Simon Zimbardo

Simon Zimbardo (* 1971 in Kassel ) is a German drummer and music teacher .

Life

Simon Zimbardo studied drums at the University of Kassel and the Mainz University of Music , where he graduated in 1998 with a diploma for jazz / jazz-related music. He then completed the popular music course at the Hamburg University of Music and Theater. He won several first prizes at the state and national competition "Jugend jazzt", both as a soloist and with the quintet "Naima" with Christian Weidner (sax), Christian Meyers (tp), Markus Horn (p) and Hanns Höhn (b ). Concert tours for the Goethe Institute and the German Music Council took him together with the quintet to several countries in Europe and Southeast Asia.

Parallel to his studies, he played in various ensembles, including a quartet with Corinna Danzer and Martin Lejeune . As a drummer in the Hessen State Youth Jazz Orchestra, he was trained from 1993 to 1997 by lecturers such as John Clayton , Jiggs Whigham , Michael Küttner and Ray Brown and accompanied soloists such as Albert Mangelsdorff , Don Menza , Dee Daniels , Silvia Droste , Tony Lakatos , Randy Brecker , Bill Ramsey and Ack van Rooyen . He has given concerts with the ensemble throughout Germany as well as in Hungary, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Together with the bassist Hanns Höhn and the pianist Markus Horn , he played in jazz symphonic and film music projects with philharmonic orchestras from Germany, Hungary and Romania.

He drew further influences from master classes and encounters with Terry Bozzio , Peter Erskine , Jeff Hamilton , Udo Dahmen and Matt Wilson .

Simon Zimbardo's musical focus is on the big band, various jazz ensembles and the accompaniment of artists and ensembles live and in the studio. He played in numerous theater and musical productions in major German cities. Between 1999 and 2005 he conducted the Darmstadt Downtown Big Band, then other big bands in the Rhine-Main area. In Mainz he is the drummer of the msschmitt jazz orchestra, which sets compositions and arrangements by saxophonist and arranger Martin Schmitt live and in the studio.

In 2006 the organist and composer Thomas Gabriel from Seligenstadt wrote “Momo”, an abstract concert in twelve pictures for church organ and drum set, which Gabriel and Zimbardo performed several times throughout Germany. A number of other joint projects, CD productions and world premieres of Thomas Gabriel's compositions followed.

Since 2008 Simon Zimbardo has been playing together with the bassist Ralf Cetto in a trio with the Azerbaijani pianist and singer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh . Concert tours have taken the trio through Germany as well as to England, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Serbia, Cyprus, Austria, Turkey and Azerbaijan. During a tour through Europe in 2009, the trio performed at the jazz festival in Montreux . An ARD documentary about Aziza Mustafa Zadeh shows large parts of a concert by the trio in Basel in December 2009; The film has since been broadcast several times on ARTE.

Simon Zimbardo has been teaching rock / pop / jazz drums at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz since 2003 .

Discographic notes

• Bach (2010) msschmitt jazzorchester (Bach - arrangements for jazz orchestra)
• Fathers (2010) Die Schmachtingallen (DVD live recording)
• Junia (2010) Thomas Gabriel
• A Touch Of Blue (2010) Ensemble Bluesette
• PopCHORn Live (2009) PopCHORn (DVD live recording)
• Tribute to Sammy and Billy (2009) msschmitt jazz orchestra
• HHQ (2009) Heiko Hubmann Quartet
• Simeon (2007) Thomas Gabriel
• Praise be to the Lord (2006) Thomas Gabriel (The “Saarbrücker Messe” - New Chants for the Liturgy. The compositions were written on the occasion of the closing service of the 96th German Catholic Day in 2006.)
• It will never be like this again (2006) Police Orchestra Rhineland-Palatinate
• Playing the saxophone - my favorite hobby, Volume 2 (2006) Dirko Juchem
• live (2005) Black & White (youth choir in MGV Klein-Winternheim)
• Playing the saxophone - my favorite hobby, Volume 1 (2005) Dirko Juchem
• Choreley (2001) Kultursommer Rheinland-Pfalz (published by Schott Music International)
• Vertigo (1998) Naima
• Jazz Girl Report (1998) Corinna Danzer / Martin Lejeune Quartet
• Christmas goes Jazz (1996) Jazz choir of the German Singers Association
• Celebration live (1995) Landesjugendjazzorchester Hessen
• Magic Morning (1993) State Youth Jazz Orchestra Hessen (with Dee Daniels and Randy Brecker)

Web links

• Simon Zimbardo at Discogs (English)
• Simon Zimbardo at Allmusic (English)
• Simon Zimbardo's website