Russell ZimmerDr. Russell Zimmer is a musician and educator based in Silicon Valley, California. His teaching style combines the varies approaches he's studied including Claude Gordon, Bill Adams, and Greg Spence. Dr. Zimmer has a Bachelor’s of Music from San Jose State University; a Masters of Music from the University of Louisville Jamey Aebersold school of music; and a Doctorate of Music Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Glenn Korff school of music.
His dissertation, A Study of the Improvisational Style of Theodore “Fats” Navarro, 1949-1950 analyzed newly released live recordings of Fats Navarro and will be the basis for a forthcoming book on the bebop language based on his playing style. He presented a lecture entitled “Lessons from Fats” in the Research Room at the 2016 International Trumpet Guild in Anaheim, CA discussing research from his dissertation. Dr. Zimmer is a credentialed teacher in the state of California where he teaches middle school band in Morgan Hill and maintains an active trumpet studio in San Jose. He can also be heard playing throughout the South Bay Area in small Jazz Combos, Musical Theater productions, Salsa groups, Big Bands, and Rock/ Pop groups that perform at small intimate venues to large festival stages. When not teaching or performing, he enjoys traveling the country by car and spending time with his wife and daughter. |
Equipment |
Russell currently plays on:
1957 Bach Mt. Vernon Stradivarius 43 trumpet Conn Vintage One Flugelhorn Monette, Greg Black, and Pickett Brass mouthpieces |