Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight, The Smashing Pumpkins and The Pretty Reckless.
Early career
Garson went to Lafayette High School in Brooklyn. After graduating from Brooklyn College with a music degree in 1970, he was a member of rock/country/jazz band Brethren with Rick Marotta, Tom Cosgrove and Stu Woods. They recorded two albums, Brethren (1970) and Moment of Truth (1971), on the Tiffany label, which featured guest piano and liner notes by Dr. John (and album photography by Murray Head, who scored a hit with "Say it Ain't So Joe", "Jesus Christ Superstar", and later with the single "One Night in Bangkok").
Garson played on the I'm the One (1972) album by early 1970s experimental artist Annette Peacock. David Bowie asked Peacock to join him on a tour; she declined, but Garson began an enduring working relationship with Bowie.
Work with David Bowie
Garson was David Bowie's longest-serving and most frequently appearing band member. They performed together for both Bowie's first and last concerts in the United States as well as 1,000 concerts around the globe in between.
Garson provided the piano and keyboard backing on the later Ziggy Stardust tour of 1972–73 and his contribution to the song "Aladdin Sane" (1973) gave the song an avant-garde jazz feel with lengthy and sometimes atonal piano solos.
Garson played also for Bowie's guitarist bandmate Mick Ronson on his first and last solo tour, and his first Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1974) and second solo album Play Don't Worry (1975). Garson played with Bowie on and off over the years, resurfacing on The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) and 1. Outside (1995).
Music career
Parallel to this work with Bowie, Garson engaged in his own solo career as a jazz pianist.
Garson worked with the reformed Spiders from Mars in 1975, alongside Mick Woodmansey, Trevor Bolder, Dave Black (guitar) and Pete McDonald (vocals). They recorded one eponymous album in 1976 before going their separate ways.
In 1984, Garson became a member of the jazz ensemble Free Flight, founded by flautist Jim Walker.
In 1993, Garson began a short-lived series of Screen Themes albums, jazz renditions of major themes and suites from film scores of 1993 (Man & a Woman, Sax at the Movies), and the following year, 1994 (Reel Romance). The latter album featured the recording debut of Jessica L. Tivens, at age 13, who had previously appeared on the American television show Star Search. Both albums were released by Discovery Records.
Garson joined in 1998 The Smashing Pumpkins for their Adore tour, playing piano, keyboards and synthesizer. After the tour, he joined The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Billy Corgan on his solo effort—the soundtrack for the 1999 supernatural horror film Stigmata. Additionally Garson played piano on The Smashing Pumpkins next 2000 album Machina/The Machines of God on the songs "Glass and the Ghost Children" and "With Every Light".
Garson has played also on Nine Inch Nails 1999 album The Fragile, in 2000 with No Doubt and Perry Farrell, in 2007 with St. Vincent, and many others. Garson collaborated with Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor again on for the Grammy nominated score to the 2014 Gone Girl film on which they collaborated and Garson performed.
Garson played piano on the songs "This is the Life for Me" and "Washed Out to Sea" from Something for Kate's 2006 album Desert Lights. He became acquainted with the band when they opened all shows on the Australian leg of David Bowie's A Reality Tour in 2004.
Garson appeared on Myspace with his own music site, and to date has released some 50 free tracks. He is currently working on three new albums, as well as collaborating with several bands as touring player/session musician. His latest collaboration shows up on the last "met-on-Myspace" French artist Kuta's 2007 album A Home. Garson also contributed to and received co writing credit on the track "Something Unseen" by Athens, Georgia, based power pop band Chris McKay & the Critical Darlings. He has also been collaborating with the Norwegian band Sleepyard. In addition to this, he worked on the writing and recording of two songs on mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan's 2010 release, Option Paralysis.