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Biography
Multiple issues| POV=June 2010| BLP sources=June 2010Infobox musical artist| name = Peter Erskine| image = Peter Erskine.jpg| caption = Peter Erskine & Michel Benita| image_size =| landscape = yes| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name = Peter Erskine| alias =| birth_date = Birth date and age|1954|6|5||birth_place = Somers Point, New Jersey|Somers Point , New Jersey United States | death_date =| origin = Somers Point, New Jersey|Somers Point , New Jersey , United States|U.S. | instrument = Drum kit|Drums , Percussion instrument|percussion | genre = Jazz | occupation = Drummer , composer | years_active = 1972–present| label =| associated_acts = Stan Kenton Orchestra , Weather Report , Word of Mouth , Steely Dan , Maynard Ferguson , Kate Bush , Diana Krall , Eliane Elias , Queen Latifah , Linda Ronstadt | website = URL| http://www.petererskine.com| notable_instruments = Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American Jazz drumming|jazz drummer and composer . He has enjoyed a long and successful career as a session drummer, recording and touring with many famous jazz and rock artists, including Steely Dan and Weather Report . Erskine also produces teaching materials, such as books, videos, and online content.
Biography
Peter Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey|Somers Point , New Jersey , United States|U.S. . He began playing the drums at the age of four. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy cite web|title =Peter Erskine: Biography |publisher=Allmusic |first=Ron|last=Wynn | url =Allmusic|class=artist|id=p6464|pure_url=yes |accessdate =2010-06-04 in Michigan, then studied percussion at Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana University .
His professional career started in 1972 when he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra . After three years with Kenton he joined Maynard Ferguson for two years. In 1978 he joined Weather Report ,cite web|title =Weather Report: Biography |publisher=All About Jazz |first=Ron|last=Wynn | url = http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php? id=11224 |date =2008-06-25|accessdate =2010-06-04 joining the legendary Jaco Pastorius to form a formidable rhythm section. After four years and five albums with Weather Report and the Jaco Pastorius big band Word of Mouth (Jaco Pastorius album)|Word of Mouth , he joined Steps Ahead . His big band recordings with the Bob Mintzer|Bob Mintzer Big Band are excellent modern big band jazz/funk performances studied by many students of drums and drumming.
His music-style spanning talent also features on Kate Bush 's 2005 album Aerial (album)|Aerial , where Erskine teams with bass player Eberhard Weber . Diana Krall , Eliane Elias , Queen Latifah and Linda Ronstadt among many more still choose Peter for his multifaceted musicality. Even Scottish and Finnish Classical Orchestras have had him as a featured musician.
His playing style is characterized by a thorough dedication to time-keeping and swing, a great dynamic spectrum and an ability to play several styles of music very sensitively. These qualities may be the reason for his very wide use as a session drummer in musical settings of great variety. Hence he could also be labeled as an "all-around drummer", in terms of musical styles he is capable of playing with skill.
As a jazz drummer, his dedication to timekeeping makes his jazz playing sound quite modern, as he does not tend to play with "flexible" timekeeping as do most traditionalist jazz drummers. It remains a matter of personal opinion to be discussed whether he has thus brought jazz into the modern era of perfect timekeeping (a reference here is made to drum machines and electronic music with flawless metronomical timekeeping of today), or whether he diverges from traditional jazz drumming.
Today, Erskine splits his time as a musician and that of a professor at the USC Thornton School of Music|Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California .
In 1983, he performed on the Antilles Records release '' Swingrass '83 .Allmusic|class=album|id=r70265|pure_url=yes Allmusic review
In 2011 he appeared on stage at the Royal Opera House, London in the new opera Anna Nicole . cite web|title =Anna Nicole Review|publisher=The Guardian| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/feb/18/anna-nicole-review|date =2008-06-25|accessdate =2011-02-18
The Erskine Method for Drumset (Alfred Publishing Company)
References
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External links
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http://www.petererskine.com Official website: Peter Erskine.com
Weather Report Persondata | NAME =Erskine, Peter | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1954-06-05 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Somers Point, New Jersey|Somers Point , New Jersey United States | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Peter Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni Category:Jacobs School of Music alumni Category:Thornton School of Music faculty Category:People from Atlantic County, New Jersey Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:American jazz drummers Category:American session musicians Category:Steely Dan members Category:Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Grammy Award winners Category:ECM artists Category:Weather Report members
