Rachel Z Trio featuring Omar Hakim plays at the Jack London
Rachel Z is a keyboardist with a long history of award-winning performances in the worlds of jazz and rock. She co-wrote the Grammy-winning song ‘Tokyo Blue’ with saxophonist Najee. In addition to her 13 albums as bandleader and her work in internationally acclaimed bands such as Steps Ahead, Vertú, the Omar Hakim Experience, and OZmosys, she has played and toured with artists like Wayne Shorter (on the Grammy-winning album High Life), Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Al Di Meola, and Regina Carter. Rachel came to worldwide prominence in the rock world in the Peter Gabriel concert films Growing Up Live and Still Growing Up Live. Since 2000, Rachel has been a Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies at The New School University in New York. Omar Hakim is widely known as a rock and pop, jazz and jazz fusion drummer/producer/composer and arranger. His lengthy associations with Weather Report, Miles Davis, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sting, Madonna, Kate Bush, Dire Straits, Daft Punk, Brian Ferry, Michael Jackson, The Pussycat Dolls, Journey and countless others put him in a category that has uniquely imprinted the sound of these artists on both performances and recordings. Omar has recorded on over 100 albums (too many to list) and has extensive producer and composer credits.