Bio

Now in his mid 50s, Kim Paterson has been a prolific Jazz musician since the 1960s. He is, for most of the younger New Zealand Jazz musicians, the father of the Auckland Jazz scene.

His passion for the music has never ceased in his professional career which has spanned four decades. He is active in performance, composition and education and is constantly supportive and interested in the development of New Zealand Jazz music.

Kim's music, although strongly rooted in the Jazz tradition, is hugely influenced by a variety of ethnic musics from around the world. This is especially true of East Indian and African music. Kim has spent time in India and this had a profound effect on his music. His music is an eclectic celebration of contemporary New Zealand Jazz.

He is an artist's artist and is loved and respected by all the many musicians he has come in to contact with through the years. In the 1960s a caption advertising Kim Paterson read: "New Zealand's own Miles Davis". Seemingly a bold statement, it is indeed true. Like Miles Davis, Kim has always been moving forward, searching to further hone his art, and surrounded himself with musicians with youthful energy and passion.