Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Pete Zimmer: Prime of Life

Pete Zimmer: Prime of Life

By Dan McClenaghan
January 2, 2012
View read count

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

guitar
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Bernstein, who has worked extensively with organists

Melvin Rhyne

organ, Hammond B3
1936 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Melvin Rhyne and

Larry Goldings

organ, Hammond B3
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Goldings, is a tangy presence here, whether laying down a slow, thoughtful, single-noting solo on "Tranquility," or with his ringing, organ-like chording on "Carefree."

George Garzone

saxophone, tenor
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">George Garzone fronts this quartet outing. The somewhat underappreciated saxophonist seems to fall into the "musicians' musician" category, like

Joe Henderson

saxophone
1937 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Henderson prior to the late saxophonist's late-career breakout recording, So Near, So Far (Musings for Miles) (Verve, 1992). Like Henderson, Garzone solos with a labyrinthine eloquence, smoking in front of bassist

Peter Slavov

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Slavov's always solid, always subtle pulse and Zimmer's relentless simmer on "T.T.T.," one of three tunes Garzone contributes to this otherwise all-Zimmer-penned outing.

Where Garzone's "T.T.T" runs hot, Zimmer's "Night Vision" rides on a cool and laidback cruise control. It's a fluid roll, like a big new American-made sedan following its headlights along a freshly-paved highway, on a straight shot through the darkness over gentle rises and falls.

"Almost Home," at just a notch above ballad tempo, features Garzone's most beautiful blowing, and a very piquant solo by Bernstein, leading into the controlled burn of the closer, "The Three Petes," with Garzone—the group's only "non-Pete"—serving up another of his engagingly circuitous saxophone soliloquies.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Prime of Life; One for GG; Tranquility; Carefree; Strollin' Down Bourbon Street; T.T.T.; Night Vision; Almost Home; The Three Petes.

Personnel

Pete Zimmer

drums

Pete Zimmer: drums; George Garzone: tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein: guitar; Peter Slavov: bass.

Album information

Title: Prime of Life | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Tippin' Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Primal Odyssey
< Previous

Francois Carrier Trio Live in Russia
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.