Ahead of their concert at the Tata Theatre this month, we speak to trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Peter Erskine, both acclaimed, award-winning artistes, about their eventful careers, ties of kinship and why their Mumbai performance will challenge musical notions.
By Anurag Tagat
Randy Brecker and Peter Erskine have carved their individual identities in jazz, mastered different instruments, performed with legends and along the way, became legends themselves, but when the two come together, a sense of familiarity seeps through their music and flows to the listeners. They go back a long way—Brecker and Erskine first met in 1960 at the Stan Kenton Clinic, a summer course offered in association with the National Stage Band Camps held at Indiana University—and music has been the protagonist in their story all along.
Versatile trumpeter and composer Brecker recalls that he was 15 years old, and Erskine was about seven or eight when they met that summer. “His [Erskine’s] father was the camp doctor and Peter was a phenomenal prodigy. He was always a fan of the Brecker brothers,” the trumpeter says, invoking the jazz fusion act he eventually formed with his brother Michael Brecker.
“I have a group photo from that camp,” adds Erskine. Both artistes—now multiple Grammy winners—also went to Indiana University, albeit a few years apart. The drummer explains that in some shape or form, he and Brecker have been making music together since the late 1970s, including a tour of Japan together in 1980. They went on to be in the same line-up in acclaimed ensembles, including Jaco Pastorius’s Word of Mouth Big Band. “We found a good kind of musical kinship or brotherhood,” Erskine says.
Brecker, who will turn 80 in November, has great memories of performing with Erskine and is looking forward to meeting his friend again. “It will be a special treat,” he says. They will play with the Made in NY band alongside pianist Otmaro Ruiz, saxophonist Yaacov Mayman and bassist Richie Goods. In addition to the Mumbai concert, the NCPA will be treating audiences in Bengaluru to Brecker and Erskine’s music as part of its collaboration with the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts.
Erskine, for his part, says that while most people have been drawn to Brecker’s “fiery playing”, he finds the trumpeter’s “lyrical and poetic” side alluring. “He told me that his mother and father enjoyed his playing on my albums so very much, because I would always feature Randy on a ballad. I think they really loved hearing him play [that style], because he has such a gorgeous sound and he is a very poetic player,” the drummer says.
The most popular work between them, arguably, is Brecker’s song ‘Some Skunk Funk’, which became a live album in 2005. It went on to win two Grammy Awards in 2007, including Best Jazz Instrumental Solo (Michael Brecker) and Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. While that album has Brecker at his loudest and most energetic, Erskine wants to draw out the lyrical side of the trumpeter. “I’m hoping we will get to explore some of that,” he says. Erskine has sent ahead a bit of material to Brecker and their bandmates to make sure their setlist is sorted for these upcoming shows in India and the ones prior, in Montenegro.
What is certainly in store is a performance for the history books in India, a country that Brecker is visiting for the second time. In 1966, the trumpeter had visited India as part of the Indiana University Jazz Ensemble in what he describes as “the greatest trip” that also included stops in the Middle East and parts of Asia. Brecker recalls being exposed to Indian music, “It opened our eyes to the improvisational abilities of classical Indian music, and we heard a lot, and we played a lot with the musicians back then … It’s a thrill bringing American music to the world. But on the other hand, it’s a thrill bringing the music back into our own souls.”
Brecker spent all his time after that becoming one of the most versatile names in American music. From playing solo and working with groups like Blood, Sweat & Tears, Dreams and Brecker Brothers to performing as a sideman for everyone from Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and Chaka Khan to Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Paul Simon and several more, Brecker has done it all. Admittedly, it is a hard thing to explain how he was pulled into projects across such diverse genres. “I think I was well versed,” he says.
He routes it back to another story from the 1960s when he travelled through Europe and won a jazz contest and made a lot of friends. “Word got around that there were these young players, and we had longer hair than the traditional musicians. We were dressed kind of in the modern way. And we had grown up with rock ’n’ roll and R&B. So I think that had a lot to do with why people started calling us,” Brecker says. Soon enough, he was booked for 15 sessions a week and each day was a different experience for the artiste. “It was a fun way to make a living. It doesn’t quite exist any more, because everyone can do it themselves in their closet. But those years were a lot of fun for me,” he adds.
Erskine’s trajectory to global acclaim also began by being a prolific artiste, performing in groups like The Weather Report (with Pastorius) and Steps Ahead, and artistes like John Scofield, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Kate Bush and Michael Bublé, among several others. Right from the 1970s, when he joined the big bands of Kenton and later, Maynard Ferguson, Erskine was inspired by the likes of Roy Haynes and Art Blakey. “And then the Beatles came along. Then I discovered James Brown. I listened to all kinds of music, including the music of Ravi Shankar, and at one moment, I thought, it’s possible to play all these kinds of music, and that is why I wanted to become a studio musician,” he says.
Eventually, Erskine felt his focus had changed. It wasn’t so much about taking directions from other artistes about what to play but wanting to play the music he liked. “Now, it’s a little bit more of a private investigation that I’m happy to do in front of an audience,” the drummer says.
He turns his attention back to the upcoming India performances to say audiences can expect the kind of playing that is more “simmering level” rather than “boiling with the food exploding everywhere.” The drummer is quick to add, “If Randy has something that’s more energetic, we’ll meet the music on its own terms.”
Erskine has played and jammed to music at the highest volume in his younger days, but now he is about drawing people into a story and “respecting the audience’s intelligence.” To that end, we can expect Brecker, Erskine and the band to challenge our preconceived notions. He says, “A lot of times when I play, when people expect the drums to get stronger, I actually will get very soft. It is almost theatrical, a dramatic technique in that when the character speaks more softly, it draws the listener in, and creates a very interesting tension.”
With these shows, we will likely see and hear a masterful performance from legendary artistes who will keep the audience guessing with their versatility, even after all these decades.
This article was originally published in the July 2025 issue of ON Stage.
