Peter Zak (born May 13, 1965) is an American

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 ...

pianist and composer.

Life and career

Zak grew up in Ohio. He studied classical piano between the ages of six and 20.Panken, Ted (September 2011) "Peter Zak – Melodic Intention". ''Down Beat''. p. 20. He moved to Oakland, California with his parents at the age of 16. He studied history at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, by the end of which he had local jazz gigs. He moved to New York City in 1989. There, he played with mainstream musicians including Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein,

Joe Farnsworth Joseph Allen Farnsworth (born February 21, 1968, Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American jazz drummer. Farnsworth was one of five sons born to trumpeter and bandleader Roger Farnsworth; one of the brothers played saxophone in Ray Charles Ra ...

, and

Ryan Kisor Ryan Kisor (born April 12, 1973) is an American jazz trumpeter. A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Kisor learned trumpet from his father, Larry Kisor, and started playing in a local dance band (the Eddie Skeets Orchestra) at age ten. Kisor began clas ...

. Zak began recording for

SteepleChase Records SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, wh ...

in 2004. Zak's playing was influenced by

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

and

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

Discography

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zak, Peter 1965 births American jazz pianists American male pianists Living people 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians