John Valerio is a pianist, composer, author, and music educator, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who currently resides in Columbia South Carolina, He holds a doctorate in Music Composition from Temple University and currently teaches at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Valerio is an active jazz pianist and has performed with many outstanding jazz artists, including Lee Konitz, Jon Faddis, Stanley Clarke, Chris Vadala, John Swana, Gerald Veasley, Kayle Brecher, Winard Harper, and Michael Pedicin Jr. He has played numerous shows for major entertainoers in Atlantic City and has performed on many recordings made in Philadelphia and New York. His first album as a leader, The Altoona Sessions, was released in 2006 and is available at itunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and other online sources. He is an active composer in jazz, classical, and other diverse idioms and has had works performed throughout the United States. His compositions, Synthetic Dances and Ulalume are available on Centaur Records. Dr. Valerio has written nine books on jazz piano published by Hal Leonard Corporation and a textbook on jazz history, Jazz Journey: A Guide For Listening, published by Cognella.