Peter Zak

Peter Zak (born May 13, 1965 in Los Angeles ) is an American jazz pianist .

Life

Zak grew up in Columbus, Ohio ; at the age of five he began to play the piano. After his family moved to Oakland , he came into contact with jazz music ; he first studied history at the University of California, Berkeley . He also had piano lessons with Susan Muscarella . He played in various combos and big bands, for example in bands of the bassist Herbie Lewis . In the following years he played in the Bay Area with Frank Morgan , John Handy and Chico Freeman , but also with Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard as well as Phil Grenadier and Peck Allmond . He then moved to New York City, where he worked in jazz clubs like Augie's and the Village Gate in jam sessions occurred and with jazz musicians such as Walt Weiskopf , Ryan Kisor and Jim Snidero worked. In 2004, he recorded with a trio of Al Foster and Paul Gill in New York for SteepleChase Records . The following year he received a composition grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and Chamber Music America . Zak has been teaching at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music since 1995 . In the field of jazz he was involved in 32 recording sessions between 1988 and 2013, for example with Junior Cook , George Coleman , Etta Jones , Scott Hamilton , Eric Alexander and Jon Hendricks .

Discographic notes

• Seed of Sin (SteepleChase 2007, with Paul Gill, Quincy Davis)
• Down East (SteepleChase 2011, with Peter Washington , Rodney Green )
• Nordic Noon (SteepleChase, 2012), with Peter Washington, Billy Drummond
• The Eternal Triangle (SteepleChase, 2013) dto.
• Stephen Riley & Peter Zak: Haunted Heart (SteepleChase, 2015)
• Standards (SteepleChase, 2016), with Jay Anderson , Billy Drummond
• Stephen Riley, Peter Zak: Deuce (SteepleChase, 2017)

Web links

• Web presence
• Peter Zak at Allmusic (English)
• Peter Zak at Discogs (English)
• Portrait at Smalls

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians ( Memento of the original dated November 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ^ Entry at the New School
3. ↑ Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, accessed October 27, 2014)