Jerry King is one of the finest drummers in Chicago or any other city for that matter, and certainly one of the busiest. With degrees in Italian and International Affairs from DePaul University, and having grown up a military kid in such places as Sicily DCA (yes that’s in Europe), he is definitely an eclectic cat.
Schooled in classical percussion and having studied under Joel Spencer, Dave Bloom, and the tutelage of such great drumming luminaries as, Steve Smith, Jojo Mayer, Kenny Aronoff, and Simon Phillips, just to name a few, it’s safe to assume he knows what he be doin’. Besides his mountain of powerful chops and impeccable groove, Jerry brings a songwriter’s sense of composition to his drumming, distinguishing parts of a song as would a songwriter or arranger and making him a favorite collaborator of rock and pop musicians throughout the scene.
The last 15 years have seen Jerry become one of the most proficient and sought after drummers in the midwest including stints past or currently with the following groups (and this only a few of them, I’m telling you…):
- RD Roth and Issues
- Moxie Blue
- Epicycle
- Black Hole Trio
- the Sound and the Fury
- the Woodrows
- Blues Savant
- the Help Desk
- Fred Prelberg
- Frank Tribes
- Ellis Clark and the Big Parade
- the Hurtin’ Kind
- Karen Hart Band
- Squid Pro Quo
- Carla Prather Group
- the Amazing Heeby Jeebies
- Tale to Astonish
He has also done quite a bit of in the realm of recording sessions and theater work. There’s no such thing as rest in his world.
Jerry is one of the nicest fellas you’d ever hope to meet, and a true artistic talent in every sense of the word. He enjoys fine Italian, Thai, and Middle Eastern cuisine, traveling (especially very slowly in Chicago traffic), warm weather, video games, yard work, running, and is an avid sci-fi, comic book, and adventure movie and mythos lover. He has vowed to see the new Star Wars as many times as an adult can see it and still remain functional, or something like that.