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Andy Zimmerman: Half Light

By Karl Ackermann
May 24, 2018
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Saxophonist Andy Zimmerman is not a household name. The native Chicagoan has been composing, performing, and teaching music for more than two decades. In part, he comes to the subscription-based vinyl label Newvelle by virtue of a long association with the label's co-founder

Elan Mehler

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Elan Mehler, himself an accomplished jazz pianist. Mehler and Zimmerman played together at New York University, toured in Europe and recorded on Mehler's debut album. Much of Zimmerman's recent work has been as a musical accompanist to his author/storyteller father, Jack.

On Zimmerman's debut as leader, Half Light, the group is outstanding. After forty recordings as a leader, and with top-tier artists from

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Frisell to

Tom Waits

piano and vocals
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Waits,

Dave Douglas

trumpet
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Douglas needs no introduction.

Kevin Hays

piano
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Kevin Hays deserves far more recognition than he has received to date. Having been recruited by

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins back in 1995, Hays has gone on to record twenty albums as a leader/co-leader, including duo recordings with

Brad Mehldau

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brad Mehldau, and with

Lionel Loueke

guitar
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Lionel Loueke on an earlier Newvelle release, Hope (2017). Bassist Matt Penman has appeared on close to three-dozen albums, working with

Joshua Redman

saxophone
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Joshua Redman,

Chris Cheek

saxophone
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Cheek,

Nils Wogram

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Nils Wogram and the SF Jazz Collective, to name just a few.

Zimmerman wrote seven of the eleven tracks on Half Light and, while his approach is often low-key, there is a great deal of nuanced variability on the program.

Hermeto Pascoal

multi-instrumentalist
1936 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Hermeto Pascoal's "Montreux" is only slightly less bucolic than the flautist's original, and here with a touch of Eastern European flavor. "Sunset and the Mockingbird" is a movement from "The Queen's Suite" by

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington. Although the song was not originally a blues tune (but with a bluesy sound) Zimmerman emphasizes those qualities in his stunning version of it.

On his own compositions, Zimmerman floats from more complex and heavier qualities for slower tempos, to clear and more agile timbres for the faster ones. In the first case—as on "Golden Hours"—Zimmerman's saxophone, in combination with Douglas' muted trumpet, creates an effect that is dream-like and mesmerizing. The drummer-less quartet benefits from Penman, who keeps things in sync, subtly adding his accents and accompaniments to advance the music, even as the rest of the group trades-off in developing the music. Half Light is beautifully recorded and Zimmerman's strikingly-original compositions deserve to be heard.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Side A: Half Light; Clearing; Orr Springs Road; Montreux; The Bay Area; Two Sapphires. Side B: Crossing Iowa; Bess You Is My Woman Now; Lena��s Dance; Sunset and the Mockingbird; Golden Hours.

Personnel

Andy Zimmerman

saxophone

Andy Zimmerman: tenor saxophone; Dave Douglas: trumpet; Kevin Hays: piano; Matt Penman: bass.

Album information

Title: Half Light | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Newvelle Records

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