Peter Zummo (born 1948) is an American composer and
trombonist.
[“Composer Profiles: Peter Zummo”. ''Kalvos and Damian.'' Web. Retrieved September 2, 2014.]
/ref> He has been described as "an important exponent of the American contemporary classical tradition." Meanwhile, he has been quoted as describing his own work as "minimalism and a whole lot more."[“Blue” Gene Tyranny. “Peter Zummo: Zummo With An X”. ''Dram''. September 10, 2006. Web. Retrieved September 2, 2014.]
/ref>
Since 1967, Zummo's compositions exploring the rock, jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, new- and electronic-music, disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...
, punk, and world-music idioms have been presented in venues including the Brooklyn Academy of Music
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
, New York City Center
New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and t ...
, Experimental Intermedia Foundation, Dance Theater Workshop, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
, among many others in New York City, as well as in numerous additional spaces worldwide.[Andy Beta. “Arthur Russell/Peter Zummo: Zummo With An X”. ''Pitchfork''. June 12, 2012. Web. Retrieved September 2, 2014.]
/ref>
Composing and performing career
Writing in the British culture blog "The Ransom Note," Tim Wilson commented that some of Zummo's "most familiar" music was created with cellist Arthur Russell.[Tim Wilson. “Peter Zummo Talks + Listen to Influences Tapes”. ''The Ransom Note.'' April 17, 2014. Web. Retrieved September 2, 2014.]
/ref> Zummo played on most of Russell's recordings and produced several of them.The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', “phrases emerge and wrap around each other: Peter Zummo’s gorgeous trombone motif, Russell’s pizzicato cello theme, and a growing drone of loud, dissonant guitars…When the smoke clears, genre is just a memory.” In 2014, Zummo and longtime collaborators, bass player Ernie Brooks and percussionist Bill Ruyle, recorded Russell's ''This Love Is Crying'' with New Zealand musician and composer Liam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983) is a New Zealand singer and musician. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn.
In 2020, he joined his father's band, Crowded ...
.
Russell, in turn, played often for Zummo, notably on the Bessie Award–winning composition ''Lateral Pass,'' created for a dance by choreographer Trisha Brown
Trisha Brown (November 25, 1936 – March 18, 2017) was an American choreographer and dancer, and one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater and the postmodern dance movement. Brown’s dance/movement method, with which she and her dancers ...
, with a stage set by artist Nancy Graves
Nancy Graves (December 23, 1939 – October 21, 1995, in Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and sometime- filmmaker known for her focus on natural phenomena like camels or maps of the Moon. Her works are included in ...
. In 2014, Foom Music, in London, released an original recording of this 1985 piece. According to Piccadilly Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brothe ...
, the CD demonstrated that “Zummo’s signature trombone style, renowned for its rich and soothing tone, has become one of the most beloved features of Russell’s celebrated sound."
In the fall of 2014, Mikhail Barishnikov's Baryshnikov Arts Center, in New York City, awarded a residency for the creation of new work to Zummo and Brooks. Additional support over the years has come from the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
, the New York State Council on the Arts
The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell
MacNeil Mitc ...
, Meet the Composer, the New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...
, and other funders.Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...
's ''Accumulation with Talking Plus Water Motor,'' a film featuring Trisha Brown, and in '' Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell'', a documentary by Matt Wolf. Zummo contributed to the score of ''Tramas'', Italian director Augusto Contento's cinematic portrait of São Paulo, Brazil, worked with artist Donald Judd
Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism (a term he nonetheless stridently disavowed).Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In ...
to realize Trisha Brown's ''Newark'', and played for Andrei Șerban
Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian- American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at th ...
–Liz Swados collaborations, including ''Fragments of a Greek Trilogy''.
Performing for other bandleaders, Zummo has appeared in the Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards were an eclectic musical group founded by saxophonist John Lurie and his brother, pianist Evan Lurie, in 1978. Initially known for their ironic, tongue-in-cheek take on jazz, The Lounge Lizards eventually became a showcase fo ...
, Gods and Monsters, Stephen Gaboury’s B-Twist Orchestra for the dance company Ballets with a Twist, Go: Organic Orchestra, Tilt Brass, Downtown Ensemble, Flexible Orchestra, The Necessaries, and Dinosaur L. He has also played in units put together by composers David Behrman, Philip Corner
Philip Lionel Corner (born April 10, 1933; name sometimes given as Phil Corner) is an American composer, trombonist, alphornist, vocalist, pianist, music theorist, music educator, and visual artist.
Biography
After The High School of Music & Ar ...
, Guy De Bievre, Tom Hamilton, William Hellerman, Annea Lockwood, Jackson MacLow, Ben Neill
Ben Neill (b. November 14, 1957) is an American composer, trumpeter, producer, and educator. He is the inventor of the "Mutantrumpet", a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument.
Early life, family and education
Neill was born in Winston-Salem, Nort ...
, Phill Niblock, Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music.
She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...
, Vernon Reid
Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an English-born American guitarist and songwriter. Reid is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Living Colour, Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the ...
, Steve Swell
Steve Swell (born in Newark, New Jersey, December 6, 1954) is an American free jazz trombonist, composer, and educator.
