Born into a musical family, Peter Dembski displayed musical talents from an early age. He first sat down at the piano at the age of three and soon showed his attraction to all kinds of music. His father was a pianist so music was always around the house. As a teen he was beginning to write music and develop the improvisational skills which had always been part of his approach to music.

During this time he also spent a good deal of time in Europe, living in Paris, Rome, Edinborough, and Perugia before he reached his twenties. After school at Yale and Bennington, Peter moved to New York where he worked in the theater and dance worlds as a pianist, arranger, and composer. In addition, he has worked as a jazz musician, backing up a variety of players from Cecil Payne, the elder master of the baritone saxophone, to players from the younger generation.

Peter leads his own band, "The Pandea Group". The group consists of a rotating group of musicians which include Peter on piano, world-renowned bassists Ron McClure and Mike Richmond, Savant recording artist guitarist Bob Devos, Aaron Heick, alto saxophonist from Chaka Khan's band and Richard Bono's group, and Grisha Alexiev on drums. They perform regularly at the legendary 55 BAR, one of the oldest jazz venues in Greenwich Village. Peter has released several recordings; the latest, "Double Life", features former members of the Miles Davis Group.

Peter also maintains an active teaching career where his specialty is teaching improvisational technique to non-improvising (classical) musicians. He has taught these methods at a variety of institutions, including the Bowdoin International Music Festival. Peter was awarded the 2007 Fellowship in the Performing Arts from the Maine Arts Commission, the first jazz musician to receive this prize. He divides his time between his home on the Maine coast and his New York apartment.

"I don't try for a lot of unneeded complexity in my music; instead I look to rhythms and grooves to create texture and drama. I write the music and get the best musicians that I can to play it. I like to take advantage of each player's strengths and make music through the personality of the players and the variety of the ensemble sound. My hope is that the sound is contemporary and, at the same time, true to the spirit of jazz." PD