PETER DENEFF

Peter Deneff grew up listening to Greek music and studying classical piano with Leaine Gibson. After starting his professional life playing in a Greek wedding band at age fifteen, he became obsessed with straight-ahead and Latin jazz. He began jazz studies with renowned pianist Mike Garson, where he crafted his art through studying some of the great jazz improvisers such as Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Chick Corea. During this time he also studied many ethnic styles that eventually led to the development of his classical and jazz compositional style as well as the formation of his Middle Eastern-Latin jazz group Excursion. He also pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in classical composition and film scoring at California State University Long Beach under the direction of Dr. Martin Herman, Dr. Justus Matthews, and Perry Lamarca. Peter has written seven best-selling books for Hal Leonard Publishing including Jazz Hanon, Stride Hanon, and Salsa Hanon. He has also composed and performed music for the Charles Sheen film, Five Aces. Deneff has performed at such varied venues as the Greek Theater, the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Los Angeles Street Scene, the Orange County Street Fair, Universal Studios, the NAMM show, and the Baked Potato. His stylistic versatility has allowed him to play and/or sing with a diverse assortment of groups like Tierra, Ike Willis, the Leslie Paula/Universal Studios Salsa Band, and Ebi, a notable Persian singer. Deneff also continues to play modern and folk Greek music for numerous events as well as an occasional Middle Eastern gig. Besides performing, Peter has also taught in many institutions such as Musician's Institute, Orange County High School of the Arts, and Cypress College, where he continues to teach classical and jazz piano. He spends most of his time in his studio producing projects for Yamaha Corporation (Disklavier, Clavinova, PSR-3000) and Hal Leonard Corporation (PVG Play-Alongs, MI Press-Hanon Series).