After moving to New York from Massachusetts at the age of 18, bassist & composer Spencer Zahn started performing and studying with musicians like Ralph Alessi, Drew Gress, Ben Street, and John Scofield.
In 2010 Spencer became day-to-day and tour manager for Charlie Haden, famed American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned over fifty years. Throughout this time, he was also touring and performing with bands like Guards, Brazos, and Father Figures. He worked with Haden up until the icon’s final recording with Hank Jones shortly before his passing.
Then in 2013, he began playing with Empress Of, touring internationally, with performances at festivals like Pitchfork Paris and Chicago, Iceland Airwaves, and BBC Radio 1, before joining Twin Shadow to tour the album ‘Eclipse’ in 2015. He also toured with Cayucas supporting their new album ‘Dancing at the Blue Lagoon’ from 2015-2016.
Getting back to his roots in jazz music, Spencer began collaborating with Dave Harrington of Darkside, creating a trio showcasing inspiration from jazz and electronic music. Currently, besides this exploration into jazz, he is also performing and recording with vocalist Kimbra and electronic musician & vocalist Autre Ne Veut, as well as with developing artists such as Blonder and Ex Reyes.
In June 2016, he launched “Solid Jackson: Singers you know. Songs you don’t.” The series, curated by Zahn, and produced in collaboration with Natalia Schwien at National Sawdust, features unreleased songs by today’s most recognizable vocalists in a series of one off performances with a rotating super-group made up from the industry’s most creative & active musicians from groups like Chet Faker, Chairlift, Darkside, Elle King, & more.