny G has been diagnosed with asthma. One would think this would be a difficult disability to have and play a musical instrument such as the saxophone. However, it has been studied that playing an instrument or singing may actually help those with asthma by improving muscle flexibility of the lungs, allowing them to take a deeper breath without fatigue.

Jeff Healey

A blind Canadian jazz guitar singer, Jeff Healey, who can see through the eyes of music.

Jeff Healey is one of the Canada’s most successful exports and one of the world’s most celebrated guitarists, the Jeff Healey Band sold millions of records. Healey lost his sight at the age of one, after developing eye cancer. He began playing guitar when he was three years old and began performing with his band Blues Direction at the age of 17. Healey formed the Jeff Healey Band in 1985, featuring bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen. This trio released one single on its own Forte record label, which led to a contract with Arista Records. The Jeff Healey Band released their debut album, See the Light, in 1988 and the guitarist immediately developed a devoted following in blues-rock circles. Featuring the hit single “Angel Eyes,” the record went platinum in the U.S. While the Jeff Healey Band’s subsequent records were popular, none were as successful as the debut.

What made Jeff Healey different from other blues-rockers was also what kept some listeners from accepting him as anything other than a novelty — the fact that the blind guitarist played his Fender Stratocaster on his lap, not standing up. With the guitar in his lap, Healey could make unique bends and hammer-ons, making his licks different and more elastic than most of the competition. Unfortunately, his material leaned toward standard AOR blues-rock, which rarely let him cut loose, but when he did; his instrumental prowess could be shocking.

In 2008, a month before the release of his last studio-recorded blues album, Mess of Blues, Healey died from cancer.

No doubt, his unusual story embarked in the history of music. He taught us to see what he had seen- the beauty of music.

Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker, nicknamed “Yardbird” (“Bird” for short), a saxophone player, had an undistinguished early carrier but ended up being one of the creators of bebop jazz in the 1940s.

He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, the only child of Charles and Addie Parker. His father, Charles, a pianist, had influenced and inspired him to go into music.

At public schools, he discovered his own talent for music. He started playing baritone horn in the school band.

At the early age of 15, he began to practice playing saxophone diligently wherein he mastered improvisation and developed new ideas that led to bebop, a form of jazz with fast tempo.

In 1938, Parker together with his first band, toured nightclubs and other venues of the southwest, as well as Chicago and New York City. Parker had a morphine addiction while in hospital after automobile accident and was also addicted to heroin.

In the following year, he worked as a professional musician in New York who was then featured as a regular performer at a Chicago night club after a year. His New York experience was tough that he was at first forced to wash dishes in order to get by.

His humble beginnings were paid off when he was known and recognized for his musical invention, the bebop.

Parker died on March 12, 1955 from lobar pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer but Parker also had an advanced case of cirrhosis and had suffered a heart attack.

Krista Earle

The best is yet to come. Singer and songwriter Krista Earle, Canada’s Country/Pop Vocalist makes a mark into the International Music Scene.

Krista’s first single “Bad Hair Day” was released to Canadian National Radio in 2011 followed by her single “Man Up” in 2012 receiving heavy radio rotation.

She has a very original sound, a powerful voice with a sweet tone. Her music is a unique blend of catchy country/pop melodies. Krista has been greeted by a strong fan of tweens, teens and adults who follow her even to her live performances across Canada.

Krista has had a great passion for singing and performing from an early age. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Krista was raised from a family whose talents were singing and playing numerous instruments. At the very early age of 14, she performed as a main stage Disney Performer for stage shows across Ontario which she continues to do.

She won several awards in the Music Festival Vocal Competitions and shows. Also, Krista was a finalist in the International Songwriters Competition in 2012, and a recipient of the 2012 “Stars Among Us” Government of Ontario Arts Award. Also, she represented her country at MIDEM 2013 in Cannes, France. Krista.was nominated by the Country Music Association of Ontario for Female Artist, Single and Songwriter of the Year 2013.

Krista’s music story has also been shared in Nashville based award winning author Joyce Knudson’s book titled “Successful Failures Music Throughout the Ages”, where she can inspire other artists to persevere and follow their dreams. Also, just returning from a recent trip to Nashville where she performed and was featured on TV News Channel 5 Nashville, Television for Women Rock for Charity Achieve Rock Star Dreams Event.Also an advocate for numerous charities, Krista works with the Sicks Kids’ Make A Wish Foundation. Also a standing member of the Canadian Country Music Association, Country Music Association of Ontario, Nashville songwriters Association International, and the Songwriters Association of Canada.

Her new single.”I’m Done” is to be released to National Radio at the end of this January, 2014, is already receiving heavy radio rotation in both Europe, and Australia. The official music video to released to CMT Canada shortly after.

Krista’s dedication is an evident in her writing and performance which leads her to where she is now and will be in the future.

Watch video of interesting Facts about Krista Earle.