Fri Apr 25
In his decade-plus residence in New York, compelling drummer and producer Ross Pederson has performed regularly around town and toured the world as a sideman ranging from collaborating with Snarky Puppy and supporting Patti Austin at a Kennedy Center New Year’s Eve extravaganza to today serving as the drummer for the Manhattan Transfer, an international gig since 2016, and he’s currently working with Grace Kelly and Shayna Steele. But, he says, his broad musical taste has taken him in many directions. Call him a musical chameleon. “I have roots in different kinds of music that don’t show up in my sideman gigs,” says Pederson, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, and graduate of the University of Texas Jazz Studies. “So, I was looking for an outlet to express myself as an artist.” With a stellar band of musicians attuned to a different sonic experience informed by jazz, rock, pop and even full-tilt hip-hop, Pederson makes his solo recording debut with the self-fulfilling title, Identity. The indie release—available August 25 on most streaming platforms—opens with a splash and ends with a surprise. “This is me,” Pederson says. “It’s a sensibility of one foot in the jazz world and one foot in pop. I drum, program, and added in layers of synths and percussion during the Identity production.”
Band Members:
Rahsaan Barber, saxophones
Stephen Anderson, piano
Jason Foureman, bass
Ross Pederson, drums