Michael Zerang (born November 16, 1958) is an American

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

and drummer.

Career

Zerang's parents both emigrated to the United States from the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

; his father is Iranian and his mother Iraqi.Biography
, Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians. Jazz.com. He began playing professionally in 1976 with Kent Kessler and studied at

Wilbur Wright College Wilbur Wright College, formerly known as Wright Junior College, is a public community college in Chicago. Part of the City Colleges of Chicago system, it offers two-year associate's degrees, as well as occupational training in IT, manufacturing, ...

from 1977 to 1978 and Roosevelt College from 1978 to 1982. Zerang has played with

Dave Rempis Dave Rempis (born March 24, 1975) is an American free jazz saxophonist. He plays the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Life and career Dave was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 1975. He began his musical studies at the age of 8. I ...

, Edward Wilkerson, Fred Anderson, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Jeff Parker, Joe McPhee, Josh Berman, Kent Kessler, , , Kevin Drumm,

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, Tatsu Aoki, and

Hamid Drake Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Af ...

. He has also played with international musicians such as

Axel Dörner Axel Dörner (born 26 April 1964 in Cologne, Germany) is a German trumpeter, pianist, and composer. Biography Dörner studied piano in the Dutch town Arnhem (1988–89) and at the Cologne University of Music, Music Academy in Cologne (1989– ...

, Fredy Studer, Hannes Bauer,

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, Mazen Kerbaj,

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (6 March 1941 – 22 June 2023) was a German jazz saxophonist and clarinetist regarded as a central and pioneering figure in European free jazz. Throughout his career, he released over fifty albums as a bandleader. Amongst his m ...

, and Tobias Delius. He has been a jazz educator at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in addition to founding and directing the Link's Hall Performance Series from 1985 to 1989.Michael Zerang biography

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Improvisors'' (Kontrans, 1996) * ''Redmoon Theater's the Ballad of Frankie and Johnny'' (Eighth Day Music, 1997) * ''35 Grapes (19 Sown)'' (BoxMedia, 1998) * ''Scratch Match '' (Penumbra, 2000) * ''Guts'' ( OkkaDisk, 2007)

As guest

* '' The Chicago Octet/Tentet'' with the

Chicago Octet/Tentet ( Okka Disk, 1998) * '' Stone/Water'' with the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet (Okka Disk, 2000) * '' Bull Fiddle'' with Kent Kessler (Okka Disk, 2002) * '' Tales Out of Time'' with

, Joe McPhee, and Kent Kessler ( Hathut, 2004) * '' Transmutations'' with

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

(

Prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...

, 2007) * '' American Landscapes 1'' with the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet (Okka Disc, 2007) * '' American Landscapes 2'' with the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet (Okka Disc, 2007) * '' 3 Nights in Oslo'' with the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet + 1 (Smalltown Superjazzz, 2010) * '' Represencing'' with Joshua Abrams (Eremite, 2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zerang, Michael American jazz percussionists 1958 births Jazz musicians from Chicago Living people FMR Records artists NoBusiness Records artists Okka Disk artists