Rachel Z


The stunning Rachel Z and her piano trio has audiences captivated from the moment they hit their seats.  With recording and performing credits including Peter Gabriel, Al DiMeola, Wayne Shorter, Steps Ahead, and Stanley Clarke,  Rachel’s magnificent and exquisite song poems are beautiful and demanding. 

Her connection to saxophone great Wayne Shorter grew from major influence to full-blown collaborator over the two years she worked on his 1995 hit comeback album High Life, for which she built a synthesized orchestral framework to crystallize his musical vision.  The CD won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

Rachel has recently been signed to the famous Savoy label.  Her debut release on this acclaimed label, Dept of Good and Evil, received rave reviews throughout the world.

In addition to extensive touring and recording, Rachel Z is currently an instructor of Jazz Theory and The Jazz Improvisation Ensemble at New School University in New York City.

“Rachel Z is a consistently adventurous player.  Rachel occasionally reveals traces of influence from McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock, but more often she is her own player, voicing her harmonies with a dark, intimate quality.”
Don Heckman / The Los Angeles Times

Ms. Z is managing to make the age-old piano trio combo sound relevant and fresh to younger ears.  And she’s made this improbable connection without sacrificing her artistry or forsaking her own connection to the jazz piano legacy of Bud Powell, Wynton Kelly, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, and Herbie Hancock.
Bill Milkowski / Jazz Times

Downloads

> Rachel Z Biography 1(pdf)
> Rachel Z Biography 2 (2007) (pdf)
> Quotes on Rachel Z (pdf)
> Rachel Z Discography (doc)

Current Reviews
> Downbeat Review "Dept of Good and Evil 2007 (pdf)
> All Music Guide Review "Dept of Good and Evil" 2007 (pdf)
> Washington Post Review "Dept of Good and Evil" 2007 (pdf)
> Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange Review "Dept of Good and Evil" 2007 (pdf)
> All About Jazz Review "Dept of Good and Evil" 2007 (pdf)
> Oakland Tribune Review "Dept of Good and Evil" 2007 (pdf)

Articles
> Downbeat Article June 2007

Past Reviews
> London Guardian Review 2005 (doc)
> Preview San Francisco Chronicle August 2004 (pdf)
> Downbeat Magazine Review "Moon At the Windown" 2003 (doc)
> Jazziz Magazine Review "Everlasting" July 2004 (doc)

Master Clinic
> Rachel Z Master Clinic and Master Performance Syllabus (pdf)

Pictures
> Rachel Z Hi-Res Photo #1 (jpg)
> Rachel Z Hi-Res Photo #2 (jpg)

Audio & Video Samples

 Rachel Z's "ESP" (mp3)

Rachel Z's "King of Pain" (mp3)

"Milky Way" from "Dept of Good and Evil" (Savoy Jazz 2007) (mp3)

"King of Pain" from "Dept of Good and Evil" (Savoy Jazz 2007) (mp3)

"Kid Charlemagne" from "Everlasting" (Tone Center 2004) (mp3)

"Big Yellow Taxi" from "Moon At The Window" (Tone Center 2002) (mp3)

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