Julian Gerstin
Julian Gerstin (percussion) specializes in the traditional styles of Cuba, Martinique, Ghana ... and experimental jazz. Since moving to Vermont in 2006, Julian has founded Zabap (his dream band), performed with the Windham Symphony and jazz vocalist Samirah Evans, sung with the River Singers choir, and accompanied the choirs Emerald Stream, Brattleboro Community Chorus, and Brattleboro Women’s Chorus. In California from 1984-2006, Julian was a percussionist with the African bands Kotoja and Zulu Spear, experimental jazz artists Joel Harrison and Eddie Gale, Brazilian samba groups Batucada Nana and Batucada do Leste, Afro-Cuban dancer Judith Justíz, Ghanaian drummer C.K. Ladzekpo, world beat band Syncrosystem, and numerous others. He is equally proud of regular appearances in the famous Cuban rumba sessions at La Peña Café.
Julian began studying percussion with Milford Graves in the early 1970s, and his Cuban teachers include Sandy Pérez, John Santos, Lorenzo Peñavel, and Michael Spiro. In 1993-95 Julian lived in Martinique, in the French West Indies, learning traditional bèlè drumming and dance. He received a Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1996 and has published articles on Martinique in several scholarly journals.
As a day gig, Julian teaches world music and rhythm studies as Adjunct Instructor of Music at Clark University and Keene State College; runs the Rhythm Workshop and co-directs (with Eugene Uman) the Latin Jazz Ensemble at the Vermont Jazz Center; and teaches Afrocuban percussion at The Loft. He has also taught world music and jazz history at Wesleyan University, Marlboro College, and San José State University.
Julian began studying percussion with Milford Graves in the early 1970s, and his Cuban teachers include Sandy Pérez, John Santos, Lorenzo Peñavel, and Michael Spiro. In 1993-95 Julian lived in Martinique, in the French West Indies, learning traditional bèlè drumming and dance. He received a Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1996 and has published articles on Martinique in several scholarly journals.
As a day gig, Julian teaches world music and rhythm studies as Adjunct Instructor of Music at Clark University and Keene State College; runs the Rhythm Workshop and co-directs (with Eugene Uman) the Latin Jazz Ensemble at the Vermont Jazz Center; and teaches Afrocuban percussion at The Loft. He has also taught world music and jazz history at Wesleyan University, Marlboro College, and San José State University.