Son of Renata Brillantini and Alvaro Pieranunzi, he completed classical piano studies at a very young age, graduating and becoming a teacher at the conservatory since 1973. He approaches jazz thanks to his father's passion for this musical genre, jazz guitarist and follower of Django Reinhardt. The mixture, in its formation, between classical piano and jazz, helps to define its style and musical language, where the influences of Debussy's music are evident. Pieranunzi He began his jazz career in the mid-1970s.

As a jazz pianist he has recorded over 70 CDs, ranging from solo piano to various piano ensembles. He has played and recorded with many world-class jazz players, including Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Irio De Paula, Lee Konitz, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron, Paul Motian, Charlie Haden, Gabriele Mirabassi, Jim Hall, and has participated in the most important Italian (Umbria Jazz, Ravenna, Milano Ciak) and international festivals (Montréal, Copenhagen, Berlin, Madrid). In 2004 he toured Japan playing with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron.

In the annual referendum held by the magazine "Musica Jazz" he was voted the best Italian jazz player of 1989, while in 1993 the French "Academie du jazz" ranked him among the top three European jazz musicians. As a composer he has written over 200 pieces, some of which have become standards and have been included in the famous collection “The New Real Book”. His brother is the violinist Gabriele Pieranunzi, soloist of rank and 1st shoulder violin for clear fame at the San Carlo Theater in Naples.

From the Corriere della Sera: Pieranunzi: my plan for Konitz