Eric Rosenthal

Biography
Articles

Drummer Eric Rosenthal is based out of the Boston area. The former student of Ed Blackwell has studied and performed more than American jazz drumming; he has also delved into West African traditional and South Indian classical percussion. Rosenthal has performed and improvised with Anthony Braxton, Mat Maneri, Pandelis Karayorgis, Mario Pavone, and the Either/Orchestra. He has performed all over North America and Europe, and appeared in Greece at the Patras Jazz Festival, at Montreal's North Sea Jazz festival, even at Finland's Pori Festival. Besides producing his own improvised music recordings, he also appears on CDs with the Hypnotic Clambake and the Zairean soukous band Freestyle.The late '90s found Rosenthal busy in the group Naftule's Dream. The band has two releases on John Zorn's Tzadik label, Search for the Golden Dreydl and Smash, Clap!

Eric Rosenthal has developed a prominent career playing jazz and improvised music, recording and performing internationally with the big band Either/Orchestra, Roswell Rudd, Anthony Braxton, blues artist David Maxwell, John Voigt, Bhob Rainey, Jack Wright and others. He is currently a member of the Charlie Kolhase Quintet, the Dave Bryant Quartet (Dave is a former member of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time) and the avant klezmer group "Paul Brody's Sadawi" based in Berlin Source: Joslyn Layne

BLINK: BLINK

by Mark Corroto
October 16, 2025

It bears repeating: collective improvisation is far more challenging than individual soloing. It demands discipline, trust, and, as musicians like to say, exceptional ears. Composer and alto saxophonist Jorrit Dijkstra's BLINK demonstrates all three, bringing together five musicians whose listening skills are as sharp as their instincts. The project is built on Dijkstra's long-running Porch Trio, featuring electric bassist Nate McBride and drummer Eric Rosenthal. That core group previously expanded into a sextet for PorchBone (Driff, 2024). With ...

Album Review

Pandelis Karayorgis Double Trio: CliffPools

Read "CliffPools" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
March 5, 2021

Ateniese di nascita, ma ormai residente a Boston dal 1985, il pianista Pandelis Karayorgis riunisce in questo album i due piano trio—rispettivamente Cliff e Pools—con i quali aveva registrato per la Driff Records altrettanti lavori negli anni precedenti, dando vita a una formazione atipica: un quintetto con due contrabbassi e due batterie, formalmente un doppio trio che condivide il pianoforte. A fronte dell'organico e dei lunghi studi dedicati dal pianista a Thelonious Monk e Lennie Tristano, non stupisce ...

Album Review

Pandelis Karayorgis Double Trio: CliffPools

Read "CliffPools" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
March 20, 2020

Visit any dog park and you'll notice canines need no instruction on how to play together. Chasing the ball, chasing each other, or investigating a pond is quite instinctive for our furry friends. Apologies for equating the master musicians heard on CliffPools with a pack of dogs, but a ferocious struggle for dominance this is not. Boston-based pianist Pandelis Karayorgis had the idea to merge two of his piano/bass/drums trios into one coterie of kindred spirits. His trio work with ...

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Album Review

Eric Rosenthal-Bhob Rainey: Crawlspace/Universal Noir

by Glenn Astarita
December 1, 1999

New England area drummer/percussionist Eric Rosenthal continues his collaborations with up and coming stars from the New England improv scene with an interesting set titled, Crawlspace/Universal Noir.

Crawlspace represents seven tracks featuring Rosenthal and soprano saxophonist Bhob Rainey performing as a twosome. On pieces such as “Whereby the Village Seeks Repose & “Certain Debts Are Painstakingly Collected”, Rosenthal and Rainey slice and dice themes, engage in abstracts while performing in a somewhat emotional vein. At times, Rainey’s phrasing and conceptual ...