Piedmont Piano is pleased to present
Peter Zak Trio
New York-based pianist Peter Zak performs original compositions, jazz classics and standards, many from his acclaimed recent album releases, including his latest, One Mind. "Brilliant...quite startlingly so... underlines just how shrewd a musical mind Peter Zak has." -Brian Morton, Jazz Journal (UK). He’ll be joined by fellow New Yorker, drummer Sylvia Cuenca, and Michael Zisman on bass.
$25 General Admission
Jazz pianist and composer Peter Zak performs and records both as a sideman and leader of his own groups. His credits include George Coleman, Jimmy Cobb, Ryan Kisor, Etta Jones, Peter Bernstein, Eddie Henderson, Eric Alexander, Walt Weiskopf and Jon Hendricks, among many others. His eleven albums as a leader, have earned consistent praise from publications such as DownBeat, JazzTimes, Financial Times, Jazz Journal, and the New York Times. As a composer, his awards include a $10,000 jazz chamber music commission from the Doris Duke Foundation, which he performed both at Smoke Jazz Club and the Jazz Gallery in New York, with drummer Al Foster, and bassist Paul Gill. He has performed with various groups at every major jazz venue in New York City, including the Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, Smoke, and the Jazz Standard; his current trio performs in New York, around the U.S. and at festivals and concerts internationally. He has been teaching at the New School since 1995. peterzakmusic.com
Sylvia Cuenca is an active drummer on the New York jazz scene who is contributing outstanding performances in a variety of situations. She has had the honor of sharing the bandstand with saxophone legend Joe Henderson for 4 years and trumpet legend Clark Terry for 17 years. The Joe Henderson quartet toured frequently in European countries Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, England, Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany and venues across the U.S. In a trio setting she performed with Joe Henderson and Charlie Haden in 1989 and with George Mraz in 1994. She performed with the Clark Terry Quintet and Big Band at Village Vanguard, Birdland, Blue Note, Queen Elizabeth 2, Royal Viking, S.S. Norway jazz cruises and clubs, concerts and festivals in the U.S, Europe, the Caribbean and South America. While working with the Clark Terry quintet she had the opportunity to perform with guest artists Al Grey, Red Holloway, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Marian McPartland, Dianne Reeves, Joe Williams and Lou Donaldson to name a few. sylviacuenca.com
During the last 32 years, bassist Michael Zisman has been performing with jazz stars such as Harold Mabern, Eric Alexander, Dena DeRose, Joseph Farnsworth, Peter Zak, David Hazeltine and many more. As well as leading music clinics and classes in schools across the US, Michael previously served as the Artistic and Education Director of the Stanford Jazz Workshop and Festival, and is the creator of “The Real Easy Book” as well as co-author of “ Walking Bassics”, all published by Sher Music. Michael has been an adjunct faculty member teaching Jazz courses at SFSU since 2007.