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Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992).
Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson Big Bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Brecker Brothers, The Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny and Gary Burton, John Scofield, et al, and has appeared as a soloist with the London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Frankfurt Radio, Scottish Chamber, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony, Oslo and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. Peter premièred the double percussion concerto Fractured Lines, composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage, at the BBC Proms with Andrew Davis conducting, and has collaborated frequently with Sir Simon Rattle. He also premiered the Turnage opera “Anna Nicole” at the Royal Opera House in London. Turnage has composed a solo concerto for Peter titled “Erskine,” which received its world premiere in Bonn, Germany in 2013, with the US premiere scheduled for September 2014 at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic. Peter has been voted ’Best Jazz Drummer of the Year’ ten times by the readers of Modern Drummer magazine.
Peter graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and studied at Indiana University under George Gaber. In 1972 Peter commenced his pro career playing with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Four years later, he joined Maynard Ferguson before working with Jaco Pastorius in Weather Report and moving to Los Angeles. Peter recorded five albums with the band. He won his first Grammy Award with their album ’8.30’. During this time in LA, he also worked with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Farrell and George Cables. Peter then moved to New York City where he worked for five years with such musicians as Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Eddie Gomez and Eliane Elias in Steps Ahead, John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Marc Johnson in the legendary group Bass Desires, the John Abercrombie Trio plus Bob Mintzer’s Big Band.
Peter’s lived in LA since 1987 but has been travelling around the world all of that time, working with such artists as Diana Krall, Joni Mitchell, Vince Mendoza, Steely Dan, plus European musicians Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler, Palle Danielsson, John Taylor, Kate Bush, Nguyen Lê, Rita Marcotulli, the Norrbotten Big Band in Sweden plus Sadao Watanabe in Japan. He won his second Grammy Award as the drummer of the WDR big band in Köln along with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza and others for the “Some Skunk Funk” album. Meanwhile, Peter keeps busy in LA with such artists as Alan Pasqua, Bob Sheppard and Bob Mintzer as well as playing in studios. Films where Peter’s drumming can be heard include Memoirs of a Geisha, the new Pink Panther films and all three of the Austin Powers movies, plus the title music of the Steven Spielberg/John Williams collaboration “The Adventures of Tintin.”
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Adam Schroeder & Mark Masters celebrate Clark Terry: CT!
by Pierre Giroux
In jazz, where the past intertwines with the present and the future, few figures were as influential as the legendary trumpeter Clark Terry. During his playing career, he developed a creative, bouncy style with an irrepressible rhythmic verve that was entirely his own. The album CT! with baritone saxophonist Adam Schroeder and arranger Mark Masters serves as a heartfelt homage to this jazz icon, presenting fresh and invigorating arrangements of 13 Clark Terry originals skillfully performed by a 12-piece ensemble. ...
read moreGarda Jazz Festival
by Giuseppe Segala
Trentino Jazz Garda Jazz Festival Diverse località dell'Alto Garda 31.7-13.8.2023 Il Garda Jazz Festival, nell'ambito dell'ampia programmazione di Trentino Jazz, esibiva quest'anno sui propri manifesti lo slogan “Getting Younger," con riferimento sia al potere rigenerante della buona musica sulle funzioni cognitive, che alla presenza nel cartellone di una folta schiera giovanile. Dal primo punto di vista, quale esempio davvero significante, c'era il quartetto capitanato dal batterista Peter Erskine, che riuniva veterani in stato di ...
read moreBrian Eisenberg Jazz Orchestra: Pain & Beauty
by Edward Blanco
A religious man at heart, composer/band leader and producer Brian Eisenberg leads an 18-piece big band (The Brian Eisenberg Jazz Orchestra) on a personal musical exploration on the meaning of love through the perspective of what may be beautiful, and what may seem hurtful on the very introspective and challenging Pain & Beauty. The album, as he writes, “is dedicated to that ideal of genuine love...painful yet, beautiful love." Eisenberg sets the musical bar quite high on such lofty and ...
read moreDewa Budjana: Joged Kahyangan
by John Kelman
Dewa Budjana may not be a household name outside of his native country, Indonesia, but with MoonJune Records picking up this exciting guitarist and composer, all that could be about to change. He's already garnered some serious attention with his first recording for the label, Dawai in Paradise, released earlier this year (2013), but at home, he's nothing short of a pop star. Lead guitarist and songwriter for the multi-platinum, million-selling Indonesian pop/rock group Gigi, the fifty year-old Budjana has ...
read morePeter Erskine Trio: As It Was
by John Kelman
The box set you hold in your hands features three players who came together in an exceptional group to play some of the most compelling and exploratory piano trio music of the 20th Century's final decade. This threesome, led by Peter Erskine, released four albums recorded between July 1991 and July 1997: 1993's You Never Know, 1994's Time Being, 1996's As It Is and 1999's Juni. That the drummer's critically acclaimed piano trio, also featuring Swedish double bassist Palle Danielsson, ...
read moreAlan Pasqua, Peter Erskine, Darek Oles: Live In Italy
by Jim Worsley
Pianist Alan Pasqua and drummer Peter Erskine have been playing together for over fifty years now. For over twenty years Darek Oles has completed the trio on double bass. While brilliant upper-echelon musicians in their own right, the magic that ensues in this trio is remarkable. Could playing together for so long, performing thousands of shows over the years lead to burnout or it becoming “old hat?" Not for these three true jazz cats. The conversations just get deeper, their ...
read moreMassimo Colombo, Peter Erskine, Chuck Berghofer: Electric Parker
by Jim Worsley
While mostly under the radar, Massimo Colombo is surely one of Europe's finest talents. The Italian pianist and arranger has many works to his credit, including his exceptional tributes to Bud Powell and Weather Report, Powell To The People (Jazzland DZ, 2018) and Acoustic Weather (Self-produced, 2019). Colombo now reimagines the genius of Charlie Parker with drummer Peter Erskine and double bassist Chuck Berghofer. Having recorded together previously, the trio's chemistry flows easily. It is indeed electric as ...
read moreJazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
Alfred Music Releases "The Musician's Lifeline" By Renowned Authors Peter Erskine And Dave Black
Source:
Dave Black
Alfred Music, the leading publisher in music education since 1922, announces the release of The Musician's Lifeline: Advice for All Musicians, Student to Professional. Written by Peter Erskine and Dave Black, The Musician's Lifeline represents the combined experience and knowledge of the authors gained through their lives in music. In addition, it includes advice from over 150 of the best musicians the authors have the honor of knowing, with topics ranging from sight-reading, learning, listening, auditions, the music business, practice, ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
Music Education Monday: A lesson from Peter Erskine on playing with brushes
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Today for Music Education Monday, you can get a video lesson from famed drummer Peter Erskine on “Playing Brushes With All Styles Of Music." First gaining wide attention in the mid-1970s as a member of Stan Kenton's big band, Erskine (pictured) can be heard on more than 600 albums encompassing styles including jazz, funk, rock, pop and more. He has performed and/or recorded with headliners such as Weather Report, Diana Krall, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Steps Ahead, Kate Bush, and ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Peter Erskine
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Peter Erskine's birthday today!
Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and ...
read more
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From: CT!By Peter Erskine
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From: ConvergencyBy Peter Erskine
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Peter Erskine
Location: Los Angeles
Instrument: Drums
Born: June 5, 1954
Publicist: Two for the Show Media
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