Laurie Zeluck Carter (October 12, 1957 – February 9, 2006) was an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

ian who recorded under the name Laurie Z. Her music is described as a blend of classical,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and contemporary instrumental.

Discography

Laurie Z. CD titles include: *''Window to the World'' *''Life Between The Lines'' *''Roots, The Solo Piano Album'' *''Heart of the Holidays'' *''The Heart’s Journey'' *''Heart of the Holidays - Bonus Music CD included with Sheryl Roush's book Heart of the Holidays'' For Yamaha Disklavier: *''Roots, The Solo Piano Album'' Printed Songbook (also in PDF format): *''Roots, The Solo Piano Songbook''

List of solo piano pieces

*Stranger in a Familiar Land *Roots *Michael’s Song *The Still of the Night *In the Monterey Mist *Invisibility *For the Love of a Child *Too Blue *The Mysterious Painter *The River *From the Ashes *Kelly's Garden *Dream Come True *Good Night, My Friend *My Perfect Love *Sunrise *Heart of the Holidays *Warmth From Within *Common Ground *Who Knew *Cheyenne *Portrait *ParaSailing (Unreleased) *Lost & Found (Unreleased) *Surfer Steve *With A Twinkle In Her Eye *Lullaby for Matthew

Career and recognition

Laurie Z. toured extensively and opened for instrumentalists like

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, Leo Kottke and Tim Weisburg and she performed at major clubs

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

and Roxy. Laurie Z. also played national tours for Alesis and Yamaha and represented Roland and Kawai products. She regularly performed and demonstrated products at

NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

, CES, COMDEX and Atari conventions and in 2007 was honored in NAMM's annual tribute. Laurie Z. concerts were frequently mentioned as a ‘Top Pick’ in the Los Angeles Times. She could be heard performing regularly at Nordstrom, South Bay Galleria, playing solo piano at the Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach and performing around the South Bay as bandleader for the "Z Three Trio" and "Laurie Z. Band." From 1989 to 1994 Laurie played Disneyland's Tomorrowland Terrace in the rock group "Voyager", and was the featured keyboardist at the Anaheim Pond for the Mighty Ducks professional hockey team's inaugural season. Beginning in 1991, Laurie Z. became the featured pianist for Peterbilt Motors at the International Trucking Show, performing for Peterbilt for over a decade. Her television music appearances included Fame, the Disney Cable Network and DirecTV's "InTune." During the 80s, before going solo, Laurie recorded for Malcolm Cecil – inventor of the unique TONTO synthesizer – who had a company, EMPH Inc., "Electronic Music Publishing House." EMPH, Inc. released the very first MIDI recording and playback software (MIDIPLAY) for the now obsolete Atari 1040 computer. Laurie recorded MIDI versions of songs for that program which were sold as "Musidiscs." Only three Musidiscs were ever released - Beatles songs, Christmas music and some Grammy winning songs from 1986, and Laurie Z. recorded on all of them. Launching her own Independent record label, Zebra Productions, Laurie Z. produced her first album ''Window To The World.'' Her second release ''Life Between The Lines'' was named "New Age Album of the Year" by Scott Brodie of

CHRW-FM CHRW-FM (branded as Radio Western) is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 94.9 FM in London, Ontario. It is licensed as a community-based campus radio station by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The stati ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. ''Roots, The Solo Piano Album'' was recorded live on the Yamaha Disclavier Acoustic Piano and was considered for eight

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominations. ''Heart of the Holidays'' included special guest, actor

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

, narrating '

The Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...

.' ''The Heart’s Journey'', a relaxation program presented by hypnotherapist

Ron Stubbs Ron Stubbs (born 3 October 1948) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the VFL. Stubbs spent a lot of time in the Hawthorn reserves and managed only 17 senior games during his four seasons. Six of them came earl ...

, with music composed and performed by Laurie Z., was considered for seven Grammy nominations.

External links

Laurie Z.'s Official WebsiteSanta Barbara Independent Newspaper ArticleLaurie Z. Concert Videos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Z, Laurie 1957 births 2006 deaths American women composers 20th-century American keyboardists New-age pianists American women in electronic music 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers Musicians from Queens, New York People from Camano, Washington 20th-century women composers Deaths from lung cancer in California 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists