Dave Peck

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Dave Peck is recognized as an outstanding composer, arranger and pianist. He is known for his introspective style and rich harmonic coloring and has been described as “…a formidable musical voice, lyrical and insightful” and “…an absolute artist with a unique command of his instrument and the language of music”. Downbeat magazine says Peck’s playing is “lyrical and pastel, swinging and bluesy, with a ringing crystalline touch.” and Cadence Magazine says he “…can hang with the currently feted crop of young lions”.

Dave has appeared on Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland. Ms. McPartland said “Dave Peck is a pianist and composer who possesses great musicality, a sensitive touch and a lively sense of swing.” His performances and compositions have been heard on Jazz After Hours, National Public Radio's Jazz Alive, Jazz Journal, New Jazz Northwest, and Northwest Jazz on KPLU FM as well as VH1 and Canadian Broadcast Television. His music is featured internationally on terrestrial, satellite and internet jazz radio.

Peck’s award winning recordings on his own Let’s Play Stella label are all featured on the Jazz After Hours Best of the Year lists. Trio, 3 and 1 and Good Road have all won the Earshot Recording of the Year awards. In addition 3 and 1 was in the radio Top 10 and featured in the Cadence Magazine 2003 Writer's Poll. Earshot Jazz magazine calls it “An album of intense musical and emotional range, 3 and 1 is a monumental recording.” Out of Seattle, which features Joe La Barbera and Jeff Johnson, was in the top 20 of the Jazzweek chart. Cadence says of this recording “Dave Peck’s trio can sweep you off your feet…” It made several “Best of the Year” lists including Top 10 Notable Jazz CD’s of 2002 on WBEZ Chicago. Good Road was a ‘WDET Detroit Highly Recommended New Jazz CDs of 2005’ and Dave and the trio were voted ‘Earshot Northwest Acoustic Jazz Ensemble of the Year’. JazzTimes said “Good Road is a find!”

From 1978 through 1996 Dave performed as a sideman, most notably, as pianist and composer for legendary saxophonist Bud Shank. Their collaboration from 1985-2000 led to the CD, Tales of the Pilot, Bud Shank plays the music of David Peck, released on Capri Records. Dave's compositions for Shank can also be heard on the Contemporary/Fantasy label on both Live at Jazz Alley and Tomorrow's Rainbow. And as pianist with Shank he can be heard on Live at Jazz Alley and The Lost Cathedral. Also during this time he appeared with many great musicians including Chet Baker, Joe Williams, Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer and Clifford Jordan, Harry “Sweets” Edison and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Howard Roberts, Ernestine Anderson, Gary Peacock, Pete Christleib, Bob Cooper, Bill Perkins, John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, Freddie Hubbard, and Claudio Roditi. His arranging and composition credits include grants from Meet the Composer and commissions for Bud Shank, Marco Silva, Syzygy, Composers and Improvisers Orchestra, Ernestine Anderson and Diane Schuur.

Formerly an Associate Professor of Music at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle Dave currently maintains a private teaching studio where he teaches Jazz Composition, Repertoire, Improvisation and Piano.

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CD/LP/Track Review

Good Road by Robert R. Calder

Extended Analysis

Dave Peck: Good Road

CD/LP/Track Review

Out of Seattle by Jim Wilke
3 in 1 by Dave Nathan
3 and ! by Jason West

An Evil Clown And A Leap Of Faith by Karl Ackermann, AllAboutJazz ”The core collective under Evil Clown is Leap of Faith, which when expanded to the Leap of Faith Orchestra includes players from Metal Chaos Ensemble, String Theory, Turbulence and Mekaniks. The common denominators in these collectives is the presence of PEK in each, and a completely unorthodox approach to creative improvisation. An unfamiliar listener, dropping into an Evil Clown recording may find themselves submerged in world of musical anarchy but there is a hidden order behind the apparent mayhem....”

