I'm Zac Shaiman. I play saxophone. I work really hard at saying something meaningful with my playing. If that only means playing the melody in a really majestic way, I'll do that. I like meeting people and I love playing with other musicians.
I'm from Montclair, NJ. I went to high school with Emmet Cohen and Ethan O'Reilly, my two best friends. We played our first gig together in October of 2005. We sounded absolutely awful. But we practiced a lot and sound a little better now. I studied with Anton Denner and Mike Lee. They helped me get some musical ideas together so I don't sound like a white kid from the suburbs (even though that's really what I am). I also teach at the Jazz Connections workshop at Montclair State University under the direction of Janet Lemansky. That's where I had the honor of working with the venerable Billy Hart, Geri Allen, and Andy McKee.
I live in Boston, MA. I go to school at the New England Conservatory of Music where I study with Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, and Frank Carlberg. That's where I met the bassist Zwelakhe Duma Ferdinand Bell le Pere, a cat who became one of my closest friends very quickly. We jam all the time and we live on Mission Hill with three other close friends.
My favorite jazz musicians in the history of the music are Freddie Hubbard and Philly Joe Jones.
". . . In addition to being a powerhouse gang, this band boasted a large number of fine soloists, first among them being Zac Shaiman, heard before as a tenor soloist, [now] playing first alto. His shaping of the band’s leading edge was assured, forceful and exciting."
-Erik Eriksson - Northeast Wisconsin Music Review
Bremond's Blues - Zac Shaiman/Emmet Cohen/Ethan O'Reilly/Noel Sagerman
Darn That Dream - Zac Shaiman/Emmet Cohen/Ethan O'Reilly/Noel Sagerman
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