Primary Instrument: Piano
Born 1963 and educated in Boston, MA USA, Eric Zinman began piano studies at age 7. At age 11 he sang in a boy's soprano choir in Donald Martino's opera THE DIVINE COMEDY in the 70's. He continued to sing in musicals and choirs throughout his childhood and teenage years and piano studies with Angel Ramon Rivera, and jazz with Paul Barringer, and Don Hemwall. As a teenager he says he discovered Black Music and became completely immersed in that approach. He met musician/composer Bill Dixon
Bill Dixon
1925 - 2010
trumpet
in 1981. Zinman considers this the turning point in his musical life. Mr. Zinman also speaks highly of his studies with musician/pianist/composer Naqi Qamar. He continued his studies of modern music at the New England Conservatory of Music with Ran Blake
Ran Blake
b.1935
piano
, Jimmy Giuffre
Jimmy Giuffre
1921 - 2008
clarinet
, and George Russell where he received an MM degree in 1985.
At the forefront of creative music for more than 20 years, Eric Zinman’s piano playing is known internationally and has been described as a “fleet and appealing touch”. Rooted in the language of the avant garde, his vision embraces the role of the piano in the orchestras of the future, the piano’s relation to the trap set drums, its touch, the way it can surround the other instruments and mark varying shifts in weight, the way the piano can also move lyrically within the whole from varying densities of sound masses to sparkling melodies spanning the whole keyboard.
“I am interested in the sensual nature of sound, with the piano that is first and foremost TOUCH. FORM, then, is a manifestation from beginning to end of dynamics and within that the phrasing, silence and an arresting balance between the pedaled and un-pedaled sounds. Dynamics is Rhythm. Rhythm is form.”
Eric Zinman has played with Craig Schildhauer, Raqib Hassan, Toshi Makihara, Sabir Mateen
Sabir Mateen
b.1951
multi-instrumentalist
, Marco Eneidi
Marco Eneidi
saxophone
, Lisle Ellis, Peter Valsamis, Tatsuya Nakatani
Tatsuya Nakatani
b.1970
percussion
, Glynis Lomon
Glynis Lomon
cello
and Blaise Siwula
Blaise Siwula
b.1950
saxophone
, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky
Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky
b.1933
, Jan Roder, Thomas Rehnert, John Voigt
John Voigt
bass, acoustic
and Laurence Cook
Laurence Cook
b.1939
drums
, Benjamin Duboc and Didier Lasserre
Didier Lasserre
b.1971
drums
, Mario Rechtern
Mario Rechtern
b.1942
multi-instrumentalist
, Fritz Novotny, and many others. Mr. Zinman has also composed music for dance and theatre using verbal directives as well as graphic scores and with painters and poets. He has written about music and musicians and is recorded on Ayler, and Cadence Records.
In 2005 Eric Zinman founded New Language Collaborative with cellist Glynis Loman and percussionist Syd Smart
Syd Smart
drums
. Not excluding his work with percussionist Laurence Cook, New Language Collaborative has become the life blood of Mr. Zinman’s work in the US.
Photo Credit Mark Porter
