TIM METZ

In the Sacramento jazz scene there are few drummers as well respected as Tim Metz. An academically trained musician with a true feel for the subtle nuances in rhythm that add texture and musicality to jazz standards and new compositions alike, Metz continues to be an in-demand session and live player. Metz’s professional resume is impressive—and even more so considering that he has only recently crested his 30s. His first drum lessons began when he was seven years old and by age 11 he was playing in the traditional jazz band The New Traditionalists and two years later joined the Sacramento Jazz Scene jazz band, and various school-related ensembles, the most notable of which is the Rio Americano High School AM Jazz Band, an ensemble that won the Monterey Jazz Festival High School Jazz Competition with Metz on the drum stool. Apprenticed to Tower of Power drummer David Garibaldi through his teen years, Metz continued his education after high school by attending William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, where he graduated with a B.A. in Jazz Performance in August 2001. It was at WPU that Metz was able to study and/or play with some of the leading lights of the international jazz scene, a list of names that includes: Rufus Reid, Conrad Herwig, Lynn Seaton, Don Braden, Dr. David Demsey, Steve Wilson, Horacee Arnold, and John Riley. After college, Metz played in a variety of east coast rock bands, including Spiraling and Nova Social (the former of which toured with They Might Be Giants while Metz was in the band). Metz’s drumming style displays a diverse set of influences including jazz drummers Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Paul Motian, and rock drummers David Garibaldi, John Bonham, and Dave Grohl. It is in subtly combining these influences that Metz’s style is truly brought forth: a drummer that approaches his instrument with a sense of musicality that is fresh, interesting, and exciting. Metz returned to his home town of Sacramento in 2001. In between a heavy teaching schedule—over 40 drum students per week—Metz continues to consistently perform with some of the world's greatest musicians, including guitarist Larry Koonse, Bassists Darek Oles and Todd Johnson, saxophone pioneer Steve Gundhi, alto sax master Jeff Alkire, pianist's Joe Gilman, Art Hirahara, and Jim Martinez, singer-songwriter Christian Kiefer, the Consumnes River College Big Band (guest artist) to name a few. Furthermore, fall 2008 will see Metz's anticipated CD debut as a bandleader. Even the local press has taken notice, with the Sacramento News & Review calling Metz's drumming "astonishing" and "surprising" and calling Metz himself a "real star."