Zac Zinger

zaczinger@gmail.com (1)-412-913-5196

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“Zac’s music is just his and inimitable style. Virtuosity is so natural for him that it reaches the harmonic goal: playing chords with a melodic instrument.”

-Hélène Seiyu Codjo; shakuhachi player, scholar, writer

Zac Zinger is an award-winning composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist renowned for his innovative technique and style on the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), as well as the unique multicultural blend of his compositions. Whether writing for jazz fusion quartet, chamber ensemble, big band, or orchestra, Zac’s focus on strong melodies and sophisticated harmony captures the intrigue of both the average listener and the well-seasoned musician. Coupled with virtuosic playing, his performances are compelling for any audience.

Zac has performed in twelve countries, in esteemed venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as a guest of the Japanese Ambassadors to the United Nations, New York City, and Chicago, and has been credited for musical contributions to 83 commercial music releases and counting. He has worked with such musical luminaries as Sir Paul McCartney, Branford Marsalis, Michael Bublé, Dionne Warwick, Audra McDonald, Bear McCreary, and Tituss Burgess, and regularly plays with the Grammy Award winning 8-Bit Big Band and Adam Neely. He has received four ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards and the Johnny Mandel Prize, has placed first in the Tribeca New Music Competition and USA Songwriting Competition, and has received fellowships and grants from the Asian Cultural Council and Salon de Virtuosi.

In addition to his work as a solo artist, Zac’s contributions as composer, arranger, orchestrator and recording artist have extended to television and films including Lord of The Rings, RWBY, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and such major video game titles as Street Fighter V, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Elden Ring, PubG Mobile, Final Fantasy XV, Just Cause 4, Jump Force, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Side Stories.

Jazz and Japanese traditional music: a fascinating combination

Though he has played saxophone for over 25 years, Zac discovered the shakuhachi in 2012 while visiting Japan, and was immediately captivated by the idea of playing it in a jazz context. The shakuhachi only has five holes, making playing chromatic music like jazz extremely difficult. But the expressive capabilities of the instrument are unmatched among woodwinds, so he deemed it a worthwhile endeavor. Upon returning to New York, he purchased his first shakuhachi and practiced jazz scales and patterns for six hours each day, quickly becoming proficient on the instrument. But he soon learned of the deep Zen tradition of playing shakuhachi going back hundreds of years, and has since immersed himself in the tradition in order to become a better pure shakuhachist, and to be able to more authentically combine the two styles.

Since then, the shakuhachi has taken Zac on an incredible journey. In 2017 with a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council, Zac conducted a five-month residency in Tokyo, Japan where he studied the shakuhachi and its traditional music under renowned players Kinya Sogawa, Keisuke Zenyoji, and Akihito Obama. He was invited to perform and speak at the 2018 World Shakuhachi Festival in London, UK on chromaticism and the usage of the shakuhachi in the jazz medium, and has been invited to various colleges including Berklee College of Music and California Institute of the Arts to lecture on the shakuhachi and multicultural art. In 2020 he received a grant from Salon De Virtuosi “for his exceptional talent and dedication to cross-cultural musical presentations.” And in 2023, Zac premiered his jazz/neoclassical composition “Dance of the Snow Foxes” for shakuhachi, koto, and piano at Carnegie Hall.

“Zinger’s sax was fantastic, but it was the Shakuhachi that invested the entire evening with a gentle, haunting, uniquely emotional power that brought everything to another level.”

-Gerry Gedes; Bistro Awards

A woodwind specialist

In addition to the shakuhachi, Zac plays saxophones, flute, clarinet, EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), and a host of world flutes. When performing with his jazz fusion quartet, he cycles amongst them effortlessly, which helps to maintain the audience’s interest as the lead instrument’s timbre is constantly changing from song to song.

 

Zac Zinger Group - The Way Things Used To Be

Zac’s latest EP includes four original compositions of varying instrumentations. Zinger brings back his jazz fusion quartet consisting of Kana Dehara on piano, Adam Neely on bass, and Luke Markham on drums. The quartet is joined by string quintet on the album’s eponymous track, featuring Jeremy Kittel as guest violin soloist with The Resonance Collective backing him up as the string section. Ben Kono joins the fray in a raucous dueling sax battle on Buried Treasure, and Zinger plays EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) on the eclectic Against the Current. Finally, With Bated Breath features a saxophone quartet made up of Sam Dillon, Carl Maraghi, and alto saxophone soloist Andrew Gould.

 
 

Zac Zinger Group - Fulfillment

Zac Zinger makes his debut with twelve original tracks combining jazz fusion and Japanese traditional music. He does so by introducing the shakuhachi, a primitive five-holed Japanese bamboo flute, to the jazz fusion quartet. A collection of his best compositions for small jazz ensemble over 10 years, each piece is through-composed with meticulous detail, and together display Zinger’s decade-long evolution as a jazz musician gathering influence from his immersion in American and Japanese cultures.

