He has studied with a number of jazz masters including Sheila Jordan, David Baker, the late Calvin Jones, pianist Doug Carn, and vocalist Mark Murphy. In 1992, James received a scholarship to attend the esteemed Jazz in July, a two week jazz improvisation training program at UMASS-Amherst where his performances were judged by the legendary Dr. Billy Taylor, Yusef Lateef, and others. James has performed at a number of nightclubs, concert halls, festivals, museums, churches, conferences and special tribute programs at venues such as the American Jazz Museum (Kansas City, MO), The Lincoln Theatre, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland, Westminster Church, Twins Restaurant, The East Coast Jazz Festival and Fort Dupont Summer Theatre. He performs a regular monthly engagement at The Tremont Hotel in Baltimore and is currently recording his first solo CD, Introducing James Zimmerman—Singer and Crooner.

As a producer, James led the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO) for six years and served as its executive director for an additional five years. During his tenure, the orchestra performed extensively throughout United States, Canada, and Europe and produced concerts at major venues in Washington, D.C. James’s vocals were an added feature for the orchestra on several occasions performing in special concerts featuring the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn; Woody Herman; and Mary Lou Williams.

As Executive Director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, James also led the production of several special programs and performances such as Bebop in the New Millennium, The Legacy of Louis Armstrong; a Portrait of Cannonball Adderley; and the Big Band Magic of Quincy Jones: Composer, Arranger and Bandleader featuring Quincy Jones as guest conductor. In 2000, under his leadership, the SJMO received Washington DC’s prestigious Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline

A dedicated educator, James has combined his skills and experiences to create a number of educational projects for both youth and adults. Most recently, in 2005, while Executive Director of the SJMO, he originated and produced the Louis Armstrong Education Kit distributed nationally to over 2,300 music teachers. In 2007, James served as an advisor and facilitator for a youth education program featuring Afro-Cuban pianist Omar Sosa at the Lincoln Theatre, Washington, DC. He has also made presentations to the National Association of History Educators at the National Conference in Williamsburg, VA and for The Smithsonian Associates Intergenerational Hostel program on the Jazz collection at the National Museum of American History. James was a founding member of the D.C. Unit of the International Association for Jazz Education and served in several leadership offices. During his tenure as President, the organization raised scholarship monies to send students to the IAJE conference in Long Beach. It also produced education programs in partnership with the Kennedy Center’s Visiting Artist Program to benefit the D.C. jazz community including workshops and concerts featuring jazz masters Jon Hendricks and vocalist/film actor Bill Henderson.

James has held a number of administration roles in jazz over the years as well. As Program Specialist, Arts Fellow and Program Coordinator at the National Endowment for the Arts, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, James has participated in creating and offering technical assistance services to jazz artists and other professionals throughout the country. His oral history interviews with vocalists Jon Hendricks, Oscar Brown, Jr., and Bill Henderson; and influence in establishing interviews with Shirley Horn, Bobby Tucker (musical director for Billy Eckstine, and Billie Holiday), and tap dancer Jeni LeGon have made it possible for the history of jazz to be shared on an ongoing basis with today’s new audiences. James was the Associate Producer for Mid Atlantic Foundation’s Jazz Showcase, and the Co Founder of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Jazz Living Legacy Award which continues today under the name the Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award and is presented annually at the Kennedy Center Through his labor, James Zimmerman has touched the many, many areas of jazz all in an effort to support the legacy of the music, the excitement of performance and the vibrancy of America’s original art form, James has insured that master jazz artists are remembered and recognized for their unique contributions to the world and audiences are introduced to this wonderful music.