Peter Zak

Piano
Artist Albums
Recently Added
01/06/2024
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, David Wong & Jason Brown
01/05/2024
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, David Wong & Jason Brown
06/03/2023
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Paul Gill & Billy Drummond
06/02/2023
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Paul Gill & Billy Drummond
10/01/2022
Mezzrow
PETER ZAK, PAUL GILL & JASON TIEMANN
09/30/2022
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Paul Gill & Jason Tiemann
03/27/2022
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Paul Gill & Billy Drummond
12/12/2021
Smalls
Peter Zak trio
10/01/2021
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Paul Gill & Billy Drummond
06/05/2021
Mezzrow
Peter Zak & Paul Gill
12/18/2020
Smalls
Peter Zak Quartet
12/23/2019
Smalls
Marshall McDonald Jazz Project
12/14/2019
Smalls
Walt Weiskopf Quartet
12/13/2019
Smalls
Walt Weiskopf Quartet
11/01/2019
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Paul Gill & Joe Strasser
07/27/2019
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Kiyoshi Kitagawa & Sylvia Cuenca
07/26/2019
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Kiyoshi Kitagawa & Sylvia Cuenca
05/02/2019
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/17/2019
Smalls
Stephen Riley Quartet
04/11/2019
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/16/2019
Smalls
Walt Weiskopf Quartet
03/15/2019
Smalls
Walt Weiskopf Quartet
03/14/2019
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/01/2019
Mezzrow
Peter Zak "After-hours"
02/07/2019
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
01/24/2019
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
11/22/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
11/21/2018
Smalls
Marshall McDonald Jazz Project
11/07/2018
Smalls
Sam Dillon Quartet
10/28/2018
Mezzrow
Peter Zak & Doug Weiss
10/25/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
09/20/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
09/15/2018
Smalls
Peter Zak Quartet
09/14/2018
Smalls
Peter Zak Quartet
08/23/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
08/16/2018
Mezzrow
Carlos Abadie "After-hours"
05/30/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/19/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/07/2018
Smalls
Walt Weiskopf Quartet
04/06/2018
Smalls
Walt Weiskopf Quartet
03/29/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/09/2018
Mezzrow
Peter Zak with Ed Howard & Billy Drummond
02/01/2018
Smalls
Sam Dillon Quartet
01/25/2018
Smalls
Carlos Abadie Quintet
07/28/2017
Smalls
The Matt Chertkoff Quintet
07/22/2017
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
07/21/2017
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
07/19/2017
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quintet
06/10/2017
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Peter Washington and Billy Drummond
06/09/2017
Mezzrow
Peter Zak, Peter Washington and Billy Drummond
05/18/2017
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/29/2017
Mezzrow
Peter Zak w/ Paul Gill "after-hours"
04/27/2017
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/23/2017
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet with Special Guest Na'ama Gheber
02/16/2017
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
01/26/2017
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/08/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/06/2016
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
11/12/2016
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
11/11/2016
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
11/03/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/27/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
09/22/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
08/25/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
08/13/2016
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quartet
08/12/2016
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quartet
07/28/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
07/26/2016
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
06/30/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/26/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/31/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/25/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/22/2016
Mezzrow
Stephen Riley & Peter Zak
01/28/2016
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
01/19/2016
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
12/01/2015
Mezzrow
Peter Zak w. Stephen Riley Duo
10/03/2015
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
10/02/2015
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
09/05/2015
Smalls
The "Webbs Montgomery" Trio
08/25/2015
Smalls
Peter Zak/Doug Webb Quartet
07/23/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/25/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/28/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Septet
04/30/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/05/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/20/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/06/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
01/23/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
01/09/2015
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/26/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/13/2014
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
12/12/2014
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
12/12/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
11/28/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
11/14/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/31/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/17/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/03/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
09/12/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
08/15/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
08/01/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
07/04/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/20/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/18/2014
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quartet
06/06/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/23/2014
Smalls
"Round Midnight" with: The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/09/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/25/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/04/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/14/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/28/2014
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/15/2014
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quintet