Zinger is joined by some of New York’s best progressive jazz musicians in his rhythm section, with Sharik Hasan on piano, Adam Neely on electric bass, and Luke Markham on drum set. Pianist Kana Dehara is a featured special guest on three of the tracks, including the neo-classical shakuhachi/piano duet, “An American in Tokyo.” And for his tribute to the people and culture of Taiwan, Zinger enlisted the talents of Taiwanese musicians Min-Chin Kuo on guzheng (traditional Chinese zither), Chia-kun Chen on erhu (traditional Chinese violin), and renowned vocalist Yu-Wei Hsieh.

 
 
 

A cross-genre composer and peformer

Though jazz is the backbone of Zac’s identity as a performer and composer, his musicality and desire to explore the shakuhachi extends to genres as wide ranging as contemporary classical, pop, cinematic orchestra, traditional Japanese music and everything in between. Zac’s music for chamber ensemble has been performed at Carnegie Hall, received recognition from the Salon De Virtuosi, and taken first place in a number of composition compositions including the USA Songwriting Contest and Tribeca New Music Contest.

 

Awards & Grants

  • 2021 Tribeca New Music Young Composer Competition, 1st Place

  • 2021 New York City Artist Corps Grant

  • 2020 USA Songwriting Competition, 1st place (Jazz)

  • 2020 Salon De Virtuosi Career Grant

  • 2016 Asian Cultural Council Artist Fellowship

  • 2015 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award

  • 2014 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award

  • 2013 ASCAP Johnny Mandel Prize

  • 2013 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award

  • 2012 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award

  • 2010 Herb Pomeroy Composition/Arranging Award

  • 2009 Herb Pomeroy Composition/Arranging Award

  • 2007 Pittsburgh Jazz Society Leadership Award

  • 2007 Irene S. and Harry Louik Theatre Arts Award

Selected Venues

  • Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

  • Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, NY

  • United Nations (Residence of the Japanese Ambassador), New York, NY

  • Consulate General of Japan, New York, NY

  • Merkin Hall, New York, NY

  • Japan Society, New York, NY

  • Asia Society, New York, NY

  • Sony Hall, New York, NY - with The 8-Bit Big Band

  • Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA

  • Peabody Opera House, St. Louis, MO

  • Little Island NYC, New York, NY

  • The Glasshouse, New York, NY - with Dionne Warwick

  • Jazz at the Kitano, New York, NY

Selected Credits

  • The Way Things Used To Be - Zac Zinger (Producer, Bandleader, Composer, Arranger
    Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, EWI)

  • Fulfillment - Zac Zinger (Producer, Bandleader, Composer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer
    Alto Saxophone, Shakuhachi, EWI, Dizi)

  • Higher - Michael Bublé and Sir Paul McCartney (Flute) [GRAMMY FOR BEST TRADITIONAL POP ALBUM]

  • Backwards Compatible - 8-Bit Big Band (Tenor Sax, EWI, Clarinet) [GRAMMY FOR BEST LARGE ENSEMBLE ARRANGEMENT]

  • Sungazer, Vol. 2 - Sungazer (EWI)

  • Street Fighter V Original Soundtrack (Composer, Arranger, Saxophones, Flute, Clarinet)

  • Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power OST - Bear McCreary (Shakuhachi)

  • League of Legends (Composer, Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Flute, Garklein Recorder)

  • Elden Ring (Music Supervisor, Orchestrator)

  • Jump Force (Composer, Arranger, Orchestrator, Flute, Clarinet)

  • Final Fantasy XV Original Soundtrack (Bansuri, Shinobue)

  • Monster Hunter Swing (Arranger, Mixing Engineer, Saxes, Flute, Clarinet, EWI)

  • RWBY Original Soundtrack, Volumes 2, 3, 5, 7 - Jeff Williams (Horn/Big Band Arranger, Saxophones)

  • PubG Mobile (Composer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer, Dizi, Saxophones)

  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Quena)

  • Just Cause 4 (Arranger, Shakuhachi, Flute, Alto Flute, Quena, Bansuri, Pan Flute)

  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Side Stories (Composer, Arranger, Orchestrator, Flute, Clarinet)

 

Tech Rider

  • Drum set

    • 20” kick, 12” rack, 14” floor (if possible)

    • 3 cymbal stands w/ at least one boom

    • 1 hi hat stand

    • 1 snare stand

    • Drum stool

  • Bass Amp

  • Piano OR 88-Key Keyboard + stand, piano bench

  • Microphone for saxophone

  • Microphone for speaking

  • Mono DI for EWI

  • Access to phantom power for headset flute mic (artist will bring headset mic)

  • 4 on-stage monitors

  • 5 music stands

  • If possible: small instrument table, at least 2 feet long

  • If possible: bass stool