John A. Carollo

John A. Carollo studied piano as a child and was a member of a Catholic Church choir which sang for the congregation during weekend services. In 1986, he began composing for the piano and graduated from San Diego State University with a Masters Degree in Psychology. After moving to Honolulu HI in 1987, he started a career as a mental health counselor and social worker with the State of Hawaii, Department of Health. In 1997, he began private composition lessons with Dr. Robert Wehrman.

He retired from public service in March of 2006 to compose full-time and to establish a music business named Musica Baudino. Musica Baudino published the artist’s first album, Ampersand, in June 2006, which won best Classical CD at the 10th Annual Hawaii Music Awards Ceremony. PARMA Recordings released his second solo effort in 2009, TRANSCENDENCE IN THE AGE OF WAR, and his third solo effort in 2011, STARRY NIGHT. Musica Baudino published his fourth solo musical release in 2012, Volere. His fifth solo release, THE TRANSFIGURATION OF GIOVANNI BAUDINO, was PARMA’s 500th release (2017) and was quickly followed by MUSIC FROM THE ETHEREAL SIDE OF PARADISE (2018).

Carollo also writes poetry and collects art, including his lifetime hobby of collecting the books and ephemera of Edward Gorey. He is an ASCAP member and a lifetime member of the Society of Composers in America.

Albums

Chévere

Release Date: October 13, 2017
Catalog Number: AR0005

21st Century

Chamber

World

Percussion

Piano

String Quartet

Ansonica Records’ new release CHÉVERE richly explores and demonstrates the myriad cultural intersections that have recently become available to American and Cuban musicians. The album came together at a recording session that took place in Havana, Cuba in the month of January in 2017. The release presents a variety of collaborations between American, or American-based, composers and Cuban instrumentalists, arrangers, singers, and composers. Some of these connections are relatively straightforward, while others are more nuanced and personal; yet, they all enrich the compositions on CHÉVERE with the energy unique to the interaction of two powerful musical traditions.

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Abrazo: The Havana Sessions

Release Date: June 10, 2016
Catalog Number: AR0001

21st Century

Cuban

Jazz

Percussion

Piano

Voice

In November 2015, less than one year after these initial steps toward fully opening relations, PARMA Recordings produced the first of its recording projects in Havana. The resulting album, ABRAZO: THE HAVANA SESSIONS on the newly-minted Ansonica Records label, presents works for big band, small jazz combo, choir, and chamber ensembles by composers Bunny Beck, Roger Bourland, Don Bowyer, Margaret Brandman, John Carollo, Timothy Miller, Mel Mobley, and Michael Murray performed by current or former members of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, the Buena Vista Social Club, Irakere, and many more.

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