Jim Pugliese

Who is Jim Pugliese?

Jim Pugliese is an American percussionist, drummer, composer and international recording artist on over ninety CDs of experimental, jazz and rock music.

His performing experience is diverse. As a freelance percussionist he is in much demand and has performed with The New York Philharmonic Horizon Series, New York City Ballet and soloist or performer on numerous new music and jazz festivals in Europe, Japan and the USA

Jim grew up listening to and playing soul music and rhythm and blues. He went on to study percussion with Raymond Des Roches and by the age of eighteen he had recorded the music of Edgar Varese and Charles Wuorinen for Nonsuch Records. He continued performing and or recording new music with John Cage, Lukas Foss, Kent Nagano and Philip Glass. He spent twelve years as a member of Dean Drummond’s Newband and The Harry Partch Ensemble, studying and performing microtonal music. During this same period he developed an interest in Afro-Cuban music and studied drumming and rhythm with Master Drummer Pablo Landrum.

For the last twenty years, while living in the East Village of New York City, Jim has been improvising recording and touring with many of downtowns most prominent composer/improvisers including John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Zeena Parkins, Bobby Previte and Anthony Coleman. He has recorded on over ninety CD's of new music, jazz, rock and movie soundtracks. In 1993 the new music group Newband recorded his composition FREEZE for the Mode recording label. In 1998 Jim was selected as Artist In Residence at Harvestworks in NYC where he recorded his solo CD "Sonic Soul". On November 23, 1997 Avant released the first cd for his collaborative trio Easside Percussion with Christine Bard and Michael Evans.