Patrick Moraz

BornVillars-Sainte-Croix, Morgues, Switzerland

BiographyPatrick Moraz was born on 24 June 1948 in Villars-Sainte-Croix, Morgues, Switzerland and was classically trained in violin, piano, harmony, and counterpoint at the Conservatory of Lausanne, also in Switzerland, studying under the famed Nadia Boulanger. His introduction to professional performance first came in the form of a jazz quartet, which toured with notable musicians such as John Coltrane throughout Europe in the 1960s. In 1963, he became the youngest individual to have ever received the prestigious Best Soloist honour at the Zurich Jazz Festival. In 1968, he formed his first rock group, Mainhorse, with musician Jean Restori, began studying with famed avant-garde composers Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis at the Studio de Musique Contemporaine in Geneva, and worked briefly on a series of film scores. In 1973, his score for Claude Goretta’s film L’invitation was awarded the Grand Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. After nearly a decade of travelling throughout Europe and Asia, both solo and with other musicians, Moraz relocated to London, and, in 1974, replaced Rick Wakeman as the keyboardist for the progressive rock group Yes, after a brief stint with a group called Refugee. Moraz contributed to the group’s seminal Relayer album of 1974, which was followed by an extensive world tour. His jazz background can be seen to have influenced the album’s sound, marking a departure from the group’s more rock- and classical-oriented works of the early 1970s. In 1975 he contributed to Yes bass player and vocalist, Chris Squire’s solo album, Fish Out of Water, and released his own first solo effort, Story of I, in 1976. Moraz departed from Yes in 1976 just prior to the recording of Going for the One, and continued to develop his own style, which had by that point become highly influenced by an interest in world (primarily Latin American) music, for the follow-up album, Out in the Sun. Moraz joined another notable British progressive rock group, The Moody Blues, for their Octave tour in 1978, replacing their original keyboardist, Mike Pinder. He became a permanent member in 1980 and remained with the group until 1991, continuing in the meantime to release acclaimed solo works and tour and record with other prominent musicians, including jazz musician Chick Corea and former Yes and King Crimson percussionist, Bill Bruford, with whom he recorded two collaborative albums. Moraz continued to release solo works and tour following his time with The Moody Blues, including his notable Coming Home America Tour or “CHAT” of 1995, and currently resides in Florida. Among his notable solo albums are Story of I and Out in the Sun of 1976 and 1977, respectively, Future Memories I of 1979 and Future Memories II of 1982, Timecode of 1984, Human Interface of 1987, Windows of Time of 1994, and Resonance of 2000.