“Zack is a bassist who elevates the sound of the whole group.” – Aaron Price
Zack Page has been performing as a professional bassist since the early ‘90s. His work with various jazz ensembles, theater companies and the cruise industry has taken him to all 50 U.S. States, the Caribbean islands, Australia, South America, Europe and the Far East.
Born in Virginia, Zack primarily grew up in New Jersey, but his early days placed him in Cincinnati, parts of NC and Los Angeles. “While growing up I listened to a lot of heavy metal: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. My father was a huge blues and jazz fan, so I also heard a lot of that growing up. He’d take my brothers and me into NYC to see Les Paul, the Mingus Big Band and others. My mother was an avid choral singer at church and both my brothers are musicians (guitar and piano).
My grandfather, whom I never really knew, was a big jazz fan and he’d take my father from small-town NC up to Philadelphia and New York to see Miles Davis, Horace Silver and other jazz greats. My father would introduce my brothers and me to Oscar Peterson and the Modern Jazz Quartet through albums he played at home. He never pushed us into jazz or blues, but in later high school and college we ended up heading in that direction.”
Zack began musically on acoustic guitar and piano, so I asked him how he got started on the bass. “My father was a big fan of it and I received an electric bass for Christmas when I was 11. He’d point out the bass lines of Ray Brown, Duck Dunn and Jerry Jemott on records he played at the house. I didn’t start playing the acoustic bass until I got to college in 1991.” While in college, Zack had the chance to play at the prestigious Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
In a jazz setting, Zack has had the good fortune to play and/or record with Billy Higgins, Marvin Stamm, Eddie Daniels and Babik Reinhardt, the son of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Following time spent in LA and New York City, Zack relocated to Asheville four years ago.
“In NY, I enjoyed living in such a rich musical environment with so many players, all performing at a very high level. I noticed that the focus of the musicians was always intense, but there was generally a relaxed, fun mood and I learned to appreciate every playing situation from a musical standpoint.”
Here in WNC, Zack enjoys a busy freelance schedule with many of North Carolina’s finest musicians. “One Leg Up, Asheville’s gypsy jazz band, is my main project. I also play with The Page Brothers Quartet, The Archrivals, The Hard Bop Explosion, Alien Music Club, Wendy Hayes Quartet, Crybaby, Satin Steel, and Russ Wilson.”
In terms of listening these days, Zack’s favorite musicians have been coming out of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, specifically the Polish piano trio, Marcin Wasilewski Trio. “I also like the cutting edge jazz from Puerto Ricans Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez, plus lots of great jazz musicians in New York from Israel. As for non-jazz players, I like the Polish extreme metal band Behemoth and the New Orleans funk band, Dumpstaphunk.”
Asked about his composing and recordings he’s on, he replied, “I’d like to do more composing. I have an album’s worth of material that’s been recorded. I think of myself more as a sideman or arranger, but again, I’d like to do much more writing. I’ve done a lot of sideman work with singer-songwriters, jazz singers, children’s music and instrumental jazz recordings. I did a recording with French musicians Francois Vola and Babik Reinhardt.”
“Zack has the hallmark of every great musician: he makes everyone around him better!” – trumpeter Justin Ray
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