Daniel Zimmermann

Trombonist for Claude Nougaro, Manu Dibango and Tony Allen, co-leader with Thomas de Pourquery of a band for 17 years, founder of a trio with Manu Codjia and Vincent Peirani in the 2000s, first prize winner in the soloist category at the Concours de La Défense in 2002, Daniel Zimmermann was the first trombonist to be nominated for the Victoires du Jazz awards in 2014 following the release of his album Bone Machine. Three years later, Montagnes Russes, released on Label Bleu, achieved a grand slam of awards from the specialist press, as did L'homme à tête de chou in Uruguay in 2023 (also nominated for Record of the Year at the Victoires).

Meanwhile, the more experimental Dichotomie's (2019) also enjoyed considerable critical success. At the same time, in 2022, he formed the duo ‘Deux souffleurs sur un fil’ with Éric Séva, featuring an original instrumentation, and joined the Trio Barolo.

He also performs regularly with the Orchestre National de Jazz, the Sacre du Tympan and Laurent de Wilde. Initially trained on the ‘contemporary music’ scene, he has since continued to multiply both his personal projects and his encounters with other cultures, integrating them over the years to develop a deeply personal style, combining the original expressiveness of the trombone with fluid and agile phrasing. The sound is clear, soft and piercing at the same time.

His style, both as a composer and soloist, is that of a melodist above all else; disregarding concepts, he sings and seeks to go straight to the heart. Daniel Zimmermann was voted ‘Trombonist of the Year’ by Jazz Magazine in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (an award created in 2021).

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