Biography

Drummer, composer and author Peter Erskine appears on over 500 albums and film scores, and has won a Grammy Award. His discography includes a dozen albums under his own name. He has played with Stan Kenton, Weather Report, Steely Dan, Steps Ahead, Maynard Ferguson, Joni Mitchell, Kenny Wheeler, Vince Mendoza, Jaco Pastorius, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson and Diana Krall (among many others), and has appeared as soloist with the Berlin, BBC, Los Angeles and London Symphony orchestras. He teaches at USC and the Royal Academy of Music.

As a composer, he has completed musical scores for King Richard II, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Sideman, Honour and A Midsummer Night's Dream, the latter being honored by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle with the award for Best Original Musical Score. He produces jazz recordings for his own label Fuzzy Music, and has authored several books for Hal Leonard and Alfred Publications, including The Drum Perspective, Drumset Essentials (Volumes 1, 2 and 3), The Erskine Method and Time Awareness For All Musicians. Mr. Erskine is a resource team member of the International Association of Jazz Educators and serves on the Board of the Percussive Arts Society. He is an alumnus of Indiana University and the Interlochen Arts Academy, and received and Honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music.

Professional Experience

Career Highlights:

• Joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra at age 18 in 1972
• After three years with Kenton, played with Maynard Ferguson for two years
• Joined Weather Report in 1978, established longevity record for drummer in that band; won a Grammy Award for work on album 8:30, recorded five albums with group
• Lived in New York for five years, played w/ Michael Brecker in Steps Ahead, John Abercrombie Trio, Marc Johnson, John Scofield and Bill Frisell in Bass Desires
• Numerous recordings for the ECM label, including four as leader
• Established own label, Fuzzy Music, in Santa Monica

Honors, Awards & Competitions:

• Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Original Music (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
  
• Bay Area Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Original Music (Twelfth Night)
• Modern Drummer Readers' Poll best jazz drummer award, eight times
  
• Drum magazine “Drummie” award
• Rhythm magazine awards for best jazz drummer

Recordings:

• Music For Moderns, The Lounge Art Ensemble, Fuzzy Music
• Scorched with John Scofield and John Patitucci plus orchestra, 2005 Grammy nominee, DGG
• Fractured Lines, 2 percussion concerto with Evelyn Glennie, Leonard Slatkin and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chandos
• My New Best Friend, Alan Pasqua, Cryptogramophone

Compositions:

• Bass Desires
• Sweet Soul
• Music 4 Guitars & Marimba
  
• Romeo & Juliet
• Autumn Rose

Publications:

• Time Awareness for All Musicians, Alfred Publishing, 2005
  
• The Erskine Method, Alfred Publishing, 2004
• Drumset Essentials, Volumes 1, 2 and 3, Alfred Publishing, 2003
  
• The Drum Perspective, Hal Leonard Publications, 1998
  
• Drum Concepts and Techniques, Hal Leonard Publications, 1987

Academic Degrees

• Honorary Doctor of Music, Berklee College of Music, 1992

Other Academic Experience:

• Graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy (1971)
• Studied at Indiana University (1971-72 and 1975-76)

Studied with George Gaber, Billy Dorn, Vic Firth, Alan Dawson, Freddy Gruber