Music career
Swell studied at Jersey City State Teachers College before moving to New York City in 1975 where he began his m ...
, Yasunao Tone, Lise Vachon, Yoshi Wada, and others.[Dr Rob. “20 Questions/006/Peter Zummo”. ''Test Pressing.'' July 2, 2012. Web. Retrieved September 2, 2014.]
/ref> Zummo performed on Teo Macero
Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' ''Bitches Brew'', and ...
’s ''Fusion,'' which featured both the Lounge Lizards and the London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symp ...
.
Education and training
After Zummo's early classical-music education in his hometown, Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
, Ohio, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and composition at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
, in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settlers as a town under its ...
. There he studied with John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...
, Alvin Lucier
Alvin Augustus Lucier Jr. (May 14, 1931 – December 1, 2021) was an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University in ...
, Ken McIntyre, Clifford Thornton, Daoud Haroon, Dick Griffin
James Richard Griffin (born January 28, 1940, in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American jazz trombonist known for his work on Strata-East Records, and with Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
As a child he studied piano, soon switching to trombone.
After earnin ...
, and Sam Rivers Sam Rivers may refer to:
* Sam Rivers (jazz musician)
Samuel Carthorne Rivers (September 25, 1923 – December 26, 2011) was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone ...
, among others.[ For a 2006 article by “Blue” Gene Tyranny in ''Dram,'' Zummo described his compositional approach as being about “persons not instruments,” elaborating that he provides “material for musicians and sufficient instructions, so they don’t make arbitrary but rather logical or heartfelt decisions.” His work, Zummo continued, thus “engenders a social situation reflecting modern society.”]
Academic and other positions
Zummo was senior faculty advisor with the New York Arts Program, a New York City-based project of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Great Lakes Colleges Association, and artistic director of The Loris Bend Foundation, a nonprofit presenter of music, dance, and media.
Discography
Selected works:“Peter Zummo”. ''Discogs.'' Web. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
/ref>
Composer
*''Lateral Pass'' (CD from Foom Music), 2014
*''Zummo with an X'' (LP from Optimo Music), 2012
*''Zummo with an X'' (CD), 2006
*''Fast Dream'' on The Downtown Ensemble's ''Downtown Only'', 2002
*''Slybersonic Tromosome,'' with Tom Hamilton, 2000
*''Experimenting with Household Chemicals'' (CD), 1995
*''Zummo with an X'' (LP), 1985
*''Travelers Through Days and Days'' on Sunship's ''Into the Sun'', 1974
*''(the) Who Stole the Polka?'' on Guy Klucevsek's ''Ain’t Nothin’ But A Polka Band, '' 1991; and on ''Polka From The Fringe,'' 2012
Producer
*Arthur Russell's ''Arthur’s Landing,'' 2010
*Arthur Russell's ''World Of Echo'' (CD + DVD), 2005
*Arthur Russell's ''World Of Echo'' (LP), 2005
*Yvette Perez's ''H*E*R,'' 2002
*Arthur Russell's ''Disco Not Disco'' (CD), 2000
*Arthur Russell's ''Tree House/School Bell, '' 1986
Performer
*Red Hot Organization's ''Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell,'' 2014
*Adam Rudolph's Go: Organic Orchestra, ''Sonic Mandala,'' 2013
*Adam Rudolph's Go: Organic Orchestra, ''Can You Imagine…The Sound of a Dream,'' 2011
*Steve Swell/The Nation of We's ''The Business of Here,'' 2012
*Heroes of Toolik's ''Winter Moon,'' 2012
*Kid Creole and the Coconuts’ ''I Wake Up Screaming,'' 2010
*Arthur Russell's ''First Thought Best Thought,'' 2006
*Lise Vachon's ''Vocalise,'' 2006
*David Behrman's ''My Dear Siegfried,'' 2005
*Guy De Bievre's ''Bending the Tonic (twice),'' 2005
*Arthur Russell's ''Calling Out Of Context,'' 2004
*Yvette Perez's ''I Fly,'' 2004
*The Feetwarmers’ ''Centrifugal Swing,'' 2000
*Tom Hamilton's ''Off-Hour Wait State,'' 1996
*Arthur Russell's ''Another Thought,'' 1994
*Annea Lockwood's ''Thousand Year Dreaming,'' 1993
*Nicolas Collins's ''100 of the World’s Most Beautiful Melodies,'' 1989
*Peter Gordon's ''Brooklyn,'' 1987
*Peter Gordon's ''Innocent,'' 1986
*Arthur Russell's ''Instrumentals,'' 1984
*The Lounge Lizards's ''Live From the Drunken Boat,'' 1983
*Arthur Russell/Dinosaur L's ''24–24 Music,'' 1981
*The Necessaries’ ''Big Sky,'' 1981
*Love of Life Orchestra's ''Star Jaws,'' 1977
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zummo, Peter
1948 births
Living people
Wesleyan University alumni
American male composers
21st-century American composers
American trombonists
Male trombonists
Contemporary classical music performers
Place of birth missing (living people)
Musicians from Cleveland
21st-century trombonists
21st-century American male musicians
The Lounge Lizards members
Didgeridoo players