Hagen Zipf

Hagen Zipf (el-b): Der Heitere Himmel: "Hände zusammen"

Hagen Zipf played the electric bass on "Hände zusammen", a German indie pop 7" published on the now defunct Hausmusik label as hm015 by a band called Der Heitere Himmel. Now he's credited as a member of another indie group from Hamburg called Langstreckenläufer.

Evan Ziporyn

Evan Ziporyn (bcl,cl): [Bang on a Can & Don Byron: A Ballad for Many]

Evan Ziporyn (b. Chicago, Illinois, 1959) is an American composer of post-minimalist music and music for Balinese gamelans. He plays the clarinet, bass clarinet, and metallophone, borrowing from classical music, avant-garde, and jazz. A member of Bang on a Can All-Stars and a former member of Steve Reich and Musicians, he is Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), where he directs Gamelan Galak Tika, an ensemble made up of 30 MIT students, staff and community members, in the study and performing of traditional and modern Balinese music.
He has released albums on Cantaloupe, New Albion, New World, and CRI Emergency Music. As a performer, he has recorded for Nonesuch, Sony Classical, and Point Music. He has also composed music for Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, the American Composers Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Kronos Quartet, and the MIT Wind Ensemble.
(from Wikipedia)

It is quite interesting to hear one clarinetist (Don Byron) compose/arrange for another ensemble with clarinet-player (Bang on a Can with Evan Ziporyn). In general you can hear why Don Byron's always insisting that he doesn't want to be seen only as a jazz improviser: His insistance on not being labelled too easily is not only justified by his explorations of klezmer, funk, soul etc., but also by this compositional effort. And concerning the aforementioned clarinetist-relationship: I think both could let go. Ziporyn doesn't try to sound like Byron, but at the same time he cannot deny Byron's handwriting. And vice versa: Byron as composer and producer of this disc doesn't force Ziporyn to sound like he himself.

James C. "Jimmy" Zito

Jimmy Zito (tp,fr-h): [Frank Zappa: Lumpy Gravy track #2]

see also Frank Zappa
see also Tibor Zelig

Hm, I couldn't find a photo of Mr. Zito, but probably I just wasn't patient enough to keep searching. He's a session musician, presumably based in California, as he not only is credited to be a member of the Abnuceals Emuukha Symphony Orchestra, which recorded Lumpy Gravy with Frank Zappa, but also recorded for some (Hollywood) movie soundtracks (e.g. Young Man with a Horn and Ben Hur). The AMG credits list also lists albums of Clare Fisher and Elvis Presley with Zito's appearance.
Back to Lumpy Gravy: Certainly it's impossible to make out any individual voice from the orchestral parts of this recording, so we'll never know about the true sound of Jimmy Zito. And furthermore... the older I get, the more unbearable Lumpy Gravy (and most of Zappa's work) becomes to me, so I won't even try to figure out... But after all I think we shouldn't blame Jimmy Zito for the flaws of Zappa's "humour" and mentality.

Edit 2009-02-25: A kind reader has found a photo! And not only that. I learnt something more about this trumpeter. He was married for three months to Hollywood actress June Haver. The met in "Fio Rito Band", lost each other, met again, married, and were divorced again.
"Jimmy enjoys late night carousing with fellow band members. Drinking, a bad temperament and continued nights on the road all lead to a separation and divorce within three months." Well, this temperament seems to make him a good match for Zappa, huh?
Thanks to the anonymous reader for digging this information out!

James Zitro

James Zitro (dr): [Son­ny Sim­mons: Mu­sic from the Sphe­res] [Ja­mes Zit­ro: Zit­ro]

James Zitro is a Californian free jazz drummer originating from San Francisco. Besides a wonderul disc with Zitro as the leader on ESP Disk, he appears on recordings of Sonny Simmons and Bert Wilson.

