colligan was born in new jersey, and raised in columbia, maryland. he attended the peabody institute, majoring in classical trumpet and music education. in high school he learned to play the drums and later switched to piano. his playing is influenced by chick corea, miles davis, herbie hancock, thelonious monk, wayne shorter, and mccoy tyner. colligan's style is eclectic; it incorporates everything from show tunes to funk, from free improvisation to modern classical music.