Drew Zingg was lead guitarist and musical director of Steely Dan for their reunion tour in 1993 and continued in that capacity through 1995. During this period he toured with the band throughout theUnited States, performing at such venues as Madison Square Garden in New York, the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and the Shoreline Amphitheater in San Francisco, as well as stadiums across the country. A sampling of these appearances were recorded and released as the Giant Records release, “Steely Dan; Alive in America.” His tenure with the band also included a tour throughout Japan in 1994. Drew’s guitar work is featured on the Donald Fagen Box Set, “The Nightfly Trilogy.”
Preceeding his work with Steely Dan, Mr. Zingg worked with Donald Fagen as lead guitarist and music director for Mr. Fagen’s “New York Rock and Soul Revue”, an aggregation of artists that included Walter Becker, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs, Phoebe Snow, and Patti Austen. “The New York Rock and Soul Revue” toured extensively throughout the States and culminated in the Giant Records release, “Live at the Beacon.”
Drew has been touring for the last several years with Boz Scaggs, his work with Mr. Scaggs is prominently featured on the “Greatest Hits Live” CD and DVD. 2010 has found Drew touring the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East with Mr Scaggs and Michael McDonald.
He has toured and recorded throughout the last 2 decades with David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Shawn Colvin, Rickie Lee Jones, Gladys Knight. Drew’s work with Michael McDonald was prominently featured in the film “Leaving Las Vegas” starring Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth Shue. Drew delivers a blistering solo on a revamping of the Doobie Brother’s “Minute By Minute”, featured on Michael McDonald’s greatest hits package.
In between tours and album dates, Drew has been very busy in the New York studio scene recording commercial jingles, movie soundtracks and TV. He has also done extensive work on Broadway, as lead guitarist in the shows Jersey Boys, Spamalot, Hairspray, Mamma Mia!” (based on the music of Abba), and Smokey Joe’s Café the Music of Lieber and Stoller whose cast album features Drew’s work, and won a Grammy Award for best Broadway soundtrack of 1995. Mr. Zingg has kept a roster of private students all the while he has been busying himself with these various duties.
Dan Aquilante, senior music editor of the New York Post wrote the following in his review of a Steely Dan performance. “Topping the list of backup players was Drew Zingg, one of the most outstanding jazz/pop guitarists I’ve ever heard. Whenever he had the lead, the moment soared. He has a knack for bringing a song to climax. His work was often rewarded with applause during a tune, as if Madison Square Garden was a snug jazz club”.
Robert Goldberg of the Wall Street Journal has remarked on Drew’s “glistening, dramatic solos” and puts him “in the ranks of Vernon Reid, Larry Carlton and Danny Gatton”.
Guitar Magazine listed him as one the 12 “best guitarists you’ve never heard of.”
In Guitar Player magazine, Mike Keneally noted of a Drew Zingg performance, that he “..burned so resolutely, the stars were singed.”
Jon Pareles of The New York Times describes Mr. Zingg as “superb”…
…and Pat Metheny has said that Drew “..is the best guitar player I have seen in years”.
Drew attended Buckley School (New York City), Loomis Chafee (Windsor, Ct.), Trinity School (New York City) and has a BA in Art History from Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, New York). He currently resides in San Francisco
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