Alex Eberhard

Born in Austria, I have studied Classical Percussion and Jazz Drum Kit at the Music University in Graz, where I have earned a “Master Of Arts” degree back in 1999. To decide to move to England in Summer 2002 was the best idea I’ve ever had (although the initial plan was to go to Vancouver/Canada – but that’s another story,...)Being a Jazz drummer in Austria doesn’t exactly give you the best cards if you want to play a lot, so I ended up teaching a lot in the south-eastern corner of Austria. Which was good, but I always felt I wanted to spend my life being a working musician rather than a teacher.Anyway, the south coast of England seemed to be the right choice for me. After just being in the UK for two weeks I had a residency with a band in Brighton. Things that you can’t plan just happened – it is true what they say about meeting the right people at the right time.And now it happened again: Just at the right time I came to play with a wonderful bass player: Steve Thompson. Playing together just instantly felt right. Per chance I had a few gigs with one of the country’s most talented and original pianists: Mark Edwards. And again: on a musical and personal level it just felt right.I had the privilege to play with a lot of fine jazz musicians during the past 5 years: Alan Barnes, Geoff Simpkins, Jim Mullen, Danny Moss, Lennart Anderson, Roland Lacy to name but a few. I have always been a sideman, which is a role that suits my nature, as I never wanted to be the “commander in charge”.“Now’s the time” to lead an exciting trio with my friends Mark & Steve and to be in charge:***************************************************** **********************************************************Th e Alex Eberhard Trio:We have just finished the recording for our first album: 10 original compositions in a variety of different moods, grooves and feels. On a couple of tracks we have had the honour of having Bobby Wellins (ts) and Jim Mullen (g) on board. What a great experience this recording session was – and what a great time we’ve had in the studio.Half of the 10 tunes are written by myself – of which you can hear some excerpts. ************************************************************ ************************************************************ ******** The CD "PELICAN RISING" is out now and has got great reviews. It's available on my website: www.alexeberhard.com ************************************************************ ************************************************************ ********Of course I continue to enjoy being a sideman as well. There are some really nice bands I am in: Alyson Green’s Quartet, Ricky Eastman’s Angel Hart Quartet, Dean Ager’s Rat Pack Trio, Aprile Biggs’s Band and Neal Richardson's Quartet.There are also a variety of Jazz clubs in the south, where I play as the hired sideman for visiting soloists. I also enjoy the session work at recording studios. ************************************************************ ************************************************************ ******** I'm not a Jazz purist, but like (almost) all kinds of music as long as it's got a groove and is fun to play. So if you've got a good band that needs a drummer for live or session work get in touch.