Peter Clark Erskine (born June 5, 1954) 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. He began playing the drums at the age of four. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, then studied percussion at Indiana University.

Career

His professional music career started in 1972 when he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra. After four years with Kenton, he joined Maynard Ferguson for two years. In 1978, he joined Weather Report, 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. In 1983, he performed on the Antilles Records release Swingrass '83. He toured the US in 1992 with Chick Corea. Erskine splits his time as a musician and a professor at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. 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.

Honors and awards

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

Personal life

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

Discography

As leader

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As co-leader

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As a member

Steps Ahead

As sideman

With Rez Abbasi With John Abercrombie With David Benoit With Wayne Bergeron With Warren Bernhardt With Randy Bernsen With Chris Botti With Michael Bublé With Gary Burton With Joey Calderazzo With George Cables With Alex Cline With Pino Daniele With Eddie Daniels With Yelena Eckemoff With Eliane Elias With Maynard Ferguson With Don Grolnick With Bob James With Marc Johnson With Stan Kenton With Diana Krall With Chuck Loeb With Mike Mainieri With Vince Mendoza With Al Di Meola With Bob Mintzer With Makoto Ozone With Alan Pasqua With Jaco Pastorius With John Patitucci With Lee Ritenour With John Scofield With Mike Stern With Sadao Watanabe With Weather Report With Kenny Wheeler Source: With others Source:

Books

DVD