Taming the beast - jazz drumming: Greg Wyser-Pratte at TEDxConstitutionDrive

Drummer Greg Wyser-Pratte played both piano and trumpet before realizing his true passion for percussion at age 18. Following a BM degree from Northwestern University, Greg honed his skills in Chicago where he performed with the area's top artists, including Von Freeman, Ron Perrillo, Dan Trudell, Bobby Broom, and Ira Sullivan. In addition to his freelance work, Greg is a longstanding member of the Dan Cray Trio and toured regularly with Dave Specter's blues projects. Highlights from Greg's associations include major festivals in both the United States -- the Chicago, the Idlewild, and the San Jose Jazz Festivals -- and Europe -- the Lucerne Blues Festival and the Netherlands Crossing Border Festival. Greg relocated to San Francisco in 2009, and shortly thereafter he joined celebrated vibraphonist Christian Tamburr's Quartet. Since 2010, Greg has been performing with vocalist Paula West, including her recent engagement at Feinstein's at the Nikko. Greg can be heard alongside many of the Bay Area's other top jazzand blues musicians including Dayna Stephens, Wil Blades, Adam Theis, Mike Olmos, and Steve Freund. Recent national and international tours include performances with vocalists Rene Marie, Clint Holmes, and Charenee Wade, trumpeters Dominic Farinacci and Tatum Greenblatt, saxophonists Jacam Manricks and Bob Reynolds, and pianist Aaron Diehl. In addition to his live performances, Greg is in high demand in the studio, and has received critical acclaim for his appearances on over 20 full-length albums. Recent releases include Places by Christian Tamburr featuring pianist Eric Reed. Finally, Greg is an avid educator who enjoys sharing his concepts with others through clinics and private instruction. He currently maintains a teaching studio in San Francisco for students of all ages. ** In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)