The Brian Edwards Excursion

Brian came up in the strong Pittsburgh jazz tradition 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 studied under Roger Humphries at the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Around this time, 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 in 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, such as MTV Europe, BET on Jazz, Live @ The Dome-Berlin, Live on Q, and Halloween Live w/Jenny Jones. Brian’s international recording debut was on Jesse Johnson’s CD Bare My Naked Soul. His second international release was his CD, The Theorical Journey. Besides being an in-demand drummer, Brian is a composer, producer, author of three drum instruction books, and a highly sought-after instructor. Brian is not your ordinary drummer; instead, he is a visionary and music powerhouse that must be experienced to be believed.