Renowned for his adaptability across intricate musical contexts, Adam Nussbaum functions as an indispensable presence in any group and ranks among the premier jazz drummers of his era. He first explored piano, bass, and alto before focusing exclusively on drums. Following training at the Davis Center and City College of New York, Nussbaum began attracting widespread notice in jazz by 1978 through steady work with both Dave Liebman and John Scofield, a collaboration that continued until 1983 and included appearances on the guitarist’s 1978 album Rough House and the 1981 release Shinola.
His subsequent partnerships have encompassed Stan Getz from 1982 to 1983, Gil Evans, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Gary Burton, Steve Swallow, Michael Brecker, Don Grolnick, Sonny Rollins, Art Pepper, Joe Henderson, Sheila Jordan, Lee Konitz, Eddie Daniels, and many others. Long associated with John Abercrombie, Nussbaum contributed to several of the guitarist’s recordings, among them 1992’s While We’re Young and 1997’s Tactics. In 2002 he joined guitarist Uffe Steen and bassist Lennart Ginman for Open Land. He later formed the trio We3 with saxophonist Liebman and bassist Steve Swallow, issuing Amazing in 2011. Nussbaum’s initial project as leader, The Lead Belly Project, appeared in 2018 and featured guitarists Steve Cardenas and Nate Radley plus saxophonist Ohad Talmor.
