George Colligan is an American jazz musician. He studied classical trumpet playing and music education at the Peabody Institute. He also played drums, later he changed to the keys (piano, organ, keyboards). Since the nineties the piano has been his main instrument. Colligan is a highly sought-after session musician and sideman who has worked with greats such as Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, Don Byron and Cassandra Wilson and can be heard on over 100 albums, including several of his own. His main influences include Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter and McCoy Tyner. "Nation Divided" is a pure solo piano album, for whose recording Colligan adopted Duke Ellington's saying: "This is not piano. This is dreaming." That's the translation: After various trio and ensemble recordings, Colligan had the strong need to express his personal feelings alone. With the help of the renowned pianist David Goldblatt, he recorded 13 tracks in his studio in just one day, which are both fully composed pieces and free improvisations.
