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About

“Not only is David (ZENG) one of the most gifted and prolific young musicians I have ever encountered, but he is also an absolutely brilliant human being.”

                                          -Grammy-nominated pianist/musical director Damien Sneed (Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross)

“Merging jazz, R&B and hip-hop sensibilities, and featuring collaborations with and performances by top talents from a multitude of genres in the NYC music community, Loading… finds Zheng floating his jazzy sensibilities atop a sophisticated blend of hard-hitting dance-floor grooves, intricately textured electronics and dreamy atmospheres.”

                                          -JAZZIZ Magazine 

       Keyboardist, Composer, and Producer ZENG sees the world as one, musically speaking. He’s opened for jazz luminaries such as Grammy-winning trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard and Grammy-nominated keyboardist Marc Cary, and he’s been on the NY/Philly improvisational music scene with appearances at hallmark venues such as Smalls, The Django, Smoke Jazz Club, Birdland, Rockwood Music Hall, Mercury Lounge, City Winery, Nublu, The Bitter End, Pianos, Chris’ Jazz Café, South, World Café Live, Sofar Sounds, and many more. As an official voting member of the prestigious Recording Academy/GRAMMY’s, ZENG has been mentioned in the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer and has been featured in NPR, USA Today, JAZZIZ, Voyage LA, Shoutout LA, and numerous other outlets. He’s also shared the stage with many jazz greats including the 7x Grammy-winning bassist Robert Hurst, Blue Note Recording artists Mark Shim and Takuya Kuroda, Grammy-nominated drummer Anwar Marshall, Grammy-winning drummer Thomas Pridgen, Grammy-winning saxophonist Christopher Mcbride, drumming/bassist phenom Dana Hawkins, and Emmy-nominated trumpeter Benny Benack III (Christian Mcbride, Emmet Cohen). And he’s worked as a producer/session musician with many artists such as DAP The Contract (Mark Ronson, Lawrence), Tony Glausi (Peter Cincotti), Jak Lizard (Brasstracks, Lawrence), Grammy-nominated producer guitarist Billa Joints (J. Cole, Lil Nas X, Nelly Furtado), and international house DJ Lenny Fontana.

        As a graduate of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music in Jazz Piano Performance (where he attended graduate school), he studied with Blue Note Recording artist Kendrick Scott and also studied arranging/composition with Macarthur Genius Fellow/multi-Grammy nominated saxophonist Miguel Zenon. While in graduate school, David was mentored by the highly acclaimed and Grammy-nominated gospel-pianist/vocalist/music director Damien Sneed (Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross). Prior to this, he graduated from Princeton University in 2014 magna cum laude and was heavily involved in the Downbeat award-winning jazz program there. And as a medical graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and currently completing two master's degrees as Harvard Medical School and Oxford University, ZENG’s academic interests and research (at institutions such as Princeton, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine) cover the intersection of music and cognitive neuroscience/psychiatry/neurology. He continues to record and gig throughout the NY/Philly music scene and is continuing his medical training at NYU as both a neurologist and psychiatrist. 

       His debut album as a producer and keyboardist, "Loading..." released on the multi-Grammy award winning jazz label Ropeadope Records (home to many acclaimed jazz artists such as Snarky Puppy, Christian Scott, Terrace Martin, Nate Smith, Maurice Brown, Aaroj Parks, Mike Clark, Shaun Martin, Samora Pinderhughes, Sirintip, BIGYUKI, Ramsey Lewis, Eddie Palmieri, Tim Lefebvre, Nir Felder, David Sanchez, Logan Richardson, J3PO, Lakecia Benjamin, Greg Spero, The Headhunters, Donald Harrison, etc.), has garnered over a million streams worldwide. The album ranges from a smooth and seductive blend of laidback groove infused with Jazz meandering, upbeat dance floor bangers, and layered electronics. The production is uniquely ZENG, taking us into a new world where these seemingly different styles all exist together. Consisting of hard-hitting grooves combined with lush harmonies and melodies, tight production, and soaring solos, the album highlights ZENG’s role as a genre-bending producer, songwriter, and composer with jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and dance sensibilities, and is intended to appeal not only to the listener’s ears, but also their bodies.  

       "Loading..." features ZENG as primary songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Guest artists, placed carefully according to the song's nature, include many of the most in demand musicians currently on the scene: Grammy-award winning vocalist J. Hoard (Chance the Rapper, Brasstracks), Emmy and Grammy-award winning saxophonist Braxton Cook (Tom Misch, Solange, Rihanna, Taylor Swift), Grammy-award winning saxophonist Chris Bullock (Snarky Puppy), Grammy-award winning trumpeter Maurice Brown (Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals), bassist-producer phenom CARRTOONS (Rae Khalil, Usher, Jadakiss), and trumpeter Marquis Hill (Marcus Miller, Dee Dee Bridgewater). ZENG is one of the most in demand producers/keyboardists currently on the NY scene and is destined to make waves in the jazz and beat music scene.

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