Drummer in The Grand Headlight

One of the hot cultural topics in Santa Barbara this year is the birth — and happily continuing saga — of The Grand on State, a bold and elegant entry into that challenging but important American enterprise species: the bona fide jazz club. So far, so good, and now comes time to give the drummer some. 

And it’s not just any drummer, but one of the finest and most versatile living drummers on the planet: Peter Erskine, bringing his L.A.-based trio with pianist Alan Pasqua and bassist Darek Oles, will appear as the second installment of the club’s official “visiting artist” series, on Saturday, August 29. Erskine, who entered jazz’s big league atmosphere in big band mode with Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson, and zoomed into the upper ranks of public visibility as the drummer of choice for Weather Report, in its high-water incarnation alongside Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and Jaco Pastorius. 

Erskine continued in both the plugged-in and acoustic jazz channels with Steps Ahead and sundry other settings, as sideman and project maker, along with starting his own label, Fuzzy Music, and settling into a long and respected academic career at USC (he recently retired).

Surprising some, he fell in — and fell in deep — for the sensitive piano trio groove, in a great and lyrical setting with the now-belated British pianist John Taylor and Swedish bassist Palle Danielsson, recording four revered albums on the ECM label with that group in the ‘90s. Meanwhile, back in his adopted home of Los Angeles, Erskine connected with Pasqua — certainly one of the more underrated West Coast pianists — and bassist Oles, certainly one of the West Coast’s premier bassists. They arrive in their overdue Santa Barbara debut on the heels of a strong album, Peregrine, pieces of which will undoubtedly come to life on Saturday (hear here).

At the risk of pigeonholing this chameleonic artist, let it be known that he is just returning from summer jazz travels, including both piano trio mode with the legendary Fred Hersch and a trip to Japan in electric garb, with his neo-fusion band Dr. Um, a tour dubbed “Steps into the Weather.”

We caught up with Erskine for a post-weather update, pre-The Grand on State. 

You mentioned you were in Japan. What are you up to now, and how has your summer been?

Traveling and playing more than I had planned after my retirement from USC. The “found time” is proving to be a wonderful gift, and I’m enjoying drumming more than ever. Played the Village Vanguard with Fred Hersch in mid-June and then toured Europe along with him and bassist Drew Gress. Came home to a few gigs plus recording work, and am now in Tokyo with my “Dr. Um band” project (“Dr. Um” spells “drum”). Feeling blessed, if a wee bit tired.

I was quite thrilled to hear you with Fred Hersch and Drew Gress at the North Sea festival. Do you see Fred as representing a high watermark of jazz piano playing and thinking among living players, and is it a treat to play with him?

I put Fred in the “genius” category. Playing with him turned out to be exhilarating and fun. I originally said yes to the first gig I did with him a year ago (in Taipei) when asked because Drew Gress was playing bass, and one of the last things Jack DeJohnette told me was, “You want to play with Drew Gress.” And so I did — and I do.

I was trying to remember when I’ve heard you play in Santa Barbara before: my memory banks call up Weather Report shows in the way back… Have you played much in this town?

A few times, once with the Pacific Jazz Orchestra and once with Tierney Sutton. Nice to come back with this trio.

Your latest trio album, Peregrine, is a great addition to your by-now large discography. Speaking of that body of work, is this project special to you in some ways?

The Peregrine album has a sound all its own, and the combination of Alan with Scott Colley turned out to be both amiable and potent. Those two qualities pretty much sum up the album.

Is this trio with Alan Pasqua and Darek Oles something you’re really putting a lot of focus on at this point?

I enjoy nothing more than playing acoustic music, especially in the piano trio format. It took me years to learn and be comfortable in that setting — I could not resist the challenge. Alan and Darek, or Alan and Scott, are so good, so tuned-in to the way I like to imagine music, that it is an effortless joy to create music with them.

You include fresh variations on classic pop tunes — “Poetry Man” and two of my favorite pop songs of all time, “God Only Knows” and “Wichita Lineman.” Was it important to bring that energy into the mix, to give a jazz spin on themes familiar to a broader range of listeners?

The inspiration for this was twofold: one, co-producer and studio — and label — owner Jo Panginlinian requested that we revisit Alan’s arrangement of “Wichita Lineman.” “God Only Knows” was my idea and “On the Lake” has become a crowd favorite of sorts. Anyway, I was happy to honor Jo’s request. 

The second inspiration came by way of my driving around L.A. while listening to Oliver Nelson’s 1966 album Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle, where he covers the Beatles’ “Michelle” and “Yesterday.” The purity and sincerity (and cleverness) of his readings of those tunes prompted me to want to do something similar. Come to think of it, “Poetry Man” was Jo’s idea, too. Great minds thinking or feeling alike.

It is largely a “piano trio” format, with a few exceptions. And that’s a world you have had a strong role in for years, with your classic “European” trio with John Taylor and Palle Danielsson on those great ECM albums. Nice to hear the beautiful and lyrical old tune “On the Lake” revisited: that originated on the 1992 album with John Taylor, You Never Know, didn’t it? Did that trio draw you deeper into the intimate and timeless setting of piano trio music?

Playing with John Taylor and Palle Danielsson changed my life. It was also wonderful to work with Manfred Eicher for those few/halcyon years. John grew disaffected with the trio, and Manfred’s tastes or feelings soon followed. I was more than happy to make music locally by teaming up with Alan Pasqua, first with bassist Dave Carpenter, and then the magnificent Darek Oles after Dave’s premature passing.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I have just now discovered the band Dr. Um, a fascinating “fusion-esque” band with John Beasley and Bob Sheppard. We heard echoes of Weather Report and Steps Ahead in there. What is the status of that project?

The status of the project is that it is named “Dr. Um Steps Into the Weather” for this current tour of Japan, and a tour we did in the fall in Europe. Mike Mainieri is our special guest. He’s 86 years young and playing like a teenager. It’s a dream come true to play this music with him again every set. 

Bob, Beas, and Matt [Garrison] are playing the music wonderfully. Bringing an acoustic mindset and touch to electric music is proving to be a very fun challenge. But it’s a lot more work than the acoustic piano trio.

You are such a hybrid artist — as a drummer, bandleader, working in electric, very acoustic, big band, and other areas, and a longstanding educator and record label owner. Does having all of these various “hats” and directions feed a central creative urge within, and does one area inform another?

Each thing I do informs the next. This was part of the reason Manfred and I parted ways: He could not understand my desire to play piano trio music as well as play the drums on a Steely Dan tour. Maybe he was right, but I would not or could not do any of this differently. It’s been an extremely fun ride so far. That said, I have finally become more discerning and picky about what I choose to play from here on out. Sometimes, the highlight of my day is turning something down!

What projects do you have in the works?

Produced and played on a trio recording with Kenny Werner that I will release on my Fuzzy Music label. The main thing I have in the works is spending more time with my two grandchildren, as well as taking more pictures with my cameras — I love photography. 

A general question: Is this a creatively vital chapter in your long career?

I’ve never played better. But then I suspect most of us say something like that when we’re 72 years old. Still learning, so if that counts as creatively vital, then: “Bingo.”

More than anything else, I count myself as a very fortunate man.

See thegrandonstate.com/events.