Zak Molina
About
Born in Quito, Ecuador, Zak was nourished in a home surrounded by art. His mother was a painter and sculptor and his father, a musician. At a very early age, Zak showed enormous passion for percussion and singing. This led him to become a self taught musician, singing in choirs and playing drums for rock bands of the musical scene of Ecuador as a teenager.
His musical education began at the age of 17 at the “Universidad de las Américas” where he started a Music Degree focused in jazz. During this time, he joined the iconic rock band “Sal y Mileto”, with whom he toured around Ecuador and recorded their latest production. Later he joined “Del Cairo Band”, the first big Arabic ensemble in Ecuador, with the master percussionist Bassem Ramadam (Egypt) whom he had taken several seminars from and actually initiated his passion for world music and percussion as an alternative voice. Later, he became the drummer of Swing Original Monks, one of the most important and representative bands of Latin Fusion music from Ecuador, having worked with the world-renowned producer, Eduardo Cabra/ Calle 13 (3 times Grammy award winner).
After two prolific years of touring and recording, at 19 years old, Zak moved to Boston, United States to continue his musical studies at the highly regarded and globally recognized institution, Berklee College of Music. He has quickly become known as a performer, playing for various recitals, recording sessions, shows and tours with remarkable artists such as Jesus Molina (Colombia), Jack Martini (Italy), Tal Flora (Israel), Meresha (Poland), and the world-renowned recording engineer from UK, Josh Blair (Adele, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, etc)
After graduating from Berklee he moved to Brooklyn, New York where he is currently teaching drum set lessons and developing a new method based on Qi-Gong (Chinese art of Movement) to induce meditation with the instrument, looking to solve modern problems such as stress, fear, or pain affecting not only to musicians but to anyone in general. Zak is also performing for artists such as AJNA, Miette Hope and Mala Entraña and stills an active member at music industry in Ecuador, playing and recording for bands such as Swing Original Monks, Sal y Mileto, 3VOL, among others. From Jazz to Metal, or Salsa to Techno, he is characterized by being a chameleonic musician who is always whiling to share information about music and his artistic vision.
Teaching Style
Teaching from basics to advance concepts, academically, hand on hand with self-awareness and focused on the state of mind and how it affects to our bodies and the sound we create. Introducing my method with meditation through the drums based on Qi-Gong discipline (Chinese art of movement) looking to solve modern problems such as stress, fear, or pain affecting not only to musicians but to anyone in general. Reading, Recording, Composing Grooves and styles such as Rock, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Metal and Techno focused lessons.
Curriculum
ZAK ICAZA
Studio Session / Touring Drummer, Percussionist and Instructor
Experience
Bands:
- Drummer for Sal Y Mileto (Rock Fusion, Ecuador 2013-2014)
- Drummer for Igor Icaza Soloist (Rock Fusion, Ecuador 2009-2014)
- Drummer for 3VOL (Rock Fusion, Ecuador 2009-2014)
- Drummer and percussionist for “Alebrije” Project. (Mexican Folk Fusion, 2014 – 2016)
- Drummer for “Swing Original Monks” (Latin Fusion, Ecuador 2013-2014)
- Drummer for “Los Txk” (Rockabilly, Ecuador 2013)
- Drummer and percussionist for “Del Cairo Band” (Traditional Arabic, Ecuador 2012-2014)
- Drummer for Deer Hollow (Black Metal, US 2016 – 2018)
- Drummer for AJNA (indie-psycodelic, US 2017 – present)
- Drummer for Jack Martini (indie-pop, US 2018)
- Drummer and Percussionist for COKA (latin-rock, US 2018 – present)
- Drummer and Percussionist for Tarzan and The Baltazara Band (Salsa, US 2018)
Recordings:
- “A Trebolear” Album (3VOL, Fusion Rock) 2011
- “Va… Zuko” Album (Sal y Mileto, Fusion Rock) 2013
- “Efectos Secundarios” Album (3VOL, Fusion Rock) 2014
- “En Direkto” DVD/CD (Igor Icaza, Fusion Rock) 2014
- “Espinas” Album (Igor Icaza, Fusion Rock) 2015
- “Zurqui” EP (Julian Picado Trio, Jazz Fusion) 2015
- “Para Perros y Gatos” EP (Para Perros y Gatos, acoustic) 2016
- “Deer Hollow” Album (Deer Hollow, Death/Black Metal) 2016
- “Lost in The Water” EP (Deer Hollow, Death/Black Metal) 2018
- "Uncensored Space" EP (Ajna, Indie Psychedelic ) 2018
Tours:
- Sal y Mileto “Va… Zuko” National tour (Ecuador) 2013
- Swing Original Monks “El Caminito” tour (Ecuador) 2014
- Sal y Mileto 20th Anniversary tour (Ecuador) 2014
- Proyecto Alebrije tour (Mexico) 2015
- Curare “Llakta” tour (NY)
- January Tour Jack Martini (US west coast) 2018
- Deer Hollow (Ecuador) 2018
Festivals:
- Quitofest 2010 (Quito – Ecuador)
- Festivalfff 2012 (Ambato – Ecuador)
- Garganta de Fuego 2013 (Latancunga – Ecuador)
- Fete de la Musique 2013 (Cuenca – Ecuador)
- Fete de la Musique 2014 (Quito – Ecuador)
- ReggeaCamp 2014 (Ambato – Ecuador)
- El Carpazo 2014 (Quito – Ecuador)
- GildedFest 2017 (Boston, MA)
- Boston Book Fest 2018 (Boston, MA)
- Southern Monster Fest 2018 (New York, NY)
- OUTSIDE LANDS FEST 2018 (San Francisco, CA)
Extra Job:
- Igor Icaza’s Professional Drum technician
- Ushering at Berklee Commencement 2016
- Ushering at Berklee Commencement 2017
- Ushering at Berklee Performance Center 2017
- Rhythm section for Berklee Summer Camps 2016 - 2017
- Rhythm section for Berklee Voice Department 2016 - 2018
- Drum Set Instructor since 2015
Musical Education
- Universidad de las Americas, Music Degree (2012-2014). Quito, Ecuador.
- Berklee College of Music, Performance Studies Degree (2014-2018). Boston MA.
- Private lessons: Bassem Ramadam (Egypt), Sergio Reggiani (Argentina), David Nicolalde (Ecuador), Ian Froman (Canada), Dave DiCenso and James Murphy (US).
Skills
- Instruments: Drumset, Cajon and Latin Percussion.
- Strength in Rock/Pop genres, and Jazz.
- Softwares: ProTools, Finale and Reason.
- Languages: Spanish (native speaker) and English (fluent).
Endorsements:
- ZAMBAJE artist (Traditional handmade drums from Ecuador)