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. He has a sister, Patricia. 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, where he studied with Clara Haskil and, while in Paris, Nadia Boulanger. At sixteen, Moraz became the youngest person to receive the Best Soloist award at the Zürich jazz festival. Moraz went on to win awards at the festival, as a solo artist or in his jazz groups, for five consecutive years. In 1964, Moraz spent his summer in Cadaqués, Spain as a scuba diving instructor and spent time with Salvador Dalí at his property in Portlligat where he organised and performed at several gatherings for his guests.
At seventeen, Moraz’s playing as a jazz soloist at a music festival earned him a prize of a collection of albums and some lessons with French jazz soloist Stéphane Grappelli who taught him « all I needed to know about jazz and rock ». Moraz also spent time performing in several countries in Africa. 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. However, he was kicked out of the Musicians’ Union because he took up employment as a bar pianist with an incorrect type of work visa. The director of the union then spotted him playing in a restaurant, causing Moraz to leave the country and cancel proposals to jam with a Bournemouth group, the Night People. He also worked by selling encyclopaedias in Geneva. In 1965, Moraz’s quartet won an award at the Zürich jazz festival, and was soon invited to be the opening act for a European tour headlined by American saxophonist John Coltrane.