Music Review: Peter Erskine reconvenes with his trio Sunday at All Saints Church in Pasadena

No matter where you are in the world, you can visit drummer Peter Erskine’s website and choose one of his many apps for your iPhone, take stock of his voluminous discography and check his itinerary for the globe-trotting tour schedules he often undertakes. But you have to live locally to be able to hear the sublime sounds of the Peter Erskine Trio.

They don’t play together often but the virtuosity, communication and spontaneity that regularly pass between Erskine, pianist Alan Pasqua and bassist Darek Oles is an aural oasis in a world of noise. They’ll bring that sui generis quality to the Jazz Vespers service at All Saints Church this Sunday.

Erskine first came to national attention as a wunderkind drummer out of Indiana University, Bloomington, sparking one of the last editions of the Stan Kenton Orchestra.

After that, he propelled the Maynard Ferguson band during its Grammy-winning “Gonna Fly Now” phase. When he joined Weather Report in 1978, the band began its most heralded period, which gave jazz its last known standard tune: Joe Zawinul’s “Birdland.”

New York drummer Michael Benedict recently commented on the galvanizing effect of the young Erskine: “I heard Peter playing the drums with Kenton, and that was it for me. When I saw him, he was 18 — two years older than me. I was floored that someone could play that way at that age. I was able to see a different way of playing: an energetic way to play the drums in a jazz setting that was informed by the rock music around us.”

“I’ve gone though a self-imposed period of atonement,” Erskine confesses, in his Santa Monica home. Speaking of his years as a hard-charging drummer, he adds with a chuckle: “I have a lot of sins to make up for.”

That’s where the Trio comes in. “I’ve found that the chamber setting is the most comfortable for me,” Erskine continues. “I like the clarity; you can hear all of the instruments — every note, every sustain. The music is open enough that the audience can participate. That means that we can leave more unsaid; it allows for spaciousness.”

As a drummer, Erskine modulates his playing accordingly. “In that setting,” he states, “it demands that we be that much more specific. Basically, I’m playing my set like a triangle in an orchestra — very specific and very delicate. We’re making real-time architecture.”

Since moving to SoCal 25 years ago, Erskine has occasionally convened his Trio. Though the bassists may change, pianist Pasqua is as fixed a point in the firmament as Erskine. They met at IU in 1971 and have remained friends and musical collaborators. “Alan’s got a gorgeous touch,” Erskine offers. “The piano sings when he plays.”

Erskine is equally generous in his praise for bassist Oles. “Darek’s got a beautiful sound and a wonderful choice of notes. He’s very deliberate and he chooses his notes with care.” Almost as an afterthought, Erskine adds: “Of course, he really swings, too.”

Does Erskine find a kind of liberation in the trio setting? “Yeah,” he affirms, “because the songs aren’t governed by an arrangement, per se. There’s a tyranny to that structure — something that Weather Report tried to avoid.”

Though he’s known for percussive bombast, Erskine also played on a fair amount of ECM recordings, where low dynamics and use of space was crucial. “I was lucky to play on those sessions,” he contends. “They informed me of those finer calibrations of sound and touch.”

The Santa Monica sunset moves Erskine to the westward window. A horizontal symphony of pale blues, silver-grays and orange-reds hovers over the ocean in a spectacular crescendo. “Look at that,” he marvels. “That’s what we’re trying to do with the Trio.”

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What: All Saints Church Jazz Vespers

When: Sunday, Jan. 17, 5 p.m.

Where: All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena

Contact: (626) 796-1172

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KIRK SILSBEE writes about jazz and culture for Marquee.