Nero made his television debut at the age of 17, playing "
Rhapsody in Blue" on a special hosted by
Paul Whiteman.
The next year, he won the Grammy for Best Performance By An Orchestra Or Instrumentalist With Orchestra - Primarily Not Jazz Or For Dancing for his album
The Colorful Peter Nero. Other TV credits included performances on PBS-TV's
Piano Pizzazz and with the
National Symphony in Washington, D.C., on its July 4 special titled
A Capitol Fourth. Nero served as music director and pianist for the PBS-TV special
The Songs of Johnny Mercer: Too Marvelous for Words (1997) with co-stars
Johnny Mathis,
Melissa Manchester and many members of The POPS. In 1963, Nero composed and performed the musical score for the motion picture
Sunday in New York. From 1990 to 1999, Nero was also Pops Music Director of the
Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting and performing with his jazz trio throughout Southeastern Florida. Nero's recordings included albums with symphony orchestras:
On My Own,
Classical Connections and
My Way. He recorded
Peter Nero and Friends, on which collaborated with
Mel Torme,
Maureen McGovern,
Doc Severinsen and others. Nero's last albums
Love Songs for a Rainy Day and
More in Love focused on romantic themes. By popular demand, four of his earlier recordings were reissued. He appeared on
Rod Stewart's album
As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II. He released over 60 albums in his career. ==Discography==