Patrick Zimmerli

Even during his high school years, accolades and awards came Patrick Zimmerli’s way for his work as a tenor saxophonist in jazz settings. By the beginning of 2000, however, he had stepped away from the jazz scene and rarely picked up his horn, channeling his energies instead into classical composition. That focus brought him his most distinguished recognition when he captured the inaugural BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Composers Competition in 1993. Earlier, as a jazz performer, Zimmerli collaborated with Kevin Hays, Bill Stewart, and Don Sickler, among additional musicians. Leading the quintet known as the Jazz Ambassadors in 1995, he guided the group through the recording of its self-titled album and a tour across South and East Africa. Shortly thereafter he accepted a “guest composer” position with the Jazz Composers Collective, a New York-based, musician-run non-profit organization that commissioned Twelve Sacred Dances; Arabesque issued the resulting CD in 1998. The Patrick Zimmerli Ensemble introduced its first recording, Explosion, in 1997, while a follow-up titled Expansion was slated for release in June 2000. Although Zimmerli once served on the faculty of his alma mater, Columbia University, he later departed academic life. In the classical realm he composed works performed by Speculum Musicae and the Riverside Symphony. A piano concerto of his, featuring Ethan Iverson with Metamorphosen, received its Boston premiere in early 2000. Additional Zimmerli compositions have been presented by the Belgian ensemble Octurn and the French jazz group Kartet.