The beat of a different drum

It was perhaps the best news die-hard local jazz buffs have heard in the past month – a rumor that initially started in the music retail circuit and soon spawned all sorts of speculations among serious fans, enthusiasts and players.

Peter Erskine, fabled jazz drummer, would fly in for a VSOP drum clinic at the Yamaha main showroom in Makati. True enough, after confirming with GA Yupangco’s amiable Chris Ortega (who, along with Alsee Legaspi, made the accommodations for our interview), we did our research and headed off to the fully-packed venue last Aug. 20.

As expected, Manila’s best drummers came in full force. Mar Dizon (Parliament Syndicate) and Ernie Severino (Side A) shared stellar billings as they participated in the two-hour long workshop which discussed the finer points of drum technique.

A believer in the "less is more" school of drum chops, Erskine stressed the importance of space, and shunned the "let’s get loud" approach prevalent among the younger players.

Born 1954 in Somers Point, New Jersey, Erskine was a child prodigy who studied with the great Alan Dawson who also mentored equally-prodigious fusion drummer Tony Williams. He started his career when he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra at 18, and has since joined such groups as Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Steely Dan, Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, aside from other equally-diverse ensembles as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern and the L.A Philharmonic.

Aside from his backbreaking session schedule, he also runs his own label, Fuzzy Music, and tours and teaches extensively. Erskine has received various awards for his work, including a Grammy and is a five-time recipient of the Modern Drummer Reader Poll in the Mainstream Jazz Drummer category.

His philosophical leanings can be gleaned from his book The Drum Perspective.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Peter Erskine: I’m a guy who’s very lucky to do what he loves to do. I love to play music and it’s a wonderful way to go through life, and I love to play for people, and I love to get to meet people, and today was a very nice surprise. I had no idea I would enjoy the Philippines so much.

Q: You did some animation work?

PE: I did Japanese animation and I actually did some music for Malaysian animation called Kenpo Boy. I don’t know if you know, but I saw some of the CDs here tonight. In 1986, I wrote a song called Corazon and I dedicated it to Corazon Aquino because I was so excited by what happened here in the Philippines and what she represented. And I was always hoping she might get to hear it someday. I don’t know if she ever did.

Q: It was an album you did for Denon called Transition, right?

PE: Yeah, yeah... the Transition album.

Q: Who are your musical influences?

PE: Wow... hmmm... always many influences, but you know... drumming wise... a lot of the bebop drummers are the guys that really influenced me, and post-bop guys like Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes and Mel Lewis. I also listen to Bach though.

Q: We read that one of your influences is Igor Stravinsky...

PE: Initially, it was the rhythm and chamber music like Histoire du Soldat, A Soldier’s Tale and of course, The Rite of Spring, which is so powerful... and Petroushka. I loved his melodies, harmonies and counterpoint and after a while, it just becomes kind of the whole sensibility of a musician’s works that you hear, you know.

Q: You wrote a book called The Drum Perspective. What is that all about?

PE: It’s essentially a book about the philosophy of drumming really – the philosophy of drumming as it relates to the purely mechanical aspects. So, the book is an attempt to put into words those musical ideas that are so hard to put in words. So, in essence, the book is very much like doing private study with me.

Q: You also wrote scores for film and theater, like Side Man?

PE: I’m glad you mentioned it. Side Man is a Tony award- winning play from Broadway that up until the Los Angeles production, which we did just a few months ago, had always used existing music from jazz albums and CDs. Director Andrew Robinson in LA asked me to come up with an original score, and so the music was very much tailored to the tone of the play. And I think it was much more effective to have one trumpet voice for the main character as opposed to using recordings of Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, whatever ... so, we used a jazz quintet. The Side Man is about the family of this jazz musician, the trumpet player and so it’s primarily a bebop-oriented score.

Q: How does the creative process differ in writing for an album or group as opposed to writing for a soundtrack?

PE: That’s an interesting question. Hmmm... when you’re writing for a play or film, you’re not staring at a blank canvas. You have a definite image and for me, that really helps. You know, great composers have enough technique they don’t need that inspiration. But for me, I find it helps to have it. But a lot of times, music just seems to come up on its own and those are the things I enjoy to do with my trio.

Q: Your list of credits includes more than 300 recordings, film and theater scores, animation, books and records, aside from drum clinics and tours. How do you maintain such a tight schedule?

PE: Well, I have a wonderful wife and two great kids. My wife really holds everything together. So, whenever I play a concert and it’s a success, I say to her, "We did a great job tonight!" That for me is really the secret – having such a strong partner.

Q: Your record company’s name is Fuzzy Music. Why is that so?

PE: I had to come up with a name and I just finished reading a book about fuzzy logic and I just thought it would be fun to call it Fuzzy Music.

Q: How many albums have you released so far under Fuzzy Music?

PE: I believe we are up to 11 now, with my trio with Alan Pasqua and Dave Carpenter. We did a double CD which came out last year called Live at Rocco’s, and just last week, we completed our next album and I’m really excited by how good it sounds. The other recording I’d like to mention is called London Concert by the Don Grolnick Group featuring Michael and Randy Brecker, Marly Ehrlich, Peter Washington, Robin Eubanks, Don Alias on congas, and of course, Don. (pauses) Don passed away from cancer a few years ago and everything we get from this recording will go to cancer research in Don’s name, so we’re hoping more and more people will support this cause and hear some great music.

Q: Given your hectic schedule, what do you listen to?

PE: Let’s see ... what did I bring with me? I brought Bach – the Goldberg variations, as performed by Glenn Gould, and a record by a guy named Shuggie Otis, which came out in 1974. Anybody know who Shuggie Otis is? Okay, you‘ve got to tell everybody in the Philippines. He played on Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats album on the first tune Peaches and Regalia. He was like 16 years old then. He played bass on it. And he made an album and a second one, and that one came out in 1974 and he played every instrument on the record. And it’ s the missing link between Sly and the Family Stone and everything that came after it, like Earth, Wind and Fire, Prince, etc. It’s an incredible album and it was just re-released on CD. When I heard it, I went, "Wow!" I put it in my computer and listen to it whenever I can.

Q: That’s all for now, and we all hope you can come back in the near future with a band in tow.

PE: I’m looking forward to it. Maybe I could bring Alan Pasqua and Dave Carpenter or the Trio E-L-B, if you could arrange for it with a local producer.