Jazz Articles about Pete Zimmer

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 ...

Pete Zimmer Quintet: Common Man

by Jochem van Dijk
December 10, 2004

Common Man is a crafty collection of mostly originals by drummer and session leader Pete Zimmer, strictly within a Fifties bop idiom with strokes of modal playing. This is a record made by mainstream sidemen who love to blow, pure and simple.

Zimmer and his pals obviously can play, and they have a nose for patching together well-constructed tunes with memorable themes. The main reason, though, why they all sound so well constructed and memorable is more because they are ...

Pete Zimmer: Common Man

by Dan McClenaghan
November 10, 2004

New York-based drummer Pete Zimmer backs a hard-bopping quintet on his debut disc, Common Man ; and you can't help thinking “retro" with this sound--tenor saxophone and trumpet in front of a bass/drums/piano rhythm team. But it's “retro" in the best possible sense of the word, an energetic celebration of the established sound by a very talented group of musicians. The set owes the obvious debt to Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Roy Hayes, Lee Morgan and countless Blue Note recording ...

Pete Zimmer Quintet: Common Man

by Jim Santella
October 9, 2004

Pete Zimmer's quintet swings with a straight-ahead enthusiasm that captures the tradition inspired by a century of jazz. His trumpet/tenor saxophone front line strolls gracefully through this program of originals and standards. Zimmer drives the unit gently from the drum set, encouraging trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, saxophonist Joel Frahm, and both pianists in their search for the perfect solo improvisation.

“Common Man," the album's title track, exhibits the strength of a cohesive unit that speaks closely together, like peas ...

Pete Zimmer: Common Man

by John Kelman
September 6, 2004

A recent review of Bill Frisell's new CD, Unspeakable , compared artists who transcend definition and those who work at honing their skill in a more narrowly defined context. Drummer Pete Zimmer falls into the latter category, with a writing style and group approach that leans heavily on precedents set by other drummer-led bands headed by Art Blakey, Max Roach and Roy Haynes, but also by artists including Wayne Shorter and Horace Silver. He unquestionably looks to expand upon the ...