02/14/2014
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quintet
02/07/2014
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
12/20/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/06/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
11/09/2013
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
11/08/2013
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
11/08/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/25/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/11/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
09/27/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
09/13/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
08/30/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
07/05/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/29/2013
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
06/21/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/15/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/17/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/03/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/19/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/22/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/08/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/01/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/15/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/01/2013
Smalls
Round Midnight with Carlos Abadie
01/29/2013
Smalls
The Frank Lacy Sextet
01/18/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
01/04/2013
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/21/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/15/2012
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
12/14/2012
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
12/07/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
11/23/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
11/09/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/26/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/12/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
10/06/2012
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quartet
10/05/2012
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quartet
09/29/2012
Smalls
The Craig Wuepper Trio & "Earsight"
09/28/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
09/14/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
07/13/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
07/09/2012
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
06/29/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/22/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/15/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
06/01/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/18/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
05/04/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/27/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
04/13/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/30/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/16/2012
Smalls
he Carlos Abadie Quintet
03/02/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
02/17/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
01/20/2012
Smalls
After-hours Jam Session
01/10/2012
Smalls
The Peter Zak/Rob Sudduth Quartet
01/06/2012
Smalls
The Carlos Abadie Quintet
12/23/2011
Smalls
After-hours Jam Session
12/09/2011
Smalls
After-hours Jam Session
12/03/2011
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
12/02/2011
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
11/25/2011
Smalls
After-hours Jam Session
11/11/2011
Smalls
After-hours Jam Session
10/28/2011
Smalls
After - hours Jam Session
09/30/2011
Smalls
After- hours Jam Session
09/16/2011
Smalls
After- hours Jam Session
09/02/2011
Smalls
After- hours Jam Session
08/23/2011
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
08/19/2011
Smalls
After-hours Jam Session
08/05/2011
Smalls
After- hours Jam Session
07/14/2011
Smalls
After- hours Jam Session
06/16/2011
Smalls
After-hours Jam Session
05/24/2011
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
05/12/2011
Smalls
Afterhours Jam Session
02/19/2011
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quartet
02/18/2011
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quartet
01/05/2011
Smalls
Peter Zak - Solo Piano
09/25/2010
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
09/24/2010
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Group
08/30/2010
Smalls
Peter Zak Solo Piano
05/08/2010
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quintet
05/07/2010
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quintet
02/11/2010
Smalls
Peter Zak Solo Piano
09/26/2009
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
09/25/2009
Smalls
The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
06/22/2009
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
04/18/2009
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quartet
04/17/2009
Smalls
The Peter Zak Quartet
12/08/2008
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
08/25/2008
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
07/19/2008
Smalls
The Tom Guarna Group
07/18/2008
Smalls
The Tom Guarna Group
05/19/2008
Smalls
The Tom Guarna Quartet
05/17/2008
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quintet
05/16/2008
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quintet
03/17/2008
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio
01/13/2008
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quartet
01/07/2008
Smalls
The Peter Zak Trio with Willie Jones III
10/06/2007
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quintet featuring Sherman Irby
10/05/2007
Smalls
The Ryan Kisor Quintet
Upcoming Shows
05/24/2024
Mezzrow
Peter Zak Trio
05/25/2024
Mezzrow
Peter Zak Trio
