Mike Garson

Biography

Mike Garson was born July 29, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York, into a Jewish household. He began piano studies around age 5–7 under Leonard Eisner, a Juilliard-affiliated classical composer, pursuing classical training for roughly a decade before discovering jazz improvisation in his late teens. He enrolled at Brooklyn College as a pre-med student in 1963 before music took over entirely, eventually earning a degree in music and education. Along the way he studied under jazz luminaries including Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Lennie Tristano, and Hal Overton — a rare cross-disciplinary foundation that would define his singular voice. He even briefly studied toward rabbinic ordination before the piano permanently won out.

His career pivoted dramatically in 1972 when experimental artist Annette Peacock — having declined David Bowie's invitation to join his North American tour — recommended Garson as a replacement. He auditioned with eight bars for guitarist Mick Ronson and was hired on the spot. His debut with Bowie came on September 22, 1972, in Cleveland, Ohio, during the Ziggy Stardust tour. What followed was a 34-year on-and-off collaboration spanning 11+ studio albums, more than 1,000 concerts, and one of rock history's most celebrated piano solos: the atonal, free-jazz improvisation on "Aladdin Sane" (1973), recorded in a single take after Bowie rejected Garson's blues and Latin attempts and told him to "play that avant-garde stuff." Beyond Bowie, Garson collaborated extensively with Nine Inch Nails (playing on 15 tracks for The Fragile, 1999), the Smashing Pumpkins (Machina/The Machines of God, 2000), and later Duran Duran, Halsey, and Def Leppard.

Garson's legacy rests on an almost paradoxical range: classical precision, jazz spontaneity, avant-garde dissonance, and rock propulsion coexisting in a single player. He has composed over 5,000 pieces of music spanning all these genres, and USC music masters and doctoral students are required to study his classical works. He was present for Bowie's first North American concert in 1972 and his final U.S. public performance in November 2006. After Bowie's death in January 2016, Garson organized and has led the ongoing A Bowie Celebration: The David Bowie Alumni Tour, preserving the legacy of the artist he served longest. Now in his eighties, he continues to perform live, teach piano, and record.

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Fun Facts

• Almost a rabbi: before committing to music, Garson studied toward rabbinic ordination — the piano ultimately won out.
• The 'Aladdin Sane' solo was the third attempt. Bowie rejected a blues version, then a Latin version, before telling Garson to 'play that avant-garde stuff you played in New York.' The resulting take — atonal, free-jazz, cabaret-inflected — was captured in one pass and became one of rock's most celebrated piano solos.
• His bandmates in the Bowie touring group nicknamed him 'Garson the Parson' after Chick Corea introduced him to Scientology in 1970. He was a member until 1982 and later acknowledged he may have been 'a little too eager to share his beliefs.'
• Garson was present at both Bowie's first North American concert (September 22, 1972, Cleveland) and what turned out to be Bowie's final public U.S. performance — a November 2006 benefit in New York City alongside Alicia Keys.

Associated Acts

• Brethren - keyboard, original (1970–1972)
• Spiders From Mars - keyboard (1975–1976)
• The Polyphonic Spree
• Kind Heaven Orchestra
• The Mike Garson Band
• Tao Jones Index
• Group Everything Everything Everything

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Bill Evans - Direct student; Evans's layered chord voicings were central to Garson's practice regimen and ongoing harmonic language [1960s]
• Herbie Hancock - Studied directly with Hancock as part of his jazz education in New York [1960s]
• Lennie Tristano - Studied directly with the seminal cool jazz/avant-garde pianist, shaping Garson's improvisational approach [1960s]
• Thelonious Monk - Influential model (not a direct teacher); Garson extensively transcribed Monk's quirky interval patterns as a practice discipline [1960s–1970s]

Key Collaborators

• David Bowie - Longest-serving and most frequently appearing band member across 34 years; Bowie introduced Garson's avant-garde sensibility into the rock mainstream (Aladdin Sane (1973), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Black Tie White Noise (1993), Outside (1995), Earthling (1997), Reality (2003)) [1972–2006]
• Trent Reznor - Played on 15 tracks during sessions for The Fragile; later collaborated on the Gone Girl film score (Grammy-nominated, 2014) (The Fragile (1999), Gone Girl score (2014)) [1999–2014]
• Billy Corgan - Performed on the Adore tour and contributed piano to multiple Smashing Pumpkins recordings (Machina/The Machines of God (2000)) [1998–2000]
• Annette Peacock - Garson was playing on Peacock's recordings when she recommended him to Bowie — the introduction that launched his rock career

Artists Influenced

• Clifford Slapper - Pianist and biographer who was inspired to pursue piano professionally at age 11 upon hearing Garson's solo on Aladdin Sane; later performed with Boy George and Jarvis Cocker and wrote Garson's biography Bowie's Piano Man (Bowie's Piano Man biography (2013, updated 2015)) [1973–present]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz