Brian Slawson

Brian Slawson is an American percussionist, arranger and composer. He is best known for his Grammy-nominated recording, Bach On Wood.

Early life

Brian Montgomery Slawson was born on August 2, 1956, to Ronald and Mildred Slawson in Plattsburgh, New York and was raised in Brookfield, Connecticut. At age 7, he played snare drum in a local fife & drum corps, leading to private drum set instruction at age 10. Brian attended Brookfield High School. After preliminary studies in percussion at the Hartt School, Slawson attended the Juilliard School in New York. Soon after, he signed his first recording contract with CBS Masterworks. Brian’s debut release, Bach On Wood, garnered Slawson a “Best New Classical Artist” Grammy nomination. His followup recording, Distant Drums, featured performances with guitar icon Stevie Ray Vaughan and jazz trumpet great Freddie Hubbard.

Professional career

A sought after studio musician, stage performer and clinician, Brian's multimedia company, Slawsongs, produces custom music for film, television and radio. He is Principal Timpanist of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Professor of Percussion at Eastern Florida State College and Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, and a published author for Alfred Music Publishing and Tapspace Publications. Slawson is the voice of Gusto the Bulldog in Warner Bros. Music Expressions, appears in Macmillan/McGraw-Hill's Spotlight on Music and is a featured performer at Lincoln Center's Meet the Artist Series. Brian also produces television music for Warner Bros. Discovery Networks.
Slawson has performed with Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, John Cage, Robert Shaw, Bernard Haitink, Marvin Hamlisch and opera great, Jessye Norman. He has recorded with pop icons from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Marie Osmond, punctuated jokes for comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Bill Maher, Paul Reiser and Don Rickles, and performed on hundreds of national television and radio commercials.
As a studio percussionist, Brian has recorded with drummers Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl, Steve Ferrone, Andy Newmark, Allan Schwartzberg, Michael Shrieve, Chris Parker, Anton Fig and Grady Tate.

Discography

1985 - Bach on Wood
1985 - A Yule Log
1988 - Distant Drums
1991 - Bach Beat
1999 - Boomer
2003 - XClassics
2010 - BoomerBeats

Television and radio appearances (national)

Print music (listed by publisher)

The following is a list of published works by Slawson.

2011 Dynamic Solos for Snare Drum
2011 Classic Mallet Trios
2012 Dynamic Solos for Timpani
2012 Classic Mallet Trios Volume 2
2013 Classic Mallet Trios - Tchaikovsky
2013 Classic Mallet Trios - Bach
2013 Dynamic Solos for Mallets
2014 Classic Mallet Trios - Beethoven
2014 Dynamic Duets for Snare Drum
2015 Dynamic Solos for Mallets
2009 Two-Part Three-Pack
2009 Goldberg Variation 28
2009 El Paso Waltz
2009 Concerto in A Minor
2009 Children's Medley
2009 Tale of the Dragon
2009 Odd Duck
2009 Winter
2009 Entrance of the Queen of Sheba
2009 Sonata in F
2010 Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
2010 Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream
2010 Top Tank
2011 Menuetto
2011 Intermezzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream
2011 Brandenburg No. 2/Allegro Moderato
2011 Shepherd's Song
2012 Sonata in A Minor
2012 Etude in C Sharp Minor
2012 The Three Banditos
2013 Sonata in F Minor
2013 Waltz in C Sharp Minor
2013 Danse Macabre
2014 Upbeat Suite
2015 Cemetery Salsa
2015 The Storm
2015 Waltz in C-Sharp Minor
2016 Beethoven's Fantasy
2016 Animals
2016 Pop Drop
2016 Ticking Tacos
2016 The Three Buccaneers
2016 A Little Malletmusik
2016 Three Romanian Dances
2016 Christmas Day
2017 Animal Cracker Rag
2017 When You Hear the Drum
2017 Jokers Wild
2018 Soca Polka
2018 Angels in the Moonlight
2018 Cemetery Salsa
2018 Bongito
2018 Cricket
2019 Two-Beat Tango
2019 Dreams from the Dark Forest
2019 Pistoleros
2019 Into the Light / Füm Drum
2020 Teardrop for Vibraphone
2020 Winterland
2021 Little Lullabies
2021 Loggerhead
2021 Santa’s Strut
2021 Nañigo Navidad
2022 Frightmare
2022 Opa!
2022 Fife & Drum
2022 Candlesticks
2022 Heartland
2022 Pelican
2023 Clockbox
2023 Rockbox
2023 Roundup
2023 Song For All Seasons
2023 An American Dream
2023 Rock the Gavotte
2023 Book Bash
2023 Tangito
2023 la Vida de la Noche
2024 Tank Time
2024 Bulb Horn Polka
2024 Yes & No
2025 Flapjack
2025 Strum
2025 In The Bleak Midwinter