Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and the Moody Blues.

Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age and studied at the Lausanne Conservatory. He began a music career in the 1960s as a jazz musician, performing with his quartet and quintet, groups that performed across Europe and won several awards. He formed the short-lived progressive rock group Mainhorse in 1969, and began work scoring films. In 1974, he formed another band, Refugee, and recorded one album before he joined Yes later the same year. Moraz was a member of Yes until 1976, and during this time he also started a solo career.

Moraz was a member of the Moody Blues from 1978 to 1991. Since then, he has worked on various solo projects.

Early life

Moraz was born on 24 June 1948 on an aeroplane, though Morges, Switzerland, has been cited as his hometown. He was born in to a musical family; his father used to work for Polish pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski. As a child, Moraz played the violin, piano, and percussion and wrote compositions for the piano at the age of five. He studied jazz and classical music until his development came to an abrupt halt at thirteen after he broke four fingers in a roller skating accident. He recalled, "I was told I could never play classical music again". Following a course of therapy and a considerable amount of practice with his left hand playing, Moraz was able to regain his technique, becoming ambidextrous in the process. Initially, Moraz wished to be an anthropologist and learned to speak Greek and Latin. Instead he chose to pursue music and studied in Lausanne at the Lausanne Conservatory, In November 1964, Moraz left Switzerland for England, a place he always wanted to visit and perform. Not knowing the English language, he arrived in Bournemouth where he stayed for six months. Prior to his travels, Moraz's father offered him work as a chef in Switzerland in one of his kitchens that he managed, with the hope of using the skill to work in England. Moraz cooked at a school for a £2.88/hr salary, calling it "one of the hardest jobs I ever had". He played the piano in a local pub and tea room for more money. He settled with a line-up of Jean Ristori on vocals and bass, Bryson Graham on drums, and Peter Lockett on vocals and guitar. They signed with Polydor Records and recorded their only studio album, Mainhorse (1971), at De Lane Lea Studios, later purchased by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple in Kingsway, London. The album was not a commercial success, but the group secured work by performing at gigs in Germany. Moraz took up further work as a film composer on The Salamander (1971). Moraz had jammed with Jackson's previous band, The Nice, in 1969 when they played in Switzerland. Moraz was asked to join Yes, After a try-out with Greek musician Vangelis, which proved unsuccessful following musical union issues and his unwillingness to travel, music reporter Chris Welch suggested to the band's manager, Brian Lane, that they ask Moraz. Though he regretted splitting with his Refugee bandmates, Moraz accepted the position as it was an opportunity that he thought would benefit his career, though he once said, "I felt it was time to leave". Moraz's audition occurred in the first week of August 1974 with Vangelis's keyboards, which were still set up in the rehearsal room. After tuning up, Moraz watched the band play the middle section of "Sound Chaser", which he said was "Absolutely unbelievable. To experience that – the truest surround experience I had ever encountered as an observer and listener".

Moraz continued with his solo career and Charisma released his second album, Out in the Sun (1977), which he wanted to sound "completely different and more liberated". He then moved to Brazil for a year and a half, and prepared material for his third album. He wanted to title the album "Primitivization", but the record company chose to release it as Patrick Moraz (1978).

1978–1991: The Moody Blues and solo projects

thumb|Moraz performing with The Moody Blues in 1981

In May 1978, Moraz visited a convention held by the Audio Engineering Society in Los Angeles, where Herbie Hancock taught him vocoder, and agreed to represent Aphex Systems in Brazil. Before the Moody Blues toured the album, Moraz was fired from the band. In September 1991, Moraz sued the group for $500,000 as well as wrongful dismissal, claiming the group decided to split their profits four ways instead of five, and wished to be paid royalties he felt were owed to him as a full-time member of the band for almost 15 years. However, the group maintained Moraz was only a hired musician, despite his name being listed as a member on their albums and promotional materials and his appearing in official band photographs. On 28 December 1992, the jury in the case, aired on Court TV, awarded Moraz $77,175 from the defendants. Moraz had been offered $400,000 before the lawsuit.

