Greg currently performs with his self-titled Jazz-Fusion trio and
other groups such as the Frank Catalano Quintet and the Jennifer
Hartswick Band at venues such as the House of Blues Chicago, The Green
Mill, Andy's Jazz Club, Martyrs, The Kinetic Playground, Schubas,
Fitzgerald's, Metro and Wise Fool's Pub. Greg also stays busy
performing with other musicians such as Harrison Bankhead, and Leon
Joyce (of the Ramsey Lewis Trio), Frank Russell, Dede Sampio, and
Robert Lee Irving III (the latter three of the Miles Davis ensembles).
Greg's influences range from Oscar Peterson to Chick Corea and Herbie
Hancock, to Stravinsky and Schoenberg. He draws influence from
American-born jazz and Spanish flamenco rhythm, while finding great
inspiration in the hardcore head-banging western electric distortion,
along with the heavy-hitting groove-based hip-hop rhythms. Greg Spero
is often recognized as one of the premiere up-and-coming pianists in
Chicago.
He has studied jazz piano with world-renowned musicians including Chip
Stephens, Joan Hickey, and Chip McNeal. Greg composed the music for
Joe Burgess' film "The Perfect Breakup", and his most recent recording
on Frank Catalano's Mighty Burner album debuted at #11 on the Jazz
Billboard Charts, and after 20 weeks on the Billboards became a
best-selling jazz album for 2006. Greg currently produces the only
entertainer from the Phillippines that is embraced by both English and
Spanish-speaking audiences for her dramatic, musically eclectic
performances, Pop/R&B/Latin New-York-based singer Guia Rivera.
Greg began playing professionally at the age of 14 with a Chicago
based blues group called "The Slack Daddies". Throughout his high
school career, Greg participated in and directed several musical
ensembles, ranging from jazz to rock, spanning the gamut all the way
to heavy metal. He then went on to study Jazz Piano and Composition at
University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana where he received his BA in
Music Composition and Jazz Piano Performance. Greg also wrote the
music for several plays including the Chicago Feltre Theater's
performances of Ionesco's "Exit the King" and two Tennessee Williams
one-acts.
