Alex Pertout

Percussion

photo credit: Matthew Stanton

Alex Pertout is recognised as one of Australia’s leading percussionists and with credits on hundreds of albums, soundtracks and jingles is undeniably one of Australia’s most recorded musicians. His playing has graced number one charting singles and albums and many award winning recordings. He has also attained credits with television and theatre orchestras, in countless live performances, as a multi-instrumentalist/composer and record producer, as an improviser and as an author. He has also established himself as a respected educator and is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Contemporary Music Performance [Improvisation] at the Faculty of VCA and Music at the University of Melbourne.



As one of the founding member of the Australian Art Orchestra led by Paul Grabowsky, Alex has toured Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania, he has also performed as a soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and has recording, performance and television orchestra credits with an array of artists including Powderfinger, Badi Assad, Tony Gould, Paul Kelly, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Shane Howard, James Morrison, Casiopea, Little River Band w/John Farnham, Brian Brown, Hunters & Collectors, Tina Arena, Archie Roach, Daryl Braithwaite, Charlelie Couture, The Commodores, Chaka Khan, Jane Rutter, Slava Grigoryan, Tim Finn, Christine Sullivan, Things of Stone and Wood, Tony Gould, Olivia Newton-John, Kavisha Mazzella, Don Burrows, Grace Knight, Goanna, Redgum, The Seekers, Ted Egan, James Reyne, The Black Sorrows w/ Joe Camilleri, Stephen Cummings, Ross Wilson, Kate Ceberano, Danii Minogue, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, Mondo Rock, Marc Hunter, Vince Jones and Neil Murray among many others.



His percussive work can also be heard on numerous motion picture and television soundtracks including Crocodile Dundee, A Few Good Years, Empire Falls, Siam Sunset, Witch Hunt, Shiner, Lilian’s Story, The Craic, Aladdin The Return of Jafa, Andre The Seal, Diana & Me, Gross Misconduct, The Silver Brumby, Lightning Jack, Last Days of Chez Nous, Hurricane Smith, Death Before Dishonour, Napoleon Kulta, Cheetah and Brilliant Lies to name a few, with television orchestras on all the major networks, and was a featured percussionist in a year-long season of The Lion King theatre production at the Regent Theatre. As a multi-instrumentalist and composer, he has released a self-titled cd as well as From The Heart featuring Mike Stern, Tom Coster, Raul Rekow, Hossam Ramzy, Paul Grabowsky, Tommy Emmanuel and Mark Levine among others. He was also featured on the cd Percussion On Fire released by US Jazziz magazine. He is the author of Sight Reading: the Rhythm Book by US publishers Mel Bay, and is endorsed internationally by Meinl percussion, Sabian cymbals and Vater sticks.

Alex was recently awarded a Master of Philosophy in Music degree at the Australian National University. His recent work includes performances with the Australian Art Orchestra, Paul Kelly, Joe Chindamo, and with his personal ensembles Alex & Nilusha, Orquesta Frenesi and Coro Yambu.

Alex is featured on the new release by jazz pianist Joe Chindamo Another Place Some Other Time (2010 ARIA nominee for Best Jazz Album) and on the number one Australian album Golden Rule (2010 ARIA nominee for Best Rock Album) by Powderfinger.

For more about Alex, visit his website at www.alexpertout.com