Jazz Articles

Pete Zimmer: Prime of Life

by Dan McClenaghan
January 2, 2012

Prime of Life, drummer Pete Zimmer's fifth recording as a leader, has a clean, crisp, soulful sound. The players of the quartet--all top-notch musicians--meld their talents into a polished cohesion. Zimmer is a fine drummer capable of impeccable timekeeping and intricate, though usually subtle percussive flourishes. Zimmer's music, with its tight grooves, sounds like heartland jazz, like the quintessentially American sound of an organ trio--without, in this case, the Hammond B3 breathing into the mix.Guitarist Peter Bernstein, who ...

Uou: Home

by Mark F. Turner
September 28, 2010

The long and interesting road for five students--from Japan to Berklee College of Music in Boston, and then to New York's exhilarating jazz scene--arrives at their splendid group recording, aptly titled Home. The band, named UoU, consists of members who have garnered numerous individual recognitions and awards, and studied/performed with a who's who's list of today's jazz leaders. Yet, as collective, this debut exudes a polished distinctiveness, clear abilities and original compositions. It would be easy to ...

Kyle Asche Organ Trio: Blues for Mel

by Dan McClenaghan
May 16, 2009

Chicago-based guitarist Kyle Asche opens his sophomore release, Blues for Mel, with the set's title tune, a tribute to Melvin Rhyne, the organist who most famously played with guitarist Wes Montgomery on four stellar Riverside releases in the late fifties and early sixties. The tune is a cool Montgomery-ish ride, drenched in the organ trio tradition. Asche's licks are clean and concise. The drummer, George Fludas, accents the trio sound with finesse and subtle flourishes, a polished energy, and the ...

Vitaly Golovnev: to whom it may concern

by David A. Orthmann
February 11, 2009

Unlike young musicians who are anxious to show off their catholic tastes, the focal point of trumpeter Vitaly Golovnev's debut recording as a leader falls into the comparatively narrow bop-to-hard bop continuum. Because these tightly entwined styles were firmly entrenched over a half-century ago, and then diluted or abandoned altogether in favor of other developments, their adoption by youngsters may seem like a dead end or an attempt to capture some of the glory of long deceased elders. Golovnev's prodigious ...

Pete Zimmer Quintet: Judgment

by Samuel Chell
December 24, 2006

Les Paul, the “Wizard of Waukesha," may be the better-known musician, but the guitarist's spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship is clearly evident in a fellow Waukesha native, drummer Pete Zimmer. Unable to find a studio to record his music, Zimmer founded his own label, frequently featuring other Wisconsinites (Rich Germanson, John Sullivan, Joel Frahm) and, on this date, tenor legend and former teacher George Garzone. Judgment, the third Zimmer-produced project, is a record of the young musician's meteoric development as ...

Pete Zimmer Quintet: Judgment

by Michael P. Gladstone
December 21, 2006

Drummer and bandleader Pete Zimmer hasn't lost a step in getting his product to the people. Arriving in New York around the time of 9/11, he understandably found it difficult to get a record deal. So he created his own label, Tippin', on which Judgment is Zimmer's third release. He essentially keeps the same personnel from his last album (Burnin' Live At The Jazz Standard, Tippin' 2005), with the addition of his former employer, saxophonist George Garzone.

On ...

Pete Zimmer Quintet: Judgment

by Terrell Kent Holmes
November 21, 2006

Pete Zimmer pays homage to the music and innovators of the hard bop era on Judgment, an inspired and sometimes exceptional collection of mostly original tunes played by a wonderful group of musicians who clearly share the drummer's admiration of the standards. “The Mingus That I Knew, written by guest George Garzone, captures the bassist's essence in the arrangement, complete with accelerating tempos and robust colors. The front line of tenorists Garzone and Joel Frahm and trumpeter ...

Pete Zimmer Quintet: Burnin' Live At The Jazz Standard

by Michael P. Gladstone
June 14, 2006

Pete Zimmer, a native of Waukesha, Wisconson, studied jazz drumming and orchestra percussion at North Ilinois University. While a student at NIU, he was able to learn under the aegis of Chicago drummer Jeff Stitely. In 1998, Zimmer moved to Boston to complete his education at the New England Conservatory, studying under the tutelage of Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez for two years. Zimmer then filled the drum chair for cutting-edge saxophonist George Garzone's group for several years.

Zimmer's ...

The Pete Zimmer Quintet: Burnin' Live at the Jazz Standard

by C. Michael Bailey
May 17, 2006

The beauty of music is that when a subgenre emerges, it can evolve, even as the overall genre evolves. This is evident with hard bop and Burnin' Live. To be sure, this is hard bop. It is patently East Coast. The combo format is a trumpet/tenor quintet. The music is bebop, as passed through the prism of the funky church, with complex heads and melodies.

But this is 21st Century hard bop. Drummer Pete Zimmer assembles a band of New ...

Pete Zimmer Quintet: Common Man

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
August 25, 2005

Though not as rare as they once were, outfits led by drummer/composers are still a minority in jazz. Picking up that mantle, Pete Zimmer, the young drummer best known for his work with saxophonist George Garzone, defies the cliche that drummers' records are nothing more than chops-driven accompanied drum solos. His debut, Common Man, serves up a refreshing set of straight-ahead tunes, with an emphasis on feel-good swing, clean ensemble playing, and concise solos. Zimmer drives a classic quintet of ...