American-born and raised, John Harkins, who moved to Sydney in 1994, is one of the most sought after jazz pianists in Australia today. John majored in classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and has worked with tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, singer Mark Murphy, and trumpeter Warren Vache (with whom he recorded "Easy Going" on the Concord Jazz label in 1987) to name a few.

In recent years John has been the Musical Director and pianist for the annual Australian tours of US singer Barbara Morrison. He is featured on her biggest selling CD, Live Down Under.

John was a soloist on Australian CD recordings of Blaine Whittaker's Hard Bop Cafe featuring James Morrison and The Andrew Speight Quartet, the 1999 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album of the Year.

He also played and arranged on singer Danielle Gaha's debut CD titled You Don't Know Me on Sony/BMG label (for clips on her web site click here). He has been praised by jazzandbeyond.com.au for his arrangements and playing on singer Karlie Bruce's recent CD release on the LaBrava label.

In mid 2005, John was the pianist for the legendary Cleo Laine on her sold-out 3 week tour of Australia. The final concert was documented by the TV programme "60 Minutes".

In 2005, John released his self-titled CD. It highlights his vocal and arranging talents in addition to his swinging piano playing. Through extensive radio play, this CD has set a milestone in John's career, by establishing him as one of Australia's best singer/ piano players.