Polyvamp made its debut at Fontana’s on NYC’s Lower East Side in January 2015. The first show was entirely improv music.  As the year progressed, the band added (in succession) Zander Ryzinski on keyboards, Seth Eisenstein on saxophone and Ethan Quigley on percussion to round out the sound. With members ranging from ages 22 to 38, the band has embraced a cross-generational diversity and formed an amazing collaborative spirit towards writing, developing and performing music.

The idea for “Polyvamp” emerged following one of the group’s first jam sessions in late 2014.  Each jam took a unique shape through improvisation based on deep foundational grooves and vamps.  As the band explored these vamps and gave them an extended opportunity to blossom into unique musical creations, each jam led to more ideas, rhythms and sounds – and live, spontaneous composition of new songs in the moment.

As a full six piece band, the band has played the city’s top music venues including: American Beauty, Drom, Knitting Factory, The Hall at MP, and Arlene’s Grocery, sharing the stage with national and regional talent including members of Lettuce, Kung Fu, Turkuaz, Trey Anastasio Band, Swift Technique, DeadPhish Orchestra, Teddy Midnight, Formula 5, Sprocket, Space Bacon, Chromatropic, Tweed and Flux Capacitor.  Polyvamp performed at NYC’s renowned CMJ Music Festival in October of 2015.  

From its new studio in East Harlem, Polyvamp continues to create and explore new “vamps” for its live show experience and the enjoyment of fans who love high energy musical adventures.

Cory Ziskind is a New York City based guitarist and a founding member of Polyvamp.  Prior to forming Polyvamp in late 2014, Cory founded Easy Over in 2010, a funk, jazz and rock band that played at top NYC venues including Sullivan Hall, Hiro Ballroom, The Bitter End, Drom, Southpaw and Fontana’s, sharing the stage with top talent such as Mattson/Barraco & Friends, Kung Fu, Wyllys & the New York Hustler Ensemble, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Zigaboo Modeliste Band, Papa Grows Funk and Dopapod.  Easy Over also played at the 2011 Equifunk Music Festival headlined by The New Deal and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe.  Cory began his music career in Denver, Colorado and made his live music debut at Herman’s Hideaway in 2006.

Cory draws his influence from a wide range of musicians and bands, including but not limited to Medeski, Martin & Wood, John Scofield, Frank Zappa, The Meters, Miles Davis, Phish, The Grateful Dead,  Galactic, STS9, Umphrey’s McGee, Banyan, Soulive, The New Mastersounds, James Brown, Steve Kimock, The Beatles, My Morning Jacket, P-Funk, Clapton, Santana, Weather Report, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

A native Philadelphian, Seth Eisenstein enjoys playing a variety of musical styles including rock, funk, jazz, progressive, reggae, electronic and jam/improvisational. He played alto sax in concert and marching band ensembles growing up, but switched to tenor sax in jazz band at Lower Merion High School (alongside Aron Magner from the Disco Biscuits) 21 years ago and never looked back! He has since jammed with members of nationally touring acts including Particle, Kung Fu, Pink Talking Fish, The Heavy Pets, Pitchblak Brass Band, and Swift Technique. 

Seth previously played in Philly funk/ progressive rock act Hamburger Hunt, NJ-based jamtronica act Newton Crosby, and collaborates with members of like-minded NYC acts like TEEVOY, Sprocket, Uncle Ebenezer, Tropico Boulevard, The Constituency, and many more. Some of his influences include Maceo Parker, John Coltrane, Branford Marsalis, Kamasi Washington, Clarence Clemons, and Jeff Coffin.

Born in New York City, Zander Ryzinski begun taking classical piano lessons at the age of 8 at the Brooklyn Conservatory of music. He continued classical lessons with Bryan Kirk at the Westport School of Music a few years later when his family moved to Connecticut. After a decade of studying music, Zander took a hiatus from lessons after completing high school. 

His return to music with Polyvamp has created a new found love for live improvisation. His style is derived from a life long interest in a wide variety of genres and styles ranging from alternative rock, funk, reggae & classic rock to  electronic, jamtronica, house & deep house. He pulls inspiration from such varying artists as:  Sergei Rachmaninoff, Bonobo, ODESZA, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Roosevelt, Phish & LCD Soundsystem. 

Following his first rehearsal with the group in December of 2015, Zander Ryzinski performed for the first time in his career with Polyvamp:

Hailing from Russia, Yuri Soussov is a long time veteran of the New York City music scene. He has performed in many bands varying in genre from folk music & all the way to DJ-ing underground art parties. Yuri's focus as a musician is combining his favorite elements of different genres into one cohesive danceable package.

Yuri is most influenced by jazz, funk and neo-soul. He pulls his inspiration from artists such as: D'angelo, Slum Village/J Dilla, The Avalanches, Prince, Raymond Scott, Albert Ayler & Paul Chambers.

Rhythm is the name of the game for Native New Yorker Ethan Quigley. At an early age he was infatuated by music of all genres and played in the school band and drum line. Once out of college, Ethan dove right back into the world of drumming, joining Polyvamp in late 2015. Whether drumming on a kit or playing percussion, his style ranges all the way from experimental and spacey to hot and funky. By interplaying aspects of structure and dissonance into heavy improvisation, Ethan creates his own unique sound.

Combining classic and original beats, Ethan implements some of his favorite genres such as Jazz, Funk, Latin Jazz, House, Breakbeat and Reggae into his music. He pulls influence from artists such as Santana, the Grateful Dead, Lotus, Radiohead, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Herbie Hancock, Pink Floyd, the New Deal and St.Germain. Currently studying under veteran drum and percussion instructors, Ethan is extremely excited to see where the beat will take him and looks forward to sharing the vibes along the way.

Scott Jacobi is a veteran musician who began playing drums at age 16, and has performed and recorded around the NYC area for over 15 years. He's played everything from punk (in Kerbivore) to pop rock (in Almost Six Six), to jazz-funk (in the Harlem Reserve Quartet). As the newest addition to Polyvamp, he looks forward to injecting his dynamic and aggressive sound into the band's funky grooves.