Zach Adleman

NYC based drummer, Zach Adleman, has been playing drums since he was 6 years. While growing up in Montclair, New Jersey, he discovered his inspiration for music from his musical parents and neighbors. When he was 10 years old, he joined the Drums of Thunder percussion group, which travelled to perform at major sporting arenas on the East Coast (U.S Open, Madison Square Garden).

Zach Adleman has performed at venues and events, such as Carnegie Hall, the 57th Annual Grammy Awards After Parties, and the Newport Jazz Festival alongside jazz luminaries such as Wynton Marsalis, Rodney Whitaker, Mike LeDonne, Elio Villafranca, and Randy Brecker.  Additionally, he holds a GRAMMY for his percussion performance on Ted Nash’s album, the “Presidential Suite”, on the song “Water in Cupped Hands.”

In high school, Zach found his passion for jazz through Jazz House Kids and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra.  Zach chose to pursue his love for jazz at Michigan State University, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree for Jazz Performance in 2019.  While studying at MSU, Zach was asked to join eminent trombonist Michael Dease's band, which was documented on Dease’s 2018 album, "Reaching Out" for Posi-Tone Records.  One year later, Zach recorded “One-Track Mind,” as part of his co-led “Becoming Quintet”, which garnered reviews from JazzTimes and DownBeat magazine.

Throughout his career, Zach has received numerous honors including first prize at the 2017 J.C. Heard National Drum Competition.  He was also invited by Igor Butman to play in the “Future of Jazz” concert, in Moscow, Russia.   In addition, Zach has performed at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Smalls, Mezzrow, Smoke Jazz Club, Birdland, and toured in the United States, Switzerland, Italy, and Russia.  Zach is an alumni of the JAS Aspen Academy led by Christian McBride, the Ravinia Workshop led by Rufus Reid and Billy Childs, and the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program led by Jason Moran.

In pursuit of Zach’s passion to mix audio and visual works, Zach collaborated with the London Film School to score Oliver Coeffard’s film, “Lydia.”  Zach also pioneered his own collaboration, “We Make,” which combined two Juilliard dancers (Lindsay Phillips and Briana Del Mundo), a videographer, and a jazz quintet to speak on the pandemic. 

In 2019, Zach went on to study at the Juilliard School graduating with his Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance in 2021. 

Zach considers teaching one of his foremost passions in life.  In 2022, Zach joined the Calhoun Jazz and Percussion departments, teaching ensemble classes to high schoolers on the Upper West Side. In addition, he teaches weekly group drum lessons through the Jazz House Kids at Trinity Church program. For the 2022/2023 summers, Zach was asked to be on Stanford Jazz Faculty through their Jazz Mentor Fellowship Program.  He has served as faculty at the Jazz Institute at Brevard in North Carolina (Michael Dease dir.) in addition to working at the Jazz House Kids Summer Workshop in Montclair, New Jersey for five years. 

As a bandleader, he has premiered his original works at the Detroit Jazz Festival with Rodney Whitaker, Maureen’s Jazz Cellar, the East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s curated “Fall for Arts Festival” on Roosevelt Island. 

Zach’s mission is to use music to better people’s lives through joy and inspiration.

Awards

GRAMMY AWARD: Zach played percussion on the song "Water in Cupped Hands" by Ted Nash, on Mr. Nash's Presidential Suite album- 2017

J.C Heard National Drum Competition Winner- 2017

Juilliard Composers Concert- Zach's song "Ballad for the Night" was selected and featured in a concert featuring alumni composers