BRIAN'S BIO
Brian E. Edwards was born in Pittsburgh, PA to musician parents. His love affair with the drums began at age three, and it was at that time his parents realized they had a prodigy on their hands. Brian came up in the strong Pittsburgh tradition of jazz, and decided to follow in the footsteps of great Pittsburgh drummers like Kenny Clark, Art Blakey, Joe Harris, and Roger Humphries. In his teens he attended the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts where he studied under Roger Humphries. It was also around this time that he started to expand his abilities by diving into Drum and Bugle Corps, Fusion and R&B.
Upon graduating high school, he attended Duquesne University where he studied with Don Liuzzi and Lenny Rodgers. While studying at Duquesne, Brian began quickly building a reputation for being quite a “player,” and was soon getting calls from Pittsburgh greats like Kenny Blake, David and Maureen Budway, Dwayne Dolphin, Jimmy Ponder, Eric Kloss, Dakota Staton, Modern Times, Don Aliquo Sr., and Tony Janflone Sr.After leaving Duquesne, Brian embarked on a touring and recording career that has taken him to Europe and Japan numerous times. He has played most major European venues including Wembley Arena and Royal Albert Hall in performances for the Royal family. He also has several American and European television appearances under his belt some of which include: MTV Europe, BET on Jazz, Live @ The Dome-Berlin, Live on Q, Halloween Live w/Jenny Jones. Brian’s international recording debut was on Jesse Johnson’s CD, Bare My Naked Soul. He has also released three solo recordings...The Theorical Journey, Diary Of A Dreamer, and the newest project Wanderlust. He recently did a stint with Jesse Johnson and D'Angelo! Besides being an in demand drummer, Brian is a composer, producer, author of two drum instruction books, Rhythm Basics Vol. 1 and Rhythm Concepts. He is also a highly sought after instructor. Brian is not your ordinary drummer, but rather he is a visionary and music powerhouse that has to be experienced to be believed.
Education:
Pittsburgh High School For The Creative & Performing Arts (1981-1985)
Studied with Roger Humphries
Duquesne University
Teaching Experience:
Private Instructor
Private Instructor--Bentley & Romito (Irwin, PA)
Percussion Department Head—Pittsburgh Jazz Workshop (Pittsburgh, PA)
Percussion Department Head—Music & Arts Center (Virginia)
Percussion Department Head—Westinghouse High School (Pittsburgh, PA)
Percussion Instructor—Rimshots (Maryland)
Rhythm Section Symposium—Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA)
Touring and Performing Credits:
Jesse Johnson
D'Angelo
T.M.G. Recordings
Jonn Del Toro Richardson
Sean Carney
Boney Fields
Tonky De La Pena
Marcus Anderson
Eric Darius
Rayce Biggs
Art Sherrod Jr
DeBarge
Bunny DeBarge
El DeBarge
Alexander O’Neal
Barbara Blue
Cherrelle
Tom Shuman
Joe McBride
Jeffery Osborne
Bobby McFerrin
Ronnie Laws
Dwayne Dolphin
Kenny Blake
Gene Ludwig
Ingrid Chavez
Jimmy Ponder
Sheila Ray Charles
Tony Janflone, Sr.
Walter Chestnut
Tony Janflone, Jr.
Jenny Jones
Roy Hargrove
Paisley Park Records
Eddie Baccus Jr
Angela Bofil
Kenny Rankin
Libby Goines
Dakota Staton
Eric Kloss
Eric Leeds
The Itals
Don Aliquo Sr
Don Aliquo Jr.
Sony
CBS/Tabu
Jeff Healey
Shangoya
Javeeta Steele
Ron Holloway
Innocent
David Budway
Maureen Budway
Samson and Delilah
Dr. John Wilson Quartet
BTK & The Regulators
VENUES PLAYED INSIDE USA
Paisley Park, Minneapolis, Mn
Antone's~Austin, Tx
Carter Baron ~Washington, DC
Hippodrome Theater ~Baltimore, MD
The Apollo Theater ~New York, NY
The RamsHead ~Annapolis, MD
Royal Theater ~Detroit, MI
The Strand ~San Diego, CA
Cobo Arena ~Detroit, MI
The Baccanaal ~San Diego, CA
Starlight AmphiTheater ~Kansas City, MO
Vonn Jazz & Blues ~Columbus, OH
Night Town ~Cleveland, OH
The New Daisy Theater~Memphis,Tn
The Orpheum Theater~Memphis , Tn
Stage A/E~Pittsburgh ,Pa
Three Rivers Stadium ~ Pittsburgh, PA
Keifer Front Arena ~New Orleans, LA
Heinz Hall ~Pittsburgh, PA
Super Dome ~New Orleans, LA
The Graffitti ~Pittsburgh, PA
Glam Slam ~Minneapolis, MN
Syria Mosque ~Pittsburgh, PA
The Cabooze ~Minneapolis, MN
August Wilson Center ~Pittsburgh, PA
1st Avenue ~Minneapolis, MN
The Benedum Theater ~Pittsburgh PA
The Fineline ~Minneapolis, MN
Blues Alley ~Washington, DC
Minneapolis Convention Center ~Mpls, MN
HR-57 ~Washington, DC
The Strathmore ~Frederick, MD
VENUES PLAYED OUTSIDE USA
*Belgium
Spirit of 66 ~VerViers
*Japan
Billboard Live-Osaka, Japan
Billboard Live-Tokyo, Japan
The Budakon ~Tokyo
*Germany
The Dome ~Berlin
The Hippodrome ~Munich
*United Kingdom
Wembley Arena ~Wembley
Hammersmith Odeon ~London
Royal Albert Hall ~London
Jazz After Dark ~London
G-Mex ~Manchester
Birmingham N.E.C. ~Birmingham
Oxford Apollo ~Oxford
Bournemouth International ~Bournemouth
Brighton Center ~Brighton
Bristol Hippodrome ~Bristol
Nottingham Royal Center ~Nottingham
Sheffield City Hall ~Sheffield
Cornwall Coliseum ~Cornwall
New Castle City Hall ~New Castle
Manchester Apollo ~Manchester
*Scotland
Edinburgh Playhouse ~Edinburgh