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Zach Bartholomew

Zach Bartholomew is an up-and-coming jazz pianist based out of Tallahassee, FL.

About Me

Zach Bartholomew was born on March 13th, 1986, in Tallahassee, FL. He grew up south of Tallahassee in the small town of Sopchoppy, and began taking piano lessons when he was 11 years old. During high school he played in the jazz band for two years, but it wasn't until after a visit to New Orleans with his family that he truly became interested in jazz. When he was 17 years old he began studying periodically with Professor Bill Peterson at Florida State University, and attended the FSU Honors Jazz Camp during the summer. After a year of studying jazz and practicing, he successfully auditioned into the Jazz Program at Florida State University. While at FSU, Zach was able to take several private lessons with pianist Marcus Roberts as well as work with Roberts, Roland Guerin, Rodney Jordan, and Jason Marsalis in small group and trio settings. In May of 2009 he earned a Bachelors of Arts in Music and graduated magna cum laude.

During his time at FSU, Zach has been taking up gigs all over the panhandle region. In 2007 he began playing on a regular basis with his good friend David Smith (trombone) in the Dave Smith Quartet. After a year or so playing as a sideman, Zach formed his own trio; which was featured on Tallahassee jazz radio station WJZT’s website in the fall of 2008. In 2009, his trio was featured in Florida State University’s newspaper, FSView. Currently, he performs with his trio, a quartet, and accompanies a variety of vocalists across Florida.

Zach Bartholomew has a bold, unique approach to the piano which draws from influences ranging from James P. Johnson to Brad Mehldau. He uses intricate rhythms and melodic lines for building and developing ideas while improvising. In addition to the intellectual complexities of Zach’s approach, there is a deep-rooted sense of swing at the foundation of everything he plays

Zach has experience performing in a wide variety of settings, which include playing at restaurants, clubs, wedding receptions, private parties, pageants, and music festivals, such as B-Sharps Jazz Café, Jazz Club of Sarasota, and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa. In addition to playing as a sideman and leading his trio, Zach performs in other musical contexts such as solo piano gigs, duo concerts with horn players and bassists, and accompanying vocalists.