Biography
For decades, Buenos Aires-born, GRAMMY-winning pianist, composer and arranger Pablo Ziegler has been one of the most important figures in Argentine Nuevo Tango, the vibrant musical hybrid of traditional tango, American jazz, and European art music. After performing in tango grand-maestro Astor Piazzolla’s legendary quintet for over a decade, and appearing on iconic Piazzolla recordings including Tango: Zero Hour, La Camorra and Central Park Concert, Ziegler has led his own groups for over 25 years, refining and reimagining the bounds of the modern tango tradition.
Recent seasons have seen Ziegler performing at prestigeous venues, including Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Muziekgebouw, Victoria Hall, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival SFJAZZ, Montreal Jazz Festival, the Ottawa International Jazz Fest, Tokyo Jazz Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Laguna Beach Music Festival, Blue Note, Birdland and many others. Ziegler also gives Masterclasses at music academy such as Mozarteum, Yale University, Harvard University, Indiana University, New England Conservatory, Berklee School of Music, Eastman School of Music, among others.
Ziegler’s recent release, Jazz Tango won the 60th GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Jazz Album with his trio, Hector Del Curto and Claudio Ragazzi. the LATIN GRAMMY-nominated Amsterdam Meets New Tango, sees his quartet paired with the Netherlands’ Metropole Orkest, playing his most famous compositions re-arranged for jazz orchestra. 2016 and 2013 also saw the release of Ziegler's protege and saxophonist Julio Botti's both LATIN GRAMMY-nominated Sax to Tango and Tango Nostalgias with Ziegler, Piazzolla and Cobian's composition. In 2011, Ziegler’s work as music director, arranger and pianist for bass-baritone opera star Erwin Schrott earned an Echo Klassik Award for the album Rojotango. Ziegler’s 2005 release, Bajo Cero, won the LATIN Grammy for Best Tango Album, and in 2008, his album Buenos Aires Report was nominated for the same honor. Ziegler released his first Solo Piano album by Steinway and Sons in 2018.
Pablo Ziegler is a Steinway Artist and Honorary Citizen of New Orleans.
Review
“There's no question that Ziegler takes the tango to levels of sophistication and refinement probably undreamed of by Piazzolla."
- Chicago Tribune
"Ziegler... plays straight from the beating, bleeding heart of nuevo tango, with its Argentinian mix of swagger and sweetness"
- The Guardian
"His group maintains the essence of the new tango which translates structural experiments into mood swings: astringent to sultry, gruff to tender, agitated to buoyant."
- The New York Times
(Ziegler's quartet) proved that this Argentinian music could rub shoulder with Schubert and Brahms and hold its head high
- San Diego Story
"He is cool, understated and makes everything look easy and natural... Just as a really suave tango dancer seems not to move with feet but on wheels, Ziegler skates the keyboard."
- The Los Angeles Times
Like an imagined collaboration Ziegler, Piazzolla, Igor Stravinsky, Bernard Herrmann, and Leonard Bernstein... [Ziegler] brings a sense of passion and surprise to every one of his solos.
- All About Jazz
Sensual rhythms and dark mysterious lyrical intensities... Ziegler and his prowess behind the piano are equally matched with his compositional excellence and gift for transforming the expected rhythmic pulse into an abstraction that creates an intriguing dynamic tension... An inspiring release proving that the brilliance of New Tango did not die with Astor Piazzolla but instead has been reinvented under the skillful hands of the great Pablo Ziegler.
- Critical Jazz
"Far beyond the confines of Tango, or Latin Jazz, or Bossa Nova, or world music, or classical…. [Ziegler] brought something from each to a stew that somehow simultaneously edified and electrified."
- U-T San Diego
"When Piazzolla departed this Earth in 1992, the torch was passed to his longtime pianist who's been carrying it proudly ever since."
- All About Jazz
Discography