1991–present: Solo career

After his dismissal from the Moody Blues, Moraz has primarily concentrated on solo projects. His first of three piano albums, Windows of Time (1994), was recorded in a studio at Full Sail University in Florida. A total of fourteen hours of material was recorded which was cut to exactly one hour. The tour ended in November 1995 for a total of 92 performances.

By 2001, Moraz had continued with several projects, including researching and preparing film scripts, including one for a potential film adaptation of The Story of I.

Moraz took part in his second Cruise to the Edge voyage in February 2017.

Moraz reunited with Yes in July 2018. As part of Yes' 50th Anniversary tour, Moraz performed with Yes at two shows in Philadelphia, 20 and 21 July. At each show, Moraz played keys during the band's performance of "Soon". Moraz also appeared during the Yes FanFest before the 21 July show, at first performing a 70-minute solo piano show and then appearing on stage with Yes and taking part in a band interview.

Personal life

Moraz lives in Florida with his second wife, Phyllis, and spends some time in his native Switzerland. He has one son, David, and a daughter, Rana, with first wife Diane.

Discography

Solo career

Singles

  • "Best Years of Our Lives"/"Cachaca (Baião)" (1976)
  • "Tentacles"/"Kabala" (1977)
  • "La Planete Inconnue"/"Nostalgie" (1979)
  • "How Basic Can You Get?"/"Spirits" (1981)
  • "L'Hymne De La Première"/"Grandeur Nature" (1987)

Studio albums

  • The Story of I (1976)
  • Out in the Sun (1977)
  • Patrick Moraz (1978)
  • Metamorphoses (1979)
  • Coexistence (1980; reissued as Libertate in 1989)
  • Time Code (1984)
  • Future Memories II (1984)
  • Future Memories I & II (1985)
  • Human Interface (1987)
  • Windows of Time (1994)
  • ESP (2003)
  • Resonance (2006)
  • Change of Space (2008)

Live albums

  • Future Memories Live on TV (1979)
  • PM in Princeton (1995)
  • Live at Abbey Road (2012)
  • Moraz/Bruford: Music For Piano And Drums Live In Maryland (2012)

Compilation albums

  • Future Memories I & II (2007)
  • PianissiMoraz (2012)

DVD

  • PM in Princeton (1995)
  • Future Memories (2007)

With Mainhorse

  • "More Tea Vicar"/"Basia" (1971)
  • "La Salamandre"/"Juke Box" (1972; Single with the band Mainhorse, music from the film La Salamandre)
  • Mainhorse (1971)
  • The Geneva Tapes (2007)

With Refugee

  • Refugee (1974)
  • Live in Concert Newcastle City Hall 1974 (2007)
  • Refugee & Refugee Live In Concert 1974 (2010)

With Yes

  • Relayer (1974)
  • "Soon"/"Sound Chaser" (1975)
  • Yesshows (1980) - Keyboards on Ritual and Gates of Delirium
  • The Word Is Live (2005) - Keyboards on 4 songs of Disc Two
  • Yes 50 Live (2019) - Keyboards on Soon
  • Keyboards on "Fish Out of Water" (Chris Squire’s solo album)
  • Keyboards on "Beginnings" (Steve Howe’s solo album)

With The Moody Blues

  • Long Distance Voyager (1981)
  • The Present (1983)
  • The Other Side of Life (1986)
  • Sur La Mer (1988)
  • Keys of the Kingdom (1991)

Compilation albums

  • The Story of The Moody Blues (1989)
  • Time Traveller (1994)

With Sons of Heroes

  • Sons of Heroes (1983)

With Moraz-Bruford

  • Music For Piano and Drums (1983)
  • Flags (1985)
  • Live in Tokyo (2009)
  • Music for Piano and Drums: Live in Maryland (2012)

With Moraz Alban Project (MAP)

  • M.A.P Project (2015)

References

Bibliography

  • Official website at patrickmoraz.net