Amir Ziv

Amir Ziv (dr): [David Watson: Skirl tracks #9,10]

On his myspace site he calls himself a "drummer, composer, leader of free men". He plays together with Marc Ribot, Cyro Baptista and Shahzad Ismaily in a band called Kotkot - never heard of them. The only portions of this Israel-born, New York-based drummer's performance known to me are two tracks on David Watson's Skirl album on the Avant label. Anybody knows more about it?

James Zollar

James Zollar (tp): [Don Byron: Bug Music tracks #1,14] [Don Byron: Nu Blaxploitation tracks #4,6,8,10,11] [Don Byron: You Are #6]

James Zollar is not only a son of Kansas City, he's also been impersonating Buck Clayton in Robert Altman's film "Kansas City" - you can have a few short glimpses at him in this youtube excerpt.

Attila Zoller

Attila Zoller (g): At­ti­la Zol­ler, Lee Ko­nitz & Al­bert Man­gels­dorff: Zo­Ko­Ma (tracks #1,2,5-11)] [At­ti­la Zol­ler, Hans Kol­ler & Mar­tial So­lal: Zo Ko So] Don Fried­man: „Spring Sign“ Don Fried­man: „Trou­ba­dours Groo­ve­dour“ Don Fried­man: „Wak­ing Up“

Zoller, Attila Cornelius, *13.6.1927 Visegrád (Ungarn), † 1998; jazz guitarist and composer, also plays bass and trumpet; settled in the USA in 1959, plays jazz since 1946. In 1948 he went to Vienna and was active in the German jazz scene from 1954 to 1959 (for instance together with Albert Mangelsdorff and Hans Koller). He studied at the School of Jazz in Lenox in the USA and played with Tony Scott, Chico Hamilton, Bobby Jaspar, Herbie Mann and others before he founded his own quartet. In 1965 he took part in the Newport Jazz Festival. He composed the film score to the movie Das Brot der frühen Jahre and wrote an introduction to guitar improvisation. He appears on numerous records of Jim Hall, Herbie Mann, Albert Mangelsdorff and Klaus Doldinger.

(after: Eduard Wolff, Heinrich Zelton: Gitarrenlexikon. Komponisten, Gitarristen, Technik, Geschichte. Hamburg: Nikol Verlagsgesell­schaft mbH o.J. (Edition Kultur & Wissen), S. 302.

Attila Zombori

Attila Zombori (dr,perc,guimbri): [Fred Frith: Middle of the Moment tracks #5,11]

I have no idea, what Zombori did between 1978/79 (when he was credited as the percussionist of the Hungarian avant-folk-rock group Kolinda) and 1995 (when he played on two tracks of Frith's Middle of the Moment). Therefore I also have no idea, how Zombori and Frith got together. There is a directory of Swiss pavers listing a man of the same name - so maybe he is earning his life as a craftsman? Or could he be the writer of a Hungarian sex novel? Or maybe even both?

Nicola Zonca

Nicola Zonca (marimba): [Fred Frith: Pacifia]

See also: Stefano Zorzanello

Nicola Zonca is a sound-designer from Bologna, who got a university degree in psychology before founding the sound studio ARKI. Studio Arki has worked - among many others - with Peter Greenaway. As a member of the Ensemble Eva Kant Zonca appears on Fred Frith's album Pacifica. I couldn't figure out, if he also played with the Eva Kant ensemble, when they were playing the music of Butch Morris.

John Zorn: Works, Collaborations, Appearances 1

John Zorn (as,cond): [Ma­sa­da: A­lef>] [John Zorn: Archery] [Marc Ri­bot: As­mo­deus – Book of An­gels Vol. 7 (comp,cond)] [Bob Oster­tag: At­ten­tion Span tracks #1-26] [Ma­sa­da: Beit] [Pain­kil­ler: Bu­ried Se­crets] [John Zorn: Cobra (Hat Hut)] [Da­vid Gar­land: Con­trol Songs track #6] [Butch Mor­ris: Cur­rent Trends in Ra­cism in Mo­dern Ame­ri­ca] [Kip Han­ra­han: De­si­re De­ve­lops an Ed­ge track #12] [John Zorn: Du­ras: Du­champ (comp,cond)] [John Zorn & Bobby Previte: Euclid's Nightmare]

