Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead.

Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the drums at the age of four. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy^[2] in Michigan, then studied percussion at Indiana University.

His professional career started in 1972 when he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra. After three years with Kenton he joined Maynard Ferguson for two years. In 1978 he joined Weather Report, joining Jaco Pastorius in the rhythm section. After four years and five albums with Weather Report and the Jaco Pastorius big band Word of Mouth, he joined Steps Ahead.

He was featured on Kate Bush‘s 2005 album Aerial, where Erskine teamed with bass player Eberhard Weber. Diana Krall, Eliane Elias, Queen Latifah and Linda Ronstadt, as well as Scottish and Finnish classical orchestras, have had Erskine perform as a featured musician.

In 1983, he performed on the Antilles Records release Swingrass ’83.

In 2011, he appeared on stage at the Royal Opera House, London in the new opera Anna Nicole.

Erskine splits his time as a musician and a professor at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. In 1992, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apb0eg4AdBg