On Leap of Faith Orchestra - Possible Universes..

On Leap of Faith Orchestra - Possible Universes... The highly capable improvisers engaged by PEK are participating in the composer's unique method of Frame Notation… Along with strings and three basses, a large assortment of percussion instruments, and two tubas, the orchestra utilizes an assortment of non-conventional devices such as bullroarers, claves, flex-a-tones, slide whistles, wind sirens, crank sirens, bells, Tibetan bowls, ratchets and a tube-o- phone… Possible Universes works in a surprisingly paradoxical way, allowing structure and freedom to coexist, while constantly challenging the ear. It's not quite like anything else. - Karl Ackermann, AllAboutJazz

On Leap of Faith Orchestra - Supernovae... ”PEK's ensemble—not surprisingly—includes enough non-traditional and weird instruments to compete with a Dr. Seuss orchestra... As with all of PEK's compositions, there is—behind the scenes—a painstaking amount of organization that is not always evident in the listening. That is part of the beauty of this album; the non-traditional approach to instrumentation and the lack of adherence to Western structure continue to make the various iterations of Leap of Faith consistently interesting.” - Karl Ackermann, AllAboutJazz

On Leap of Faith Orchestra - The Expanding Universe... ”The sole track (being the title track) is a sprawling epic at seventy-seven minutes and does indeed deviate between the austere and the chaotic, but as always, composer PEK has a higher purpose. Swerving whistles and a siren usher in the piece with no small amount of urgency building to a crescendo of noise before a lone tuba replaces near-calamity with dark mystery. Later, piano and alternate devices struggle for dominance, lopsided melodies collide with bells, blocks and cymbals in a musical representation of the album's stated theme... Like any uncharted exploration, attention to detail makes this experimental journey a memorable experience.” - Karl Ackermann, AllAboutJazz

On Leap of Faith / Thomas Heberer - Solution Concepts... ”Starting out and fits and starts like an extended warm-up, 'Subgame' doesn't take much of its almost forty minutes to be convincingly harrowing. With barely the trace of a melody, the marathon number nevertheless captures some satisfying but inexpressible spirit of wild abandon... ...their output has been prolific and varied. PEK and Lomon have worked in formations from duo to large ensembles. Heberer's presence on Solution Concepts makes it quite different from earlier Leap of Faith albums but true to the experimental vision that PEK and Lomon first realized more than twenty years ago. The music on Solution Concepts is probing, intelligent and—in some instances— poignant.” - Karl Ackermann, AllAboutJazz.com

On Metal Chaos Ensemble - Intermetallic Compounds... ”As the layers begin to build, we enter into something like a grandfather clock factory run amok as sounds swirl together around a warped melody... PEK and company use every available tool to its maximum functionality on an extended aural improvisation that marries people and their tools. Intermetallic Compounds is mesmerizing and filled with an expectancy only for the next unexpected turn of events. This is living, breathing art in every sense of the word.” - Karl Ackermann, allaboutjazz.com

On Metal Chaos Ensemble - War Tuba... ”War Tuba is a free improv world music spree unlike most anything I've heard. With the respective musicians' use of the aquasonic waterphone percussion instrument, jangling chains, metal objects, game calls, piccolo copper clarinet and other off the beaten path implements, the trio abides by a euphorically executed campaign. Think of ancient rituals with some degree of bombast, coinciding with PEK's various reeds and horns dialogues, enamored by the pristine audio characteristics.” - Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz

On Turbulence - Vortex Generation Mechanisms... ”It seamlessly moves across terrains that greatly vary in texture.... Vortex Generation Mechanisms veers between minimalism and an air-driven calliope coming off the rails. Despite employing a plethora of non-conventional tools, the music always has a sense of meaningfulness; it can be calming and disconnected at the same time. As a result, it is always more provoking than pacifying. Like much Evil Clown's output, this is a project that organically grows with each listening.” - Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz.com

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