Piero Piccioni (Italian pronunciation: ˈpjɛːro pitˈtʃoːni; December 6, 1921 – July 23, 2004) was an Italian film score composer.
A pianist, organist, conductor, and composer, he was also the prolific author of more than 300 film soundtracks. He played for the first time on radio in 1938 with his "013" Big Band, to return on air only after the Allied liberation of Italy in 1944. "013" was the first Italian jazz band to be broadcast in Italy after the fall of Fascism.
His style has drawn comparisons to composers such as Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai.
Early life
Piero Piccioni was born in Turin, Piedmont. His mother's maiden name was Marengo, hence his pseudonym Piero Morgan, which he adopted until 1957.
When he was growing up, his father Attilio Piccioni (a prominent member of the Italian Christian Democratic Party with the post-war Italian government), would frequently take him to hear concerts at the EIAR Radio Studios in Florence. Having listened to jazz throughout his childhood (he loved the music of Art Tatum and Charlie Parker) and attending studies at the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini, Piero Piccioni became a musician.