John Zorn: Works, Collaborations, Appearances 2

John Zorn (as,composition): [Ma­sa­da: 50^th Birth­day Ce­le­bra­tion Vol. 7] [Pain­kil­ler: 50^thBirth­day Ce­le­bra­tion Vol. 12] [John Zorn: Film­works 1 – 1986- 1990] [John Zorn: Film­works 3 – 1990-1995] [John Zorn>: Film­works 4 – S&M # 5 (keyb)] [John Zorn: Film­works V: Tears of Ecs­ta­cy] [John Zorn: Film­works VI 1996] [John Zorn: Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d] [John Zorn: Film­works X] [John Zorn: Film­works XI] [John Zorn: Film­works XII (#1-6 org,p,harm)] [John Zorn: Film­works XV (el-p)] [John Zorn: Film­works XVI (org,ga­me­lan)] [John Zorn: Film­works XVII]

John Zorn: Works, Collaborations, Appearances 3

John Zorn (as): [John Zorn: From Si­len­ce to Sor­ce­ry] [John Zorn & Sato Michi­hi­ro: Gan­ryu Is­land] [Ma­sa­da: Gi­mel] [John Zorn: Godard/Spillane] [Na­ked Ci­ty: Grand Gui­gnol] [Painkiller: Guts of a Virgin] [Ma­sa­da: Het] [John Zorn: Hockey] [Ma­te­rial: Im­pro­vi­sed Mu­sic New York 1981] [John Zorn: Kris­tall­nacht] [Masada: Live] [Masada: Live in Taipei 1995] [O.L.D.: Lo Flux Tu­be track #4] [Eu­ge­ne Chad­bour­ne: LSD C&W CD1 tracks #1-7 CD2 track #10]

John Zorn: Works, Collaborations, Appearances 4

John Zorn (as): [John Zorn: Music Romance Vol. 1: Music for Children tracks #4,6,7] [Na­ked Ci­ty: Na­ked Ci­ty] [John Zorn, Geor­ge Le­wis, Bill Fri­sell: News for Lu­lu] [Pri­ma Ma­te­ria: Pea­ce on Earth tracks #1,3] [Pre­lap­se: Pre­lap­se tracks #3,6,7,13,14,18,19,21-23] [Na­ked Ci­ty: Ra­dio] [Painkiller: Rituals] [Frank London: Scientist at Work track #6] [Ste­ve Be­res­ford: Sig­nals for Tea] [Bla­de­run­ner: South­street Sea­port Sta­dium (Bootleg)] [John Zorn: Spy vs. Spy] [The In­ter­ga­lac­tic Mai­den Or­ches­tra: Squa­re Dan­ce tracks #2,4,7,8] [Fred Frith: Tech­no­lo­gy of Tears tracks #1-3]

John Zorn: Works, Collaborations, Appearances 5

John Zorn (as) [Eu­ge­ne Chad­bour­ne: 2000 Sta­tues and The Eng­lish Chan­nel] [Ma­sa­da: Vav] [Bla­de­run­ner: Vic­to­ria­vil­le (Bootleg)] [Cy­ro Bap­tis­ta: Vi­ra Lou­cos] [Son­ny Clark Me­mo­rial Quar­tet: Voo­doo] [Oto­mo Yo­shi­hi­de: We Insist? tracks #9,14] [Weird Litt­le Boy: s/t] [Ma­sa­da: Za­yin]

John Zorn - Some pieces

John Zorn (as): „Con­tact“ (voc, arr) Me­des­ki, Mar­tin & Wood: „Dra­cu­la” (DJ Logic Remix) Fred Frith & John Zorn : „Hous­ton Street“ John Zorn: „Der klei­ne Leut­nant des lie­ben Got­tes” Half Ja­pa­ne­se: „Should I Tell Her?“ John Zorn: "Shuffle Boil"

