Rudy Royston

Rudy Royston is a first-call jazz drummer known for the explosive energy and coloristic detail he brings to the bands of Bill Frisell, JD Allen, and Dave Douglas. Born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised in Denver, Colorado, he first played drums in church and found his voice under trumpeter Ron Miles, a formative mentor with whom he worked from 1991. He studied classical percussion at the University of Denver before relocating to the New York area in 2006 and earning a master's degree from Rutgers University. As a bandleader he debuted with 303 in 2014 on Dave Douglas's Greenleaf Music label, followed by the trio set Rise of Orion in 2016 and the chamber-like quintet album Flatbed Buggy in 2018.