Matt Chamberlain
Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) 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.
Matt Chamberlain | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 17, 1967 San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | Official website |
Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American drummer, record producer, and songwriter. He came to prominence with Edie Brickell & New Bohemians,[1] 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.[2][3]
Biography
[edit]Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967.[1] He began learning how to play the drums at age 15, taking lessons with Tower of Power drummer David Garibaldi.[3] He enrolled at North Texas State University (now known as University of North Texas) 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.[4]
While in Texas, Chamberlain joined Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, and was the drummer on their 1990 album Ghost of a Dog.[1] 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".[4] He then left Pearl Jam but recommended his own replacement Dave Abbruzzese.[2] Chamberlain next served as the drummer for the Saturday Night Live house band during the 1991 and 1992 seasons.[1]
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.[5] From the late 1990s to early 2020s he played on most studio albums and their associated tours with Tori Amos.[6] 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.[7][8]
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.[9] In 2005 he was recruited by Bill Rieflin for the experimental Slow Music Project.[10] Since 2007 Chamberlain has participated in the Floratone jazz collective led by Bill Frissell,[11] and in 2020 he formed the grunge supergroup Painted Shield.[12]
In 2019 Chamberlain toured extensively with Bob Dylan.[13][14] During that period he served as musical director for More Music at The Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington.[15] In 2025 he toured extensively with Paul Simon.[16] Between 2016 and 2024, Chamberlain won the Modern Drummer readers' poll in the Studio Musician category four times.[17]
Selected discography
[edit]As group member
[edit]solo
- Matt Chamberlain (2005)
- Company 23 (2012)
- Comet B (2016)
- Foundry (2021)
Critters Buggin
- Guest (1994)
- Host (1997)
- Monkeypot Merganzer (1997)
- Bumpa (1998)
- Amoeba (1998)
- Stampede (2004)
- Live in 95 at the OK Hotel - Seattle 1995 (2009)
- Muti (2014)
Floratone
- Floratone (2007)
- Floratone II (2012)
Painted Shield
- Painted Shield (2020)
- Painted Shield 2 (2022)
Sean Watkins & Matt Chamberlain Duo
- Sean Watkins & Matt Chamberlain (2020)
Slow Music Project
- Live El Rey Theater, May 13 2006
- Live The Coach House, May 12 2006
- Live Largo, May 11 2006
- Live Great American Music Hall, May 9 2006
- Live Showbox, May 6 2006
- Live Aladdin Theater May 5 2006
As studio musician
[edit]Amos Lee
- My New Moon (2018)
A Perfect Circle
- Eat the Elephant (2018)
Bob Dylan
- Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020)
Brad Mehldau
- Largo (2002)
- Highway Rider (2010)
- Ride into the Sun (2025)
Brandi Carlile
- The Story (2007)
- Bear Creek (2012)
- Returning to Myself (2025)
Bruce Springsteen
- Wrecking Ball (2012)
- Western Stars (2019)
Chantal Kreviazuk
- Colour Moving and Still (1999)
Chris Cornell
- Higher Truth (2015)
Chris Isaak
- Speak of the Devil (1998)
Dave Navarro
- Trust No One (2001)
David Bowie
Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
- Ghost of a Dog (1990)
Elton John
- Songs from the West Coast (2001)
Fiona Apple
- Tidal (1996)
- When the Pawn... (1999)
Frank Ocean
- Channel Orange (2012)
Ghost
- Phantomime (2023)
Japanese Breakfast
Jars of Clay
- Inland (2013)
John Fogerty
John Mayer
- Heavier Things (2003)
Kanye West
- Late Registration (uncredited, 2005)
Laura Marling
- Semper Femina (2017)
Leonard Cohen
- Thanks for the Dance (2019)
Lorde
- Solar Power (2021)
Mac Miller
- Circles (2020)
Macy Gray
- On How Life Is (1999)
Of Montreal
- False Priest (2010)
- The Controllersphere ( 2011)
Phantogram
Perfume Genius
Peter Gabriel
- Flotsam and Jetsam (2019)
Randy Newman
- Dark Matter (2017)
Robbie Williams
- Intensive Care (2005)
Rufus Wainwright
- Unfollow the Rules (2020)
Sara Bareilles
- Little Voice (2007)
- Kaleidoscope Heart (2010)
Sam Phillips
Sean Lennon
- Friendly Fire (2006)
Shelby Lynne
- Love, Shelby (2001)
Stevie Nicks
- Trouble in Shangri-La (2001)
The Format
- Boycott Heaven (2026)
The Wallflowers
- Bringing Down the Horse (1996)
- Breach (2000)
Tori Amos
- From The Choirgirl Hotel (1998)
- To Venus And Back (1999)
- Strange Little Girls(2001)
- Scarlet's Walk(2002)
- Tales Of A Librarian(2003)
- The Beekeeper(2005)
- A Piano: The Collection(2006)
- American Doll Posse(2007)
- Abnormally Attracted To Sin(2009)
- Midwinter Graces(2009)
- Christmastide(2020)
- Ocean To Ocean(2021)
- The Music Of Tori And The Muses(2025)
Willie Nelson and Miranda Lambert
The Who
- Who (2019)
Zola Jesus
- Arkhon (2022)
Movie soundtracks
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Corbett, Bernard M.; Harkins, Thomas Edward (2016). "Ride the Wave Where It Takes You". Pearl Jam FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Seattle's Most Enduring Band. Beatback Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-660-3.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Modern Drummer 19932was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Kornelis, Chris (September 16, 2008). "How to Play the Beat From That One Really Popular Song: Matt Chamberlain". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^ a b Himmelman, Jeff (March 10, 2016). "25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
- ^ Renfro, Kim (March 11, 2016). "This rock star drummer goes completely under the radar playing for icons like Kanye West and Elton John". Business Insider. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
- ^ Dawson, Michael (December 6, 2011). "Updated! Matt Chamberlain on the Making of a Career in the Studio". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^ "Soundgarden Plays First Show With New Touring Drummer MATT CHAMBERLAIN". Blabbermouth. March 28, 2014. Archived from the original on April 1, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ^ "Soundgarden Welcome Matt Chamberlain on Drums in Peru". Loudwire. March 28, 2014. Archived from the original on April 1, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ^ Scanlon, Tom (July 24, 2004). "Drummer to the stars calls Seattle home". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
- ^ "Slow Music Project". www.dgmlive.com. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^ West, Michael J. (August 16, 2024). "Matt Chamberlain/Bill Frisell/Tucker Martine/Lee Townsend : Floratone". JazzTimes. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^ "Seattle supergroup Painted Shield set to launch again with third album". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^ Collette, Doug (July 18, 2020). "Bob Dylan: Rough And Rowdy Ways". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Greene, Andy (October 12, 2019). "Hear Bob Dylan Perform 'Lenny Bruce' for First Time in 11 Years". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ "More Music @ the Moore - Education & Community Engagement".
- ^ "PAUL SIMON MAKING SURPRISE RETURN TO TOURING". www.hitsdailydouble.com. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^ "Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive". Modern Drummer. Modern Drummer Publication. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
External links
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