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Peter Occhiogrosso is an American author of nonfiction books, as well as a coauthor, collaborator, ghostwriter, and journalist who began his writing career in 1970 as a jazz reviewer and interviewer. His books have focused primarily on spirituality and world religion, although he has also coauthored books by public figures as disparate as talk-show host Larry King [1], cabaret singer Michael Feinstein [2] and rock icon Frank Zappa [3].

Occhiogrosso was based in Manhattan when he began writing about jazz for independent publications including Zygote, Changes, Village Voice, Soho Weekly News, Crawdaddy, New Times, and Different Drummer (Rochester, N.Y.), as well as the national jazz magazine Down Beat. For a time he was a correspondent for the British music paper Melody Maker and the Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal, for which he wrote a lengthy series about the Manhattan loft jazz scene [4] profiling many of its most prominent players. From 1975 to 1982 he served as Music Editor and Associate Editor [5] of the Soho Weekly News [6], continuing to write frequently about jazz and helping to develop or give greater exposure to a number of influential music and pop culture journalists, including Tim Page, Roy Trakin, Steve Bloom, Aaron Fuchs, Stanley Crouch, Pat Wadsley, Vivien Goldman, Mick Farren, and Ira Kaplan (who went on to found the popular rock combo Yo La Tengo). After the Soho News closed in 1982, he worked as Associate Editor at Star Hits and contributed features about music, film, and pop culture to Playboy, L’uomo Vogue, Lei, and American Film, among others.

Biography

Occhiogrosso was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and grew up in Bayside and Long Island, before moving to Manhattan in 1966. He lived at 19 East Third Street, close to the burgeoning loft jazz and club scene as well as the future home of CBGB, and just a few blocks from the legendary jazz club Slugs’ in the Far East (1964-1972). Here he was introduced to many of the seminal figures in post-bop and avant-garde jazz, including Ornette Coleman, Max Roach, Jackie McLean, Pharoah Sanders, and Sun Ra, whose Myth Science Arkestra (among other names) was virtually the house band, playing every Monday night “in Natural Nature.”

Education and Early Writing Career

While attending St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens on scholarship, he was expelled for supporting a landmark faculty strike [7], and enrolled in New York University, where he was eventually granted a full-tuition scholarship. He majored in English and American Literature; served as editor-in-chief of the school’s literary journal, the Washington Square Review; and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1969. Choosing to forgo an advanced degree, he began writing about his passion for jazz. His first published piece was an interview with Elvin Jones, the legendary drummer with the John Coltrane Quartet, published in 1970 in an independent music publication called Zygote. He also contributed feature articles on the pop music scene in Europe, and interviews with John McLaughlin, Jerry Garcia, and Ornette Coleman. In 1972 he began writing for Changes, published by Sue Graham, contributing features on the Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association, Center for New Music, New Music Distribution Service, and Studio Rivbea; reviews of the Revolutionary Ensemble, Gil Evans at the Playboy Club, and TV jazz programs. In 1973 he became the jazz record reviewer for New Times, and the following year joined the staff of both the Village Voice and Soho Weekly News as a jazz reviewer. He wrote more than 100 articles reviewing and commenting on the emerging loft jazz scene in Lower Manhattan, most of them for the Soho Weekly News. He was also commissioned to write a four-part series on the loft jazz scene by Kiyoshi Koyama, editor of the Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal [8] [9]

Starting in September 1976, Occhiogrosso co-produced a series of records for India Navigation Co., an independent label based in Nyack, N.Y. [10] Albums produced included David Murray, Flowers for Albert; Hamiet Bluiett, Endangered Species; Chico Freeman, Chico; Leroy Jenkins, Solo Concert; Arthur Blythe, The Grip. In 1982, Occhiogrosso worked as a field producer and interviewer for Videowest (San Francisco)[11], producing videotaped location segments that included interviews with Jerry Wexler (record producer); The Clash; Pink Floyd; Robin Williams; Genesis; Tommy Tune; Richard Hell; Mary Beth Hurt. Segments were broadcast on MTV (Warner-Amex Music Television) and Night Flight (USA). In November 1982, his original drama, Golden Girl, opened at Theater for the New City, directed by Ron Link, starring Maria Duval and Joe Cortese. In the mid-1980s, Occhiogrosso began writing books, starting with Inside Spinal Tap (Arbor House, 1984). [12] He subsequently divided his time between writing a series of books about spiritual experience and coauthoring books with public figures, including Larry King and Frank Zappa [13]

In all he has written more than 20 books for major publishers, including Once A Catholic (Houghton Mifflin/Ballantine), Through the Labyrinth (Penguin/Arkana), and a popular guide to the world's religions, The Joy of Sects (Doubleday/iUniverse). He collaborated on a number of books with spiritual teachers Caroline Myss (Sacred Contracts) and Ron Roth, Ph.D. (The Healing Path of Prayer and other books on prayer and healing). In 2012 he worked with yoga master Mark Whitwell to create The Promise of Love, Sex, and Intimacy (Atria). Three of the books Peter coauthored have become New York Times Best Sellers.

Authored and Coauthored Books

• 1985 Inside Spinal Tap (Arbor House). ISBN-10: 0877956979
• 1987 Once A Catholic: Prominent Catholics and Ex-Catholics Reveal the Influence of the Church on their Lives and Work (Houghton Mifflin/Ballantine). ISBN-10: 039542111X
• 1988 Tell It to the King, with Larry King (Putnam). New York Times Bestseller.
• 1989 The Real Frank Zappa Book, with Frank Zappa (Poseidon Press).
• 1990 Tell Me More, with Larry King (Putnam/St. Martin's).
• 1991 Through the Labyrinth: Stories of the Search for Spiritual Transformation in Everyday Life (Viking/Arkana).
• 1994 The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions (Doubleday).
• 1996 Revised paperback edition of The Joy of Sects (Image).
• 1997 The Healing Path of Prayer: The Modern Mystic's Guide to Spiritual Power, with Ron Roth (Harmony/Three Rivers).
• 1999 Prayer and the Five Stages of Healing, with Ron Roth (Hay House)
• 2000 Holy Spirit, with Ron Roth (Hay House).
• 2001 Holy Spirit for Healing, with Ron Roth (Hay House).
• 2002 Reclaim Your Spiritual Power, with Ron Roth (Hay House)
• 2005 The Joy of Sects, reissued by the Authors Guild/iUniverse

Ghostwritten and Assisted Books:

• 1995 Nice Work if You Can Get It, by Michael Feinstein (Hyperion)
• 1996 Extraordinary Guidance: How to Connect with Your Spiritual Guides, by Liza Wiemer (Three Rivers)
• 1997 Why People Don't Heal and How They Can, by Caroline Myss
• (Harmony) New York Times Bestseller
• 2000 The 3-Season Diet: Solving the Mystery of Food Cravings, Weight-loss, and Exercise, by Dr. John Douillard (Harmony)
• 2002 Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential, by Caroline Myss (Harmony) New York Times Bestseller
• 2006 Arthritis Rx: A Cutting-Edge Program for a Pain-Free Life, by Vijay Vad, M.D. (Gotham)
• 2009 Defy Gravity: Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason, by Caroline Myss (Hay House)
• 2010 Stop Pain: A Natural Anti-Inflammatory Program for Pain-Free Life, by Vijay Vad, M.D. (Hay House)
• 2012 The Promise of Love, Sex, and Intimacy: How a Simple Breathing Practice Will Enrich Your Life Forever, by Mark Whitwell (Atria)