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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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Peter Erskine: Revisiting Weather Report
by C. Andrew Hovan
A standout drum prodigy of his generation, Peter Erskine began playing at the age of four. After honing his skills at Interlochen, he launched his professional career in 1972 with Stan Kenton. Four years later, he joined Maynard Ferguson before making a pivotal move, replacing Alex Acuña in Weather Report. In the spring of 2025, acclaimed vocalist Kurt Elling embarks on a new project celebrating the music of Weather Report. As the tour nears its end, Erskine ...
Continue ReadingFranco Ambrosetti: Sweet Caress
by Alberto Bazzurro
Il rapporto fra jazz e archi è sempre stato piuttosto tormentato. A ottant'anni suonati (è nato nel dicembre 1941 e l'incisione data dicembre 2023, quindi 82 giusti giusti) ci casca anche un musicista glorioso come Franco Ambrosetti, che confeziona un album che verrebbe quasi da definire “pomicioso" (fin dal titolo), a dispetto dei musicisti coinvolti nella band in quanto tale (string orchestra esclusa, quindi). Otto i brani, per metà del trombettista (qui flicornista) ticinese, che suona ovunque benissimo, ...
Continue ReadingPeter Erskine: Vienna to Hollywood: Impressions of E.W. Korngold & Max Steiner
by Jack Bowers
From Vienna to Hollywood is versatile drummer Peter Erskine's ardent homage to the (mostly) film music of the renowned Academy Award-winning Viennese composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Max Steiner, who wrote some of filmdom's most memorable themes during Hollywood's Golden Age in the decades from 1930 to 1960. To transpose their film scores to the jazz genre, Erskine uses a talented group of performers from Vienna's JAM Music Lab University (where he serves as artist-in-residence), supplanted on two numbers by ...
Continue ReadingPeter Erskine & The JAM Music Lab All-Stars: Vienna to Hollywood
by Peter Erskine
Hollywood called... ...and Max Steiner was the first of this dynamic duo to answer, arriving there in 1929, initially working for the RKO Studios as an orchestrator and then as a composer. This was not his first affiliation with Hollywood, however; he functioned as Fox Studio's musical director, adding live music to silent films presented in New York theaters where he had already established himself on Broadway. The call to come west must have triggered an urge as primal as ...
Continue ReadingThe Peter Erskine Quartet at Alba Jazz Festival
by Antonio Baiano
A collection of photos from the Peter Erskine Quartet concert at Teatro Sociale in Alba, Italy on October 16, 2024, the closing concert of Alba Jazz Festival 2024 featuring Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, Alan Pasqua and Darek Oles. ...
Continue ReadingEliane Elias: Time And Again
by Edward Blanco
Internationally-renowned Brazilian jazz pianist and vocalist Eliane Elias presents her third recording on the Candid label--and the 32nd release of her long and distinguished career--on the innovative and creative Time and Again, a collection of eight new original sambas, which feature her piano, keyboards and singing in both English and Portuguese. As Mark Wexler, head of Candid Records states, “With each recording, Elaine proves she has no boundaries and showcases her mastery of song, musicianship and vocalese. She is an ...
Continue ReadingMcIntosh Sessions Volume I - The Peter Erskine Quartet
by Glenn Astarita
For 75 years, McIntosh has stood at the pinnacle of audio excellence, crafting high-fidelity sound systems that have become synonymous with unparalleled quality and enduring legacy. As the company celebrates this monumental anniversary, it not only reflects on its storied past but also looks forward with the release of the Sessions LP featuring the Peter Erskine Quartet. This collaboration underscores McIntosh's commitment to bringing exceptional sound to audiophiles around the world. McIntosh was founded in 1949 by Frank ...
Continue ReadingJazz 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
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
Legendary Drummer Peter Erskine To Release “Dr. Um” (Fuzzy Music) On January 15, 2016
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Take a look at any list of the world’s greatest drummers, and Peter Erskine’s name will invariably be near the top. For more than four decades, Erskine has proven among the most consistently innovative and reliable masters of his instrument. He’s appeared on over 600 albums and film scores, more than 50 of those albums as leader or co-leader. He’s collaborated with an astonishing list of giants including the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson big bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, ...
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March of the Merry Men
From: Vienna to Hollywood:...By Peter Erskine
Somewhere
From: Bernstein in ViennaBy Peter Erskine
Serenade to a Bus Seat
From: CT!By Peter Erskine
Convergency
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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