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Take Five With Patrick Zimmerli
New York-and Paris-based composer/saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli writes a sophisticated yet approachable hybrid of contemporary classical and jazz music. Recent collaborators include
Joshua Redman
saxophoneb.1969
Brad Mehldau
pianob.1970
Brian Blade
drumsb.1970
Luciana Souza
vocalsZimmerli has written numerous orchestral, chamber and choral works, including two four-movement Piano Trios for the Seattle Chamber Music Festival and two four-movement Piano Concertos with jazz percussion, written for the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and pianists
Ethan Iverson
pianob.1973
Zimmerli's Aspects of Darkness and Light, an evening-length work commissioned by the Seattle Commissioning Club, was recently recorded by Joshua Redman, Brooklyn Rider, bassist Scott Colley and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi for Nonesuch Recordings (Warner) and is slated for early 2016 release. Upcoming projects include a large-scale oratorio for male choir, operatic tenor, jazz percussion and piano on the work of Alan Seeger, to be premiered at the storied Invalides in Paris in 2016; and a collaboration with the Paris Percussion Group and choreographer Bruno Bouché to premiere at the 2017 Cannes International Festival of Dance.
Zimmerli was just awarded the 2015 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. He was also the winner of the CLICK People's Orchestral Commission from the Colorado Music Festival. Other commissions have come from the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, the Ying String Quartet, Brown University, violinist Timothy Fain, and the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. From 2002-05, Zimmerli served as Composer in Residence with the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. Awards include first prize in the first annual BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute Composers' Competition.
Zimmerli music has been featured in MoMA's Summergarden series, at the Guggenheim Museum, on NPR and at the Jazz Composers' Collective. His work has been recorded on the Naxos, Nonesuch (Warner), Blue Note, Arabesque, Antilles, Songlines, Jazz City and Na?ve labels.
Instrument(s):
Composer/saxophonist
Teachers and/or influences?
I've had a million influences, and I write many styles of music where different influences come to the fore, but my first love was straight-ahead jazz, I loved Bird and Trane and Miles from the '60s and Wayne and Sonny and Monk and all the rest. I think that music has an enduring influence on whatever I do.
As far as teachers, again, I've had countless. I've learned maybe the most from listening to/transcribing/studying the great masters, in both classical and jazz domains; But I've also been formed through lessons with many amazing musicians, from
Jerry Bergonzi
saxophone, tenorb.1947
Joe Lovano
drumsb.1952
But I guess really my best teachers have been my colleagues. To list just some examples, the great violinist/conductor Scott Yoo, Tim Fain, Andy Lin, Yoon Kwon, Colin and Eric Jacobsen and Nick Cords and Johnny Gandlesman of Brooklyn Rider, and many other classical string players with whom I've worked;
Kevin Hays
pianob.1968
Scott Colley
bassb.1963
Larry Grenadier
bass, acousticb.1966
Jeff Williams
drums
Ben Monder
guitarb.1962
Bill Stewart
drumsb.1966
Leon Parker
drumsb.1965
Jon Gordon
saxophone, alto
Tim Ries
saxophoneI knew I wanted to be a musician when...
It became apparent that I wasn't going to have a career as a baseball player—which happened around my first month in little league, I think I broke the record for lowest batting average ever!
Your sound and approach to music.
As a composer you can have many "sounds" and approaches, since you write for different people, and each piece you write can have a completely different point of view. That's the beauty of composition. As an instrumentalist it's more specific and personal of course, and I've worked really hard to develop a pure tone and approach that's akin to a classical technique on saxophone. I carry that approach on soprano, while on tenor, I have a slightly "dirtier" or funkier sound.
If there was one thing I want to accomplish as both a composer and player, it's that old cliché of "tell a story." I want all my music to engage listeners, to take them on a journey, express a point of view and a kind of narrative that has a beginning, middle, and end. Even my most avant-garde-sounding music has that quality.
Your teaching approach
Again, I've taught a lot of different things, from basic classical theory and ear training to composition, orchestration, and jazz improvisation. I've also done quite a bit of coaching to my colleagues if they have a particularly difficult musical challenge. In each situation I think the priority is to inspire, to instill almost a desperation for excellence, the idea to not stop until you've gone as far and as high as you can go. That, as well as a really positive mindset and approach to problem solving.
