Franck Avitabile

Franck Avitabile (born 1971 in Lyon, France) is a jazz pianist who also has a PhD in from École Normale Supérieure de Lyon. At nine he began to study music at the Conservatoire of Lyon. At this point his study was classical music like Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Mozart, or Claude Debussy. This changed at seventeen when he became interested in jazz, particularly Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea. Later he became the only musician Michel Petrucciani ever produced for a record and on stage. He has played in various other genres including pop and classical.