These are things of beauty on their own, and things of beauty in this trio’s capable hands. - Standards, DownBeat Magazine, July 2016   Peter Zak’s latest recording, "Standards", his eleventh as a leader on the SteepleChase label, and a follow-up to his much lauded "The Disciple", is a culmination of years of exploration of classic song repertoire and form. “A few of the selections on this album are tunes I’ve been playing for decades,” the pianist explains, “including ‘Wives and Lovers,’ ‘Star-Crossed Lovers,’ and ‘The Night Has A Thousand Eyes.’ Some of them I’ve only been playing for a short time, like ‘Moon and Sand,’ and ‘I’m All Smiles.’ In every case, the arrangements I’ve come up with are brand new, coming about in preparation for the session.”    Zak is of the opinion that the study and performance of standard songs is a crucial element to learning the language of jazz and improvisation. Arguably the single most important element. “This is something that the greats have typically understood, from Louis Armstrong to Lester Young, Bird to Sonny Rollins to Coltrane, Teddy Wilson to Duke Ellington to Monk to McCoy. It’s what enables you to internalize the form and vocabulary of jazz harmony, and to train your mind to compose music on the spot. To improvise, in other words.”   In assembling and preparing the material for “Standards,” Zak understood that arranging the tunes for the trio would be a large part of the undertaking. “I’ve gotten better over the last ten years or so at voicing melodies and harmonies when I play them with my trio, letting the music come to me, so to speak. Still, I wanted to come up with specific ideas for each of these songs.” For example, “Star-Crossed Lovers” is approached as a bossa, with more of an open-ended harmony than Strayhorn’s original. “Wives and Lovers” is transposed to 4/4 from 3/4, and Zak whizzes through it at a brisk tempo, inspired by the by Miles Davis modal classic “Milestones.”   As to this album’s rhythm team, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Billy Drummond, Zak points out that he and Anderson had never once played together before the day of the recording session. “Of course I had known about Jay and been an admirer of his playing. (Producer) Nils Winther had recommended him for a couple of my previous dates, and this time it finally worked out. It helps that he and Billy Drummond have done so much together recently with other pianists, including Stanley Cowell and Freddie Redd.” Zak and Drummond have a pretty solid record of collaboration, including the pianist’s albums “The Decider,” from 2010, and 2013’s “The Eternal Triangle,” along with many live performances together.   “Indian Summer” and “I’m All Smiles” both include written bass figures that are doubled with the piano, and a few choice chord substitutions in the former case. “I’ve never been a fan of overly complex arranging of standard tunes, like extensive re-harmonizing. I prefer to think of it as personalizing the tunes, much like McCoy Tyner, Tommy Flanagan, Bill Evans and other pianists I admire are so great at doing. ‘So in Love’ is the most involved of the arrangements in this set. I used some alternate chords in the opening statement of the melody, and the solo choruses alternate between two different keys.”   The trio strikes a more relaxed groove on “I Had the Craziest Dream,” and takes it down a notch on the ballads “I Loves You Porgy,” and “The Very Thought of You.” Of the latter, Zak says it’s “quite possibly one of the greatest American popular songs ever.”    As for “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes,” “it’s tough to get away from the definitive John Coltrane version so I decided to pay tribute to it, with a couple of harmonic twists of my own,” Zak explains. As for “Moon and Sand”, the trio tries to add a little salty spray to the serene setting.   Peter Zakwas born on May 13, 1965, in Los Angeles and grew up in Columbus and Kent, Ohio. When he was five, his mother taught him the basics of piano playing and reading music, and after six months, he began a decade-long series of private lessons, including a period with internationally renowned concert pianist Margaret Baxtresser. After the family moved to Oakland when Zak was 16, he developed an interest in jazz when his high school band director showed him how to play the chord changes to “Stella by Starlight.” Studies with Susan Muscarella, now president of the California Jazz Conservatory, followed at UC Berkeley, where he also played in the UC Jazz Ensembles and earned a B.A. in history. He was soon gigging around Northern California with saxophonist John Handy, among others.    Since relocating to New York, he has performed and/or recorded with Junior Cook, George Coleman, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Hart, Ryan Kisor, Etta Jones, Scott Hamilton, Peter Bernstein, Al Foster, Eric Alexander, Curtis Stigers, Walt Weiskopf, and Jon Hendricks, among many others. Peter is also a faculty member in the renowned jazz program at New School University.   In 2005, Peter received a prestigious $10,000 grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and Chamber Music America to compose and perform a new work for his jazz trio, featuring Al Foster and Paul Gill. The first of two performances of this three-part suite took place at Smoke Jazz Club, and the second at the Jazz Gallery, both in New York City.   Since 2005, Peter has released a series of critically acclaimed recordings for the Danish jazz label, SteepleChase Records. His first release for the company, The Peter Zak Trio, featuring drummer Al Foster, and bassist Paul Gill, appeared that year. Subsequent releases include For Tomorrow, featuring Paul Gill and drummer Willie Jones III, in 2006; a solo piano album, My Conception, in 2007; Seed Of Sin, featuring Paul Gill and drummer Quincy Davis, in 2008; Blues on the Corner: The Music of McCoy Tyner, again featuring Paul Gill and Quincy Davis, in 2009; and The Decider, a quartet album including Walt Weiskopf on saxophones, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and drummer Billy Drummond.    Down East, a trio date featuring Peter Washington and Billy Drummond, appeared in the spring of 2011. Among the enthusiastic national and international press for this release was a profile in the September, 2011, issue of DownBeat magazine. This release was followed by Nordic Noon, in 2012, The Eternal Triangle, in 2013, and The Disciple in 2014, which reached #2 on the Jazz Week radio chart.    Peter remains quite busy as a recording sideman as well. His dozens of credits include the recent albums Day In, Night Out, See the Pyramid, Overdrive, and Open Road by Walt Weiskopf; Another Scene and Back East by Doug Webb; Stephen Riley’s Baubles, Bangles and Beads and Haunted Heart; Ryan Kisor's Live at Smalls, and Tom Guarna's Major Minor, among others.    Peter leads his own groups at various venues in and around New York, such as Smalls, Mezzrow, The Kitano, and Smoke, as well as leading national and international appearances, including recent performances at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the Zacatecas jazz festival in Mexico, and a tour of Canada as a co-leader with saxophonist Walt Weiskopf. At the same time, he has been performing regularly as a sideman with a host of other artists, including Jim Snidero, Peter Bernstein, Ryan Kisor, Jimmy Cobb, Walt Weiskopf, Carlos Abadie, Doug Webb, and many others, both in the U.S and internationally. In 2011, Peter performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic as the featured soloist on Gershwin's I Got Rhythm Variations.     Peter Zak: Standards (SteepleChase Records) Street Date: May 3, 2016   Web Site: peterzakmusic.com   Twitter: twitter.com/zak144