Vinnie Colaiuta

Colaiuta was given his first drum kit when he was seven. He took to it naturally, with little instruction. When he was fourteen, the school band teacher gave him a book that taught him some of the basics. Buddy Rich was his favorite drummer until he heard the album Ego by Tony Williams and The Tony Williams Lifetime, an event that changed his life. Colaiuta was also listening to organ groups, notably Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Don Patterson.

While a student at Berklee College of Music, when jazz fusion was on the rise, he listened to and admired Alphonse Mouzon and Billy Cobham.

After leaving school, he played local gigs in Boston. He joined a brief tour organized by Al Kooper, then worked in California on an album by Christopher Morris, which Kooper was producing. Although he returned to Boston, Colaiuta was drawn back to California by friends. He took the bus from Boston to Los Angeles during the Great Blizzard of 1978.

After performing in jazz clubs, he won the audition to play drums for Frank Zappa. He toured with Zappa and appeared on the albums Joe's Garage, Tinsel Town Rebellion, and Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar. Modern Drummer magazine chose Joe's Garage as one of the top 25 drum performances of all time.

In 1981, he ceased touring with Zappa to become a studio musician, recording for the band Pages and pop singer Gino Vannelli. Opportunities arose with saxophonist Tom Scott and bassist Larry Klein, who invited Colaiuta to play on a record by Klein's then-girlfriend, Joni Mitchell. When Klein and Mitchell got married, Colaiuta was the best man at their wedding. During the 1980s, he toured with Mitchell.

In 1986, he became the house drummer of The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. The band, called the Party Boys and the Tramp, was led by Mark Hudson.

By the end of the 1980s he was recording albums, TV and film work during the day, and playing clubs at night. In addition to pop acts, he has worked with jazz musicians Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Buell Neidlinger, and the Buddy Rich Big Band.

In 1990, Colaiuta got a phone call from Sting, flew to England, and won the audition to become a member of his band. He remained with Sting for much of the 1990s, touring and recording the albums Ten Summoner's Tales (1993), Mercury Falling (1996), Brand New Day (1999) and Sacred Love (2003). In 1994, Colaiuta released his debut solo album.

On November 12, 2016, he played with Sting in the first concert to be held at the Bataclan in Paris since the terrorist attack a year earlier.

He has won over fifteen Drummer of the Year awards from Modern Drummer magazine's annual reader polls. These include ten awards in the "Best Overall" category.

• 1994 Vinnie Colaiuta (Stretch)
• 2018 Descent into Madness (A-Tone Recordings)
• 2021 Mother's Milk (A-Tone Recordings)

(with Robben Ford and Jimmy Haslip)

• 2002 Jing Chi
• 2003 Jing Chi Live at Yoshi's
• 2004 3D
• 2017 Supremo

• 2019 Hard Candy (A-Tone Recordings)

• 1982 Wild Things Run Fast
• 1985 Dog Eat Dog
• 1991 Night Ride Home

• 1982 Desire
• 1