Drummer, Pete Zimmer, a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, moved to New York City in 2001 and has become a permanent fixture in the jazz scene since. He has received recognition from around the world as a drummer, composer, bandleader, sideman, clinician, producer, and record label entrepreneur. He has been hailed in leading publications such as Modern Drummer, “Zimmer’s drumming boast a crisp, swinging command with judicious musicality,” Down Beat Magazine,"Zimmer’s ride cymbal darts like sizzling popcorn,” and The New Yorker, “an alert drummer and engaging composer.”
Before moving to New York, Zimmer studied at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois and also at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts earning his bachelor’s degree. At the Conservatory he studied with master musicians such as Danilo Perez, Cecil McBee, George Garzone, Bob Moses, Jerry Bergonzi, and Bob Brookmeyer. Zimmer first gained national attention in 2000 as a member of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
After relocating from Boston to New York, Pete Zimmer launched his record label, Tippin’ Records in 2004. On September 7th, 2004, Tippin’ Records released Pete Zimmer’s debut album, Common Man, which the Philadelphia Daily News declared “an impressive debut.” Since that time, Zimmer has produced and released four additional CDs as a bandleader: Burnin’ Live at the Jazz Standard (2006), Judgment (2006, featuring George Garzone), and Chillin’ Live @ Jazz Factory (2008, featuring Jeremy Pelt). His fifth album as a leader, Prime of Life (featuring George Garzone and Peter Bernstein), was released in 2012 and was once again met with critical acclaimed from leading publications such as Cadence, “the playing here is impressive all the way through,” and JazzTimes, “A flexible rhythmist, Zimmer conjures a loping, insinuating groove.”
Since 2005 Zimmer has performed at many of the prestigious venues in New York City, such as the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Smalls Jazz Club, and Jazz at the Kitano, as well as touring much of the U.S.A. and also the United Kingdom including performances at London’s Ronnie Scotts and Pizza Express. He is a highly regarded educator having presented clinics at many collegiate jazz study programs including Indiana University, University of Colorado – Boulder, Loyola University (New Orleans), and University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. As of 2009 he is a faculty member at the New York Jazz Academy in New York City.
Pete Zimmer is a Yamaha Performing Artist and an endorsee of Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, and Evans Drumheads.
