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Michael Eric Deak
Jazz Pianist, Jazz and Classical Composer
About Me
I was born in L.A. in 1942. My father was a concert pianist from Hungary who studied with (and was close friends with) Bela Bartok, Zoltan Kodaly and two students of Franz Liszt. My father died when I was three.I did not become interested in music till I was 18. I became a vibist after hearing Milt Jackson, and persued the study of that instrument (had lessons for about a year with Bobby Hutcherson) until I heard Bill Evans with Miles on “Kind Of Blue”. That was it; I switched to piano as my instrument. Despite starting late on the piano, and not acquiring those fine motor skills developed by young children, I have held my own because of my harmonic sense and spontaneous composition abilities. Beginning about 1961, I became interested in composition. In 1974, I began attending USC School Of Music in composition. I was fortunate during that time to study one-on-one with Morten Lauridsen. I continue to write both classical and jazz compositions to this day. As a pianist, I did most of my work in L.A. playing jazz clubs, restaurants and small concert venues. Interestingly, I've had more success with the classical work. I've won two competitions, was a finalist in a competition in Greece in March, 2012. In July 2013, I won the American Prize for music composition, chamber music division, and have been published, recorded and broadcast. I moved to Gig Harbor, Washington nine years ago, and have yet to meet up with good players here. Good players abound, but I've yet to find them. Still, I have a compulsion to perform and write jazz; I trust things will improve.
