About the Release
A jazz drummer’s vision of club music.
Berlin’s Limited White Label presents the vinyl debut of New York City–based composer, producer, and drummer Zachary Berns. A fixture of NYC’s jazz and underground scenes, Berns has built a reputation through boundary-crossing projects (notably zbeeez and the jazz/hip-hop collective poetic thrust), collaborations with rising artists across R&B, jazz, and electronic music, and acclaimed appearances at leading parties and live sessions. With this record, he steps forward under his full name for the first time, delivering a statement that bridges his dual lineage in jazz and club culture.
Where most jazz–house hybrids emerge from the perspective of DJs and electronic producers, Berns approaches the form as a working jazz musician steeped in New York’s deep improvisational tradition. Live percussion animates every track, weaving the rhythmic intensity of Elvin Jones and Tony Williams into grooves that nod to Moodymann and Louie Vega, while his sense of orchestration and harmony recalls Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, and Gil Evans. The result feels equally at home closing out a sunrise rave, soundtracking a late-night lounge, or unfolding through headphones in private space.
Zachary Berns / LTDWLBL 011 gathers highlights from his early output, reintroducing his work on wax and setting the stage for future collaborations with the label. As with all the best jazz, it’s a family affair: “Flights” features Agho and Yoh with production from Luke McCrosson; “Times” showcases vocals and saxophone by Jaedon Alvira; “Incarnations” includes trumpet from Jesse Klirsfeld; “Whispers of Goddesses” adds flute by Will Hotaling; and “Nocturnes” brings a production collaboration with Vesa Beats.
Both a culmination and a beginning, the record announces Zachary Berns as a singular voice in today’s jazz-house landscape — a jazz drummer’s vision of club music, live and from the future.
Side A
A1 Whispers of Goddesses
A2 Reminisce (Vinyl Rework)
A3 Incarnations (Extended Version)
Side B
B1 Times feat. jae_don (Vinyl Rework)
B2 Nocturnes feat. Vesa Beats
B3 Flights feat. Agho, Yoh
Digital
D1 Mirrors feat. Vesa Beats
Release date
October 10, 2025
Catalogue number
LTDWLBL011
Credits
Mastered by Salz
Pressed and cut by Rand Muzik
Distributed by Inch By Inch Distribution
A-Side
B-Side