Your dream band
As a composer I don't think in these terms exactly, since to me there are many ideal ensembles with potentially great sounds, in different styles. How can you compare the
Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
In terms of ideal collaborators, I love working with musicians who are completely open and flexible in terms of approach, because what I bring is something they often haven't done before, and often stretches their boundaries; and also musicians that have the power to really connect emotionally with each other on stage, and to an audience.
Road story: Your best or worst experience
Well, I remember one time I was touring with the
T.S. Monk
drumsb.1949
I should mention that T.S. was amazingly knowledgeable about jazz, I guess this should come as no surprise but we would be listening to jazz radio in the van and whatever classic jazz would come on T.S. would be singing along, including all the solos! It was pretty remarkable.
Favorite venue
My favorite venue is probably Wigmore Hall in London. It's an old-school place, an intimate venue with a gorgeous, warm acoustic, and it's got an amazing history—many premieres of works by Britten and other composers took place there, and they are extremely welcoming to composers.
I had the honor of playing there when I was invited by Joshua Redman to premiere the piece I wrote for him, Aspects of Darkness and Light. It was all acoustic, and Josh just played his ass off on that occasion. It was frankly just pretty cool to be up on stage having one of the best seats in the house to hear that.
Your favorite recording in your discography and why?
This is a tough one, it's like asking to play favorites from among your children! I guess I would have to go with my Piano Trios, my first recording with a classical ensemble. I feel like the performances, by Scott Yoo on Violin, Michael Mermagen on Cello, and John Novacek on piano, are so passionate and vivid and really render the pieces so well, which are in a way very traditional pieces but also extremely personal, some of the best writing I had done for classical players to date.
What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?
I've had a few different periods, and each has contributed different things, but I feel throughout that my most important contribution is originality, a totally unique sound. My early music was coming from jazz but incorporated a lot of techniques from contemporary classical composers. It always used time, harmony, and melody but in a way that was so complex and abstract it was hard even for musicians to hear what was going on. Examples are my first two CDs came out on Songlines—Explosion and Expansion, featuring
Ben Monder
guitarb.1962
In the late 1990s I began writing for classical ensembles, slowing things down, stressing more melodic elements of my music and writing something that, while still having depth, would be appreciable by a wider audience. This style proved very successful and resulted in multiple commissions from classical ensembles. I was really at the beginning of my maturity as a composer and I'm very proud of that music, which delivers a powerful emotional message in a way that people can hear.
More recently I've been doing collaborations, with jazz musicians such as Brad Mehldau, Josh Redman, and
Luciana Souza
vocalsDid you know...
That Rockefeller Center in New York is actually a PARED DOWN version of what was supposed to be the first fully autonomous architectural city, a place that noone would ever have to leave, designed by the visionary Raymond Hood in the 1930s?
That legendary jazz alto player
Gigi Gryce
saxophone1927 - 1983
The first jazz album I bought was:
Honestly I don't remember!
Music you are listening to now:
I very rarely listen to albums anymore, so many things come across my email and through google that I wind up listening online most of the time. That said, here are some things I've been checking out:
Lisa Bielawa: Vireo (contemporary opera in TV series format feat. Kronos Quartet)
Tommy Flanagan: Trio 1957
Mark Steinberg and Mitsiko Uchida: Mozart Violin Sonatas
Stan Getz: Children of the World (Lalo Shifrin compositions/arrangements!)
American Composers Orchestra: Sonic Double Live (recent orchestral premieres)
Desert Island picks:
Not sure I'd bring music to a desert Island, I have a lot in my head, and would like to make some more up. I would definitely bring some books though, The Complete Works of Shakespeare and an anthology of English Poetry, Also Rilke or Holderlin and a German dictionary (would be a good chance to get my German together!)
How would you describe the state of jazz today?
Well I actually wouldn't know. There are so many things happening and many scenes and I don't know all of them. I feel like it would be really presumptuous of me to make some sweeping statement. Also things are always moving, changing, transforming. Just when you think you have an overall vision/theory something comes along to prove you wrong.
It's tempting to focus on negative trends. But when you hear someone like
Joshua Redman
saxophoneb.1969
Brad Mehldau
pianob.1970
Kevin Hays
pianob.1968
Billy Hart
drumsb.1940
Jeff Tain Watts
drumsb.1960
Gary Versace
pianoJazz may be out of the mainstream, but sometimes in genres where there's less focus on media attention people are freed up to pursue their artistic visions, and can do some great things. I think we're in a time like that now.
What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?
That said, the one thing I might like to see more of is musicians going for a broader cultural relevance. There are a lot of artists who get by through "narrowcasting," appealing to few fans but who worldwide make up enough of a public to sustain them. But that leaves out a lot of listeners.
There are artists working on relevance in different ways, from The Bad Plus to Wynton Marsalis. But it's a tricky puzzle—you don't want to pigeonhole the music as something with only historical relevance, or on the other hand to trivialize it. Anyway broader cultural relevance is pretty difficult to manufacture.
What is in the near future?
- Upcoming release of "Shores Against Silence" with " data-original-title="" title="">Kevin Hays,
Kevin Hays
piano
b.1968" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Grenadier, andLarry Grenadier
bass, acoustic
b.1966
" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Rainey on Songlines RecordingsTom Rainey
drums
b.1957 - Curating the IN/TER\SECT festival of jazz and classical music in NYC's Bryant Park.
- Playing on the last IN/TER\SECT concert of 2016 (August 26) with my American Quintet: Kevin Hays, Rhodes, Or Matias, piano, Satoshi Takeishi and John Hadfield, percussion.
- Premiere of my Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Commission "Clockworks" at Le Poisson Rouge, Sept 10, 2016 (record release concert for Shores Against Silence) with " data-original-title="" title="">Ethan Iverson,
Ethan Iverson
piano
b.1973
" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Tordini,Chris Tordini
bass, acoustic
" data-original-title="" title="">John Hollenbeck. (Performance also at Ars Nova in Philadelphia)John Hollenbeck
drums
b.1968 - Forthcoming album of compositions for " data-original-title="" title="">Joshua Redman, Brooklyn Rider String Quartet,
Joshua Redman
saxophone
b.1969" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Colley on bass, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion, on Nonesuch Records, 2017.Scott Colley
bass
b.1963 - Paris Performances in November with European Trio, featuring
" data-original-title="" title="">Michel Reis on piano andMichel Reis
piano
" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Ballard on drums.Jeff Ballard
drums
b.1963 - Composition of an Oratorio for Chorus, Operatic Tenor Soloist, Piano (Thomas Enhco) and Percussion (Jeff Ballard) based on the writings of WWI poet ALAN SEEGER to be premiered at the Invalides in Paris, June 2017
I get pretty nervous to perform but I take that as a sign that I care really passionately about how the music sounds. I probably have a lot of fears but I prefer to focus on what's super exciting about performing, the chance to share my music with an audience and play with amazing musicians!
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Brahms German Requiem? Can we get a full orchestra and chorus and soloists for my funeral? That would be great!
What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower?
I usually sing a straight-up rhythm changes to my 11 month old daughter, but for copyright reasons I usually start right at the blowing.
If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:
Writer certainly, but for an "un-creative" pursuit I would love to be a librarian, being surrounded by all that knowledge must be so endlessly fascinating and inspiring!
If I could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?I've been reading a little about Gigi Gryce, he seems like a really fascinating, unsung figure, and I'm very drawn to his playing. I'd love the chance to hang with him.
Tags
Patrick Zimmerli
Take Five With...
Joshua Redman
brad mehldau
Brian Blade
Luciana Souza
Ethan Iverson
Jerry Bergonzi
joe lovano
Kevin Hays
Scott Colley
Larry Grenadier
Jeff Williams
Ben Monder
Bill Stewart
Leon Parker
Jon Gordon
Tim Ries
Keith Jarrett
T.S. Monk
London
Gigi Gryce
Paris
Billy Hart
Jeff "Tain" Watts
Gary Versace
Tom Rainey
Chris Tordini
John Hollenbeck
Philadelphia
Michel Reis
Jeff Ballard
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