Peter grew up first in Ohio, then in Oakland, California, studying classical piano, then turning to jazz while in high school. Following graduation from U.C. Berkeley, Peter played clubs, concerts and festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area with such artists as Frank Morgan and John Handy.

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, Al Foster, Eric Alexander, and Jon Hendricks, among many others. Peter also maintains a teaching schedule, both privately and as a faculty member in the jazz department of the New School, in New York City. 

His CD, The Peter Zak Trio, featuring Al Foster, drums, and Paul Gill, bass, was released in April 2005, on the SteepleChase record label. A subsequent CD on SteepleChase, For Tomorrow, featuring Paul Gill, bass, and Willie Jones III, drums, appeared in April, 2006, followed by an album of solo piano performances, My Conception, in Spring of 2007. His latest trio recording, Seed Of Sin, featuring Paul Gill, and drummer Quincy Davis, appeared in the spring of 2008.

In 2005, Peter received a prestigious $10,000 grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and Chamber Music Ameica to compose and perform a new work for his jazz trio, featuring Al Foster, drums, and Paul Gill, bass.  The first of two performances of this three-part suite took place at New York's Smoke Jazz Club in June of 2005, and the second in January of 2006, at the Jazz Gallery in New York City.

Peter performs with his own trio at venues in New York, including Smoke, Kitano, and Smalls Jazz Club, as well as making international appearances, including the Copenhagen jazz festival in July, 2007.  At the same time, he performs and records as a sideman with various other artists, including Jim Snidero, Jim Rotondi, Ryan Kisor, Walt Weiskopf, and others, both in the U.S. and internationally. 

For bookings or further information, see Peter's contact info

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What the critics are saying:

About My Conception:

"Zak's imaginative studio session blends stunning originals with a few overlooked gems...as a composer, comparable to the likes of Bill Evans, Denny Zeitlin, Fred Hersch, or any solo pianist you can name...a flawless record date. Four and one-half starts out of five" - All Music Guide

"...a bouquet of self-assured solo piano performances" - New York Times

"Peter Zak has now made three albums as a leader, all for SteepleChase of Denmark. The first two were piano-trio dates, the most recent of which, For Tomorrow, was one of 2006’s sleepers. My Conception, a solo album, is better.

The 12 pieces on this album feel less like calculated performances than one private, unbroken contemplation on which the listener is allowed to eavesdrop...

Zak plays a varied program: originals like “Mahmoud’s Memory,” with harmonies that suggest Arabia over a written bass figure; hard-bop classics like the title track by Sonny Clark; standards like “Witchcraft.” But even when he does a snapping calypso for trumpet by Blue Mitchell, “Fungii Mama,” never before heard as a piano solo, the rapt atmosphere is sustained. The best piece is “With a Song in My Heart,” with new changes, an unusual dead-slow tempo, and fragments repeated and communed over, as if in wonder." - Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times

About For Tomorrow:

"...together, Peter Zak, Paul Gill and Willie Jones III constitute one of the most polished, intelligent, swinging piano trios now playing jazz in New York or anywhere else.  For Tomorrow gets better every time you play it." - Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times

One of the 10 best of 2006 (For Tomorrow) - Nancy Barell, Jazz Journalists Association

"A musician of Zak's caliber is expected to deliver, and deliver he does...For Tomorrow is chameleonic to the point of being startling.  It is organic and tight, with no loose chords and no loose strings...You find yourself tapping your foot long after the last note is played and the resonance is as striking as the music." - Karla Cornejo, All About Jazz New York

"Up-and-coming NYC-based pianist Zak offers a first-rate program...Zak's flowing original, "The Cream or the Clear," demonstrates his ace style:  a clean, warm sound, and crisp execution of on-the-money ideas that swing--often with a provocative verve.  This music has a very current heft, despite its roots in the jazz tradition...three and one half stars out of four." - Zan Stewart, Newark Star-Ledger

About The Peter Zak Trio :

"A pianist on the rise....an exceptional trio...melodically rich playing with harmonic depth and supple rhythm.  One of the top emerging artists on the New York jazz horizon." – Zan Stewart, Newark Star-Ledger

"Pianist Peter Zak has made a name for himself...but his new disc, The Peter Zak Trio, on Steeplechase, just might break him as a soloist."  - TimeOut New York

"A thoughtful player who shines" – Dan Morgenstern, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University

."Vibrant and singular...Zak's mastery is evident." - Terrell Holmes, All About Jazz New York

"Zak...has put together a nice mainstream style mixing melodic class with easy-riding cool.  His work on his own compositions, "Laughing With RZ" and "Better Late Than Never" is bright and engaging while he brings an unusual waltzing grace to Monk's "Ugly Beauty." - Cadence Magazine