Matt Chamberlain


Matthew Chamberlain is an American drummer, record producer, and songwriter. He came to prominence with Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, and has worked as a session musician for a wide range of artists including Pearl Jam, David Bowie, Tori Amos, The Wallflowers, Elton John, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, Brandi Carlile, John Fogerty, Sarah McLachlan, and Soundgarden.

Biography

Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums at age 15, taking lessons with Tower of Power drummer David Garibaldi. He enrolled at North Texas State University to study music but left after less than a year. After leaving college, he moved to Dallas, Texas and played with numerous bands in the Deep Ellum music scene.
While in Texas, Chamberlain joined Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, and was the drummer on their 1990 album Ghost of a Dog. He was then recruited by Pearl Jam to assist with live performances after the departure of original drummer Dave Krusen. Chamberlain played with Pearl Jam for three weeks in mid-1991; he did not appear on any recordings but is pictured in the video for the song "Alive". He then left Pearl Jam but recommended his own replacement Dave Abbruzzese. Chamberlain next served as the drummer for the Saturday Night Live house band during the 1991 and 1992 seasons.
Since leaving Saturday Night Live, Chamberlain has maintained a prolific career as an in-demand session drummer and has appeared on more than 200 albums. From the late 1990s to early 2020s he played on most sutdio albums and their associated tours with Tori Amos. In 2014 he joined Soundgarden as touring drummer in support of their reunion album King Animal, playing during several legs of an international tour in relief of drummer Matt Cameron who was busy touring with his other fulltime band Pearl Jam.
In addition to his fequent session work, in 1993 Chamberlain formed the jazz-fusion band Critters Buggin, with which he continues to record and perform periodically. In 2005 he was recruited by Bill Rieflin for the experimental Slow Music Project. Since 2007 Chamberlain has participated in the Floratone jazz collective led by Bill Frissell, and in 2020 he formed the grunge supergroup Painted Shield.
In 2019 Chamberlain toured extensively with Bob Dylan. During that period he served as musical director for More Music at The Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington. In 2025 he toured extensively with Paul Simon. Between 2016 and 2024, Chamberlain won the Modern Drummer readers' poll in the Studio Musician category four times.

Selected discography

As group member

solo
  • Matt Chamberlain
  • Company 23
  • Comet B
  • Foundry
Critters Buggin
  • Guest
  • Host
  • Monkeypot Merganzer
  • Bumpa
  • Amoeba
  • Stampede
  • Live in 95 at the OK Hotel - Seattle 1995
  • Muti
Floratone
  • Floratone
  • Floratone II
Painted Shield
  • Painted Shield
  • Painted Shield 2
Sean Watkins & Matt Chamberlain Duo
  • Sean Watkins & Matt Chamberlain
Slow Music Project
Amos Lee
  • My New Moon
A Perfect Circle
  • Eat the Elephant
Bob Dylan
  • Rough and Rowdy Ways
Brad Mehldau
Brandi Carlile
  • The Story
  • Bear Creek
  • Returning to Myself
Bruce Springsteen
  • Wrecking Ball
  • Western Stars
Chantal Kreviazuk
  • Colour Moving and Still
Chris Cornell
  • Higher Truth
Chris Isaak
Dave Navarro
  • Trust No One
David Bowie
  • Heathen
  • Reality
Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
  • Ghost of a Dog
Elton John
  • Songs from the West Coast
Fiona Apple
  • Tidal
  • When the Pawn...
Frank Ocean
  • Channel Orange
Ghost
  • Phantomime
Japanese Breakfast
  • For Melancholy Brunettes
Jars of Clay
  • Inland
John Fogerty
John Mayer
  • Heavier Things
Kanye West
  • Late Registration
Laura Marling
  • Semper Femina
Leonard Cohen
  • Thanks for the Dance
Lorde
  • Solar Power
Mac Miller
  • Circles
Macy Gray
  • On How Life Is
Of Montreal
  • False Priest
  • The Controllersphere
Phantogram
  • Voices
  • Three
Perfume Genius
Peter Gabriel
  • Flotsam and Jetsam
Randy Newman
  • Dark Matter
Robbie Williams
  • Intensive Care
Rufus Wainwright
  • Unfollow the Rules
Sara Bareilles
  • Little Voice
  • Kaleidoscope Heart
Sam Phillips
  • Omnipop
Sean Lennon
  • Friendly Fire
Shelby Lynne
  • Love, Shelby
Stevie Nicks
  • Trouble in Shangri-La
The Format
  • Boycott Heaven
Tori Amos
  • From the Choirgirl Hotel
  • To Venus and Back
  • Strange Little Girls
  • Scarlet's Walk
  • The Beekeeper
  • American Doll Posse
  • Abnormally Attracted to Sin
  • Midwinter Graces
  • Christmastide
  • Ocean to Ocean
The Wallflowers
  • Bringing Down the Horse
  • Breach
Willie Nelson and Miranda Lambert
  • Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin
The Who
  • Who
Zola Jesus
  • ''Arkhon''

    Movie soundtracks

  • Trainwreck
  • Man of Steel
  • ''Frozen''