EPISODE 21 - Ben Zweig

Drummer and percussionist, Ben Zweig, plays around the world in places such as Japan, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Chile, Cameroon, across North America, and locally at venues in his native NYC. He keeps an active performance schedule and tours frequently throughout the United States and Canada.

Born in 1992 in NYC, Zweig frequented the local scene of seasoned jazz musicians who eventually became close mentors. He has had the opportunity to share the stage with some of these masters – Randy Weston, Johnny O’Neal, Jerry Dodgion, Harold Mabern, Larry Ridley, David Williams, Roy Hargrove, Deborah Davis, Grant Stewart, Joe Cohn, and Steve Nelson. Downbeat magazine has described his playing as “especially crisp and articulate” and all about jazz, “Zweig steals it with his brush work.” Ben strives for his playing to reflect a passion for performing simple, heartfelt music.

Beginning his musical journey on drum set at age 5, he later picked up trumpet and steel drums. These early voices ultimately shaped his expression on the drums, drawing from the musical traditions of American jazz, West and Central African, Brazilian, Caribbean, and European classical music. In 2018, Zweig traveled to southeast Cameroon to work with Global Music Exchange and learn from master musicians of the Baka Gbiné pygmies. Then in 2021, a pilgrimage to learn from Brazilian percussionists across the country’s coast furthered his diasporic exploration. His fascination with rhythmic dance music from around the world led to the formation of the drum featured band, big beet. Grammy winning producer Don Sickler commented, “[Zweig] is able to combine history with the current musical environment, making it sound fresh.”

Ben’s teaching is the culmination of public schooling and private conservatory, NYC late night sessions, jazz youth programs, steel orchestras, marching bands, classical orchestras, and mentorship from musical stalwarts Joe Farnsworth, Billy Hart, Kenny Washington, Rodney Green, Justin DiCioccio, Christopher Brown, John Riley, Rogerio Boccato, and Ken Piascik. His pivotal fortune to study music in a variety of environments has fueled his love and dedication towards his own teaching practice, always with the goal of increasing students’ interest in deeper rooted music and reaching higher levels of group connection in their playing. Ben received his B.M. and a M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music. He has taught private lessons for over 15 years, currently at the Q Studiolab in Queens, NY as well as many university jazz and drum clinics across the US and Canada.