Terezie Zoubková

Terezie Zoubková (tb): Chor­chestr: [Arabigbit]


Terezie Zoubková is the trombonist in the horn section of Chorchestr, a funk+ska group from Brno, Moravia. From their label site Indies.eu you can get a free mp3 download of "Hey Gringo" or buy the whole album download for USD 3.26 or EUR 2.95. This group is usually described as playing a blend of funk, jazz and rock in a fresh way. Their debut album has been produced by Pavel Fajt. If you can read Czech, here's a band interview, though we only hear one thing from Terezie Zoubková: that she's not a football fan.

Stefano Zorzanello

Stefano Zorzanello (fl) [Fred Frith: Pacifica] N.O.R.M.A., Chris Cutler & Phil Minton: „Trains Tango"

See also: Nicola Zonca (Pacifica)

Kevin Zubek

Kevin Zubek (dr):

Sat­lah: “Ne­va­lah>”
see also: Daniel Zamir

Le­mon Jui­ce Quar­tet: “Pe­li­yot”

Kevin Zubek attended the Berkley College of Music, when Eyal Maoz and Ezra Shanir Blumenkranz relocated the Lemon Juice Quartet from Israel to New York. They met and Zubir joined this band. Zubek also plays with Daniel Zamir in the group Satlah and collaborated with Jürg Wickihalder and Daniel Carter.

Bojan Zulfikarpasic

Bojan Zulfikarpasić (p,el-p): [Hen­ri Te­xier Quar­tet: An In­dian's Week]

Multiple prize awarded jazz pianist Bojan Z was born in a music loving family in Belgrade in 1968. He starts playing the piano at the age of 5. “In my country, music is a very widespread activity, and since working days finish quite early, family and friends would gather at my parent’s house as early as 3 o’clock in the afternoon to socialize and play music until late at night. I used to go to sleep listening to these Yugoslavian folksongs. Then I discovered Bach, Ravel and Debussy through my teachers, The Beatles – thanks to a friend – and Brazilian music with my father. I played these tunes by ear, trying to find the right chords, which already amounts to a jazz attitude”. As a teenager, while continuing his lessons in music school, he starts playing in bands and becomes known musician on the Yugoslav jazz and rock scene (resulting in 1989 in receiving the award for Best Young Jazz Musician of Yugoslavia).

In 1986 he receives a scholarship to study three months with Clare Fischer at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan in the USA. Then, after his military service in former Yugoslavia, where in the army orchestra he discovers the richness of traditional Balkan music, he moves to Paris in 1988, to become in a few years time an unavoidable name in French jazz. He applies for the CIM, a school of reference for many young artists, where he quickly settles in and starts working with other musicians. With guitarist Noël Akchoté he plays all the Parisian bars and clubs, both as a duo and in quintet formation. Next to that he starts playing with contemporaries like Julien Lourau, Magic Malik and others.

The rise to recognition begins in 1990. Replacing the pianist of bassist Marc Buronfosse’s quartet (with François Merville on drums and Julien Lourau on sax), Bojan wins the prize for best soloist at the ’Concours de la Défense’ and his appearance does not go unnoticed by some of France’s biggest names in jazz.

From 1991 he starts working with famous French double bass player Henri Texier in his successful Azur Quartet, later followed by clarinettist Michel Portal, both of them bringing him on to the big stages of France, Europe and further. With his special language – consisting of a mature jazz vocabulary with subtly dosed folkloric influences from the Balkans – Bojan leaves an indelible imprint on all the groups he plays with.

Apart from playing and recording as a sideman, Bojan leads his own formations.

In 1993 he starts his collaboration with Label Bleu with the debut album of the Bojan Z Quartet, which he recorded in New York, followed by Yopla!, his second quartet recording, released in 1995. In 1999, he releases his successful multi-ethnical project Koreni, inviting eight musicians from different horizons among whom Algerian percussionist Karim Ziad, Turkish ney master Kudsi Erguner, Macedonian rock guitarist Vlatko Stefanovski and some old friends from Belgrade, bassists Predrag Revisin and Vojin Draskoci.

After some years of thought and reflection on the endeavour of solo piano playing, Bojan records his internationally praised and revered cd Solobsession, released in 2001. This album, full of superb compositions and out-of-the-ordinary piano playing, confirms once again his status as a jazz pianist who resembles no other, with seemingly unlimited talents.

As well with the groups of musicians like Texier, Portal and Lourau, as with his own bands, trio and solo he’s been playing at big festivals like Montreal, North Sea Jazz, Paris Jazz Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac, La Roque d'Anthéron etc. and in famous concert halls like Palau de la Musica in Barcelona and Konzerthaus Wien.

In 2002 Bojan Zulfikarpasic is granted the title of Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and receives the Prix Django Reinhardt for Musician of the Year from the French Académie du Jazz.

His fifth album for Label Bleu, his first in trio format "Transpacifik" marks the beginning of colaborations with american musicians, such as bassist Scott Colley and New York jazz drummer Nasheet Waits.
It was recorded in New York in 2003. Since he's playing with Ben Perowsky, or Ari Hoenig on drums and the great french bassist Remi Vignolo.

In 2005 he was awarded the "European Jazz Prize" ( Hans Koller Prize) as the best european jazz artist.

His 2006 CD "Xenophonia" has won the prize "Les victoires du jazz 2007" as the best album of the year.

His last project "Tetraband" with Brooklyn-based trombonist Josh Roseman, Londoner drummer Seb Rochford and bassist Ruth Goller will be released on Universal Jazz France in october 2009.

(From Zulfikarpasić's Website)

An Indian's Week is available as a CD from Disques Office, Amazon, and as a download from Emusic, Amazon, and Itunes.

Ras I. Zulu

Ras I. Zulu (voc) [William S. Burroughs & Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Spare Ass Annie and Other Stories (tracks #9,10,14)]

Rick Zunigar

Rick Zunigar (g): [Clare Fischer: Latin Patterns]

Itibere Zwarg

Itiberê Zwarg (el-b,cond,tu,whistle,el-p,voc,fx): [Itiberê Orquestra Familia: Calendario do Som] [Her­me­to Pas­coal: Her­me­to Pas­coal e Grupo]



Itiberê Zwarg is a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist playing basses, keyboard instruments, whistles, other wind instruments and caring about sound design and effects. Among others he worked with Hermeto Pascoal, Marcio Bahia, and Steffen Schorn. He's leading his own quintet and a large-scale group ("Itiberê Orquestra Familia"). In the latter group he is not only working out his own harmonically rich compositions, but also keeps an eye focussed on the musical education of younger musicians in the Rio de Janeiro area.
Calendario do Som is available via Amazon, Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo seems to be out of print. Unfortunately I couldn't spot any legal download services for these albums.

Mike Zwerin

Mike Zwerin (tb,b-tp): [Miles Davis: The Complete Birth of the Cool tracks #13-25] [George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band: George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band] Sting & Dominic Muldowney: "The Ballad of Mac the Knife" Miles Da­vis: „Mo­ve“ [Birth of the Cool]

After working as a trombone player he concentrated more on becoming a jazz critic. He died just recently in June 2010. Dave Liebman wrote about him in his newsletter:

He was originally a trombonist involved with the “Birth of the Cool” recording in 1949, but for the past decades he served as the jazz writer for the International Herald Tribune in Paris. Mike knew his stuff and was very supportive of the musicians, always giving us a plug in spite of the obvious commercial pressures that are part and parcel of any commercial organization like the Tribune.

Lukasz Zyta

Łukasz Zyta (dr) Ja­ro­mír Hon­zák Quin­tet: „Hi“ [Present Past]

Something strange

Hm, time to get going again, isn't it?
Well, think so.
Had an idea.
Will do something strange.
You maybe won't figure out at first glance what's going on here, but with the time being...