John Otott

A multi-instrumentalist and composer, John started playing piano at a young age. Taking up the bass guitar in high school, John went on to play in a series of rock bands and regularly performed at such Hollywood hot spots as The Whiskey A Go-Go, the Troubadour and the Roxy. He then transitioned into an instrumental jazz/rock band that performed with such artists as Lyle Mays (of Pat Metheny fame), Latin star Tania Maria, Grammy award winning sax player Gato Barbieri and Thelonious Monk Jr. However, he always maintained his love for piano music composition.

Writing (and performing) a piano quintet as a gift for his bride at his wedding, John attracted the attention of violinist Julie Metz (Yanni, Pacific Symphony Orchestra) with whom he recorded and released his debut instrumental CD, EXIT REALITY. The CD sold well nationwide under his own label (Daniel Rabbit Records). EXIT REALITY was also released commercially in Taiwan.

EXIT REALITY, in turn, attracted the attention of E! Entertainment Television, for which he composed numerous television spots. John also composed the music for Lisa Duke's "BA," a musical about the life of Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

John released a second CD entitled ROAD TRIP under the name John Michael. ROAD TRIP was also released commercially in Taiwan through Sony/BMG.

FLYING MACHINES, a collection of contemporary solo piano compositions, was released in 2011. Nominated for Solo Piano Album of the Year by Solopiano.com, FLYING MACHINES broke into the NAR Top 100 chart (#65) and two tracks off the CD made it into the iTunes Canada TOP 25 for New Age music.

COLORS, released in 2014, contains a collection of piano-based instrumentals interwoven with emotional and often dramatic string and keyboard arrangements. Many of the songs are inspired by his life events, conveying a true sense of meaning through music.

Produced by Grammy Award winning guitarist and Windham Hill Records founder Will Ackerman, UNSPOKEN is John's latest release. Working with several Grammy and multi-Grammy award winning artists, UNSPOKEN brings together John's emotionally-charged piano compositions with world class musicians and a production team with impressive credits of gold and platinum albums.