Music turns out to be true calling for composer Bianculli

Valeri Drach Weidmann
H.P. Mirror staff

On a warm night late in May, jazz pianist and composer John Bianculli held a fundraiser for the Highland Park Public Library. The audience enjoyed performances from his trio, accompaniments of vocal artists and original compositions that blend jazz, Brazilian, Latin, and rhythm & blues.

In the crowd were many that the Highland Park band leader and educator has touched in his more than twenty year career: fans from Christopher's at New Brunswick’s new Heldrich Hotel, or from Novita in Metuchen; past and present piano and vocal students; friends and neighbors who have followed his frequent performances locally, in Princeton, in New Brunswick and in New York.

But many who came to hear him play that night, and support the library’s funds drive, might have been surprised to learn that the composer had originally been a pre-med major when he started at Rutgers University in 1980.

"What I realized, when I was supposed to be spending time studying biology, psychology and philosophy, is that nothing moved me or allowed me to learn about the world and myself the same way as music did," Bianculli said. "Playing in a band, jamming and practicing gave me a physical, emotional and psychological connection like nothing else I ever did or studied and I knew this would be my life's work."

From the Village to Fort Lee

Of course, his career didn't just materialize out of thin air. Bianculli grew up in Greenwich Village, across the street from the Village Vanguard.

He grew up with his father, who in addition to being a songwriter skilled on bass, drums, vocals and jazz, was also the headwaiter at Jilly's on 52nd Street -- where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis hung out. John’s mother, who still writes songs in Florida, sang, acted, wrote plays and started two theater companies in Fort Lee. His sister Donna is a professional singer whom he sometimes accompanies.

Despite all this music in the family, he didn't start playing the piano until he was 12 years old and his family moved to New Jersey. "My parents decided to head for greener pastures when the Hell's Angels started hanging out below our windows," Bianculli said.

There, music started taking a more active role in his life and one incident foreshadowed the direction he would take later. "In my senior year of high school I heard a song called "Crystal Silence" performed as a duet by Chick Corea and Gary Burton," Bianculli recalls. "The sound was different than anything I’d heard before . . . it seemed to have elements of jazz, classical, and more, but not quite identifiable as any one of them. But most important, spoke to a part of me that was something much deeper [and] I knew I wanted to do that."

Rutgers brings a life change

Although Bianculli majored in pre-med. when he got to Rutgers University, he started playing in bands, jamming, practicing and generally not studying biology.

"The decision came out of a realization, a struggle, frustration and joy that no other path would allow me to learn about the world and myself, except for music," Bianculli said. "Pure instrumental music, without words, is the clearest way for me to express myself. It had and has within it almost everything about life."

From 1980 until 1989, while Bianculli attended Rutgers and changed his life's path, he played jazz in Philadelphia, Newark and Harlem, meeting and playing with a variety of veteran musicians. He completed his degree in music from what is now Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts.

He is an unbelievably busy bandleader, composer and teacher. (If you don't believe that, try getting him on the phone to do an interview!)

He has his own trio, a quartet, and a quintet. His song “Bittersweet” made the Contemporary Jazz top ten list; he has also scored films. He plays with many vocal artists including Jackie Jones, Jeanie Bryson, and international jazz recording artist Steve Nelson.

To find out where John will be playing next, or if you want to take lessons from a jazz great and especially nice person, go to his website at www.johnbiancullimusic.com.