Peter Erskine

For the American artist, see Peter Erskine (artist). For the British businessman, see Peter Erskine (businessman).
Peter Erskine
Erskine in 2013
Erskine in 2013
Background information
Birth namePeter Clark Erskine
Born (1954-06-05) June 5, 1954 (age 70)
Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums
Years active1972–present
Labels
Formerly of
SpouseMutsuko Nigatawa
Websitewww.petererskine.com

Peter Clark Erskine (born June 5, 1954)[1] is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead.

Early life and education

Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S.[2] He began playing the drums at the age of four.[1] He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy[3] in Michigan, then studied percussion at Indiana University.

Career

His professional music career started in 1972 when he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra.[3] After four years with Kenton, he joined Maynard Ferguson for two years.[1] In 1978, he joined Weather Report,[3][4] joining Jaco Pastorius in the rhythm section. After four years and five albums with Weather Report and the Jaco Pastorius big band's Word of Mouth, he joined Steps Ahead.[1]

In 1983, he performed on the Antilles Records release Swingrass '83.[5] He toured the US in 1992 with Chick Corea.[4]

Erskine splits his time as a musician and a professor at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.

Erskine with Michel Benita in 2008.

He was featured on Kate Bush's 2005 album Aerial, where Erskine teamed with bass player Eberhard Weber. Diana Krall, Eliane Elias, Queen Latifah and Linda Ronstadt, as well as Scottish and Finnish classical orchestras, have had Erskine perform as a featured musician.

In 2011, he appeared on stage at the Royal Opera House, London in the new opera Anna Nicole.[6]

Honors and awards

In 1992, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.[7]

Personal life

Erskine is married to Mutsuko Erskine. The two have two children, actress and writer Maya Erskine,[8] and film editor and producer Taichi Erskine.[9]

Discography

As leader

Year recorded Title Label Year released Notes
1982? Peter Erskine Contemporary 1982
1986? Transition Passport Jazz 1987
1988 Motion Poet Denon 1988
1989? Aurora Denon 1989
1991 Sweet Soul Novus 1991
1992 You Never Know ECM 1993
1993 Time Being ECM 1994
1995? History of the Drum Interworld 1995
1995 As It Is ECM 1996
1997? As The Lounge Art Ensemble, Lava Jazz Fuzzy Music 1997
1997 Juni ECM 1999
1999 Live at Rocco Fuzzy Music 2000 [2CD] live
2001 Side Man Blue Fuzzy Music 2016
2010 Joy Luck Fuzzy Music 2011 [10]
2015 Dr. Um Fuzzy Music 2016
2016? In Praise of Shadows Fuzzy Music 2016 [11]
2016 Second Opinion Fuzzy Music 2017
2017 Live In Italy Abeat 2018 live in Occhiobello
2018? On Call Fuzzy Music 2018 [2CD]

Source:[12]

As co-leader

Source:[12][13]

As a member

Steps Ahead

  • Steps Ahead (Elektra/Musician, 1983)
  • Modern Times (Elektra/Musician, 1984)
  • Magnetic (Elektra, 1986)
  • Holding Together (NYC, 2002)[2CD] – live rec. 1999

As sideman

Books

  • Time Awareness
  • The Erskine Method for Drumset
  • My Book
  • The Drum Perspective
  • Drum Concepts and Techniques
  • No Beethoven: An Autobiography and Chronicle of Weather Report

DVD

  • The Erskine Method for Drumset (Alfred Publishing Company)

References

  1. ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 137. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ Stewart, Zan (April 25, 1993). "Drummer Discovers Small Is Beautiful". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 19, 2013. Last year, [Peter Erskine], along with bassist John Patitucci, traveled through the United States for a month with a threesome led by pianist Chick Corea. The Somers Point, N. J., native also worked in Italy and Spain as part of pianist Joey Calderazzo's trio, then recorded on the latter's upcoming Blue Note release.
  3. ^ a b c Wynn, Ron. "Peter Erskine: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  4. ^ a b Wynn, Ron (2008-06-25). "Weather Report: Biography". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  5. ^ "Swingrass '83 - Swingrass | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  6. ^ "Anna Nicole Review". The Guardian. 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  7. ^ "Peter Erskine". MEINLPercussion.com. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  8. ^ Pressler, Jessica (2019-02-08). "31 Going on 13". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  9. ^ Rao, Mallika (2019-02-27). "How PEN15's Mutsuko Erskine Wound Up Playing Herself on TV". Vulture. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  10. ^ "Joy Luck". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  11. ^ "In Praise of Shadows". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Peter Erskine | Album Discography". AllMusic.
  13. ^ a b c "Peter Erskine | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
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