Jazz Articles about Pete Zimmer

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 ...

Pete Zimmer: Chillin' Live @ Jazz Factory

by David A. Orthmann
July 30, 2008

In an era when serving a lengthy apprenticeship in a working band is no longer an option, young players who shun fashionable pop-influenced sounds in favor of traditional jazz styles must be very resourceful. Thirty-year-old drummer/composer/bandleader Pete Zimmer balances a desire to extend the modern straight-ahead mainstream into the twenty-first century and the ability to support his ambitions by taking care of the business that surrounds the music. Shortly after arriving in New York City in 2001, Zimmer put together ...

Pete Zimmer: The Wonder of Waukesha

by Jason Crane
June 29, 2007

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 at Cecil's Jazz Club

by David A. Orthmann
September 25, 2006

Pete Zimmer Quintet Cecil's Jazz Club West Orange, NJ August 11, 2006

An enterprising young drummer, composer, and bandleader, Pete Zimmer stakes his claim inside of the broad parameters of hard bop. Throughout a pair of releases on Zimmer's Tippin' Records label, Common Man and Burnin' Live At The Jazz Standard, all of the essential elements fall into place. A tight, efficient band forges a balanced ensemble sound; three primary soloists, tenor saxophonist Joel ...