Aethereal Bace

Aethereal Bace is the name of a new trio that stars saxophonist Abraham Burton and drummer-percussionists Eric McPherson and Nasheet Waits. Burton attended the High School of Music & Art and then studied under Jackie McLean at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, while earning a Bachelor of Arts in Music. Burton gained attention for his playing during his five years with Taylor’s Wailers, the group led by veteran drummer Art Taylor. Since then, Burton has played with such notable jazz musicians as Wynton Marsalis, Milt Jackson, Roy Hargrove, James Carter, Kenny Barron and Jimmy Smith. He has also recorded several CDs with his own group, including Rawbone, which co-stars McPherson. McPherson who was named after Eric Dolphy, grew up surrounded by jazz musicians and at 3 told Elvin Jones that he was going to be a drummer someday. He began on drums at 8, studied for seven years with Michael Carvin, and as a teenager was already playing with both Abraham Burton and Nasheet Waits. McPherson played drums throughout high school and also studied with McLean at Hartt. So impressed was McLean by the youth that he invited him to join his quintet, a position that McPherson held for 15 years. He has also worked with Pharoah Sanders, Andrew Hill, Jason Moran and Greg Osby, among others. Waits, the son of drummer Freddie Waits, played drums as a teenager but at first went to college at Morehouse in Atlanta, majoring in psychology and history. However, he switched back to music when he transferred to Long Island University where, like McPherson, he studied with Michael Carvin. Max Roach hired Waits to play in his all-percussion ensemble M’Boom. Waits has since worked extensively with Antonio Hart, Andrew Hill, Jason Moran’s Bandwagon and the Fred Hersch Trio. He has also recorded with many top jazz musicians, including Geri Allen, Steve Coleman, Stefon Harris, the Mingus Big Band, Joshua Redman and Wallace Roney.