Ernesto Cervini
Drums
43 age
February 25, 1982 Birthday
Toronto, Ontario, Canada Birthplace
ernestocervini.com Website
Social
Shows
About
Ernesto Cervini is a JUNO Award-winning jazz drummer, composer, and bandleader based in Toronto. He leads several ensembles including the Ernesto Cervini Quartet — featuring Joel Frahm, Adrean Farrugia, and Dan Loomis — and the sextet Turboprop. His album "Abundance" (Turboprop) won the 2020 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year (Group). A prolific recording artist with approximately 24 albums as leader or co-leader, Cervini has earned praise from DownBeat, Modern Drummer, and JazzTimes for his dynamic playing and compositional voice. Beyond performing, he co-founded TPR Records with Oded Lev-Ari, runs the jazz publicity firm Orange Grove Publicity, serves as Artistic Director of the Markham Jazz Festival, teaches drums at the University of Toronto, and hosts the documentary podcast "Canadian Songbook."
Trivia
Despite being a JUNO-winning jazz drummer, Cervini plays drums and sings backing vocals in Idioteque, a Toronto-based Radiohead tribute band active since at least 2012. His 2022 album "Joy" was composed entirely as a musical response to Louise Penny's bestselling Gamache mystery novel series, with tracks depicting characters and landscapes from the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines. Cervini also plays Ultimate Frisbee and softball on a weekly basis.
Early Life
Ernesto Cervini was born in Toronto in 1982 into a musical family — his sister Amy Cervini is a New York-based jazz vocalist who has collaborated with him extensively. He began studying piano at age 5 and took up drums at age 9, later recalling that he was "initially attracted to the rhythm, and also to the challenge of coordinating my body. Plus, hitting things is fun!" Before focusing on drums, he completed studies in classical piano and clarinet performance at the Royal Conservatory of Music. By age 13, he was drumming in the Toronto All-Star Big Band. Cervini earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto and moved to New York City in 2003 for a Master of Music at the Manhattan School of Music, where he formed lasting partnerships with Joel Frahm and Dan Loomis. He returned to Toronto around 2007.
Ernesto Cervini Solos
2022
Drums solo - The Golden Mean - 2022
4/4 swing in C major at 156 BPM
Drums solo - Outbreak - 2022
4/4 swing in D minor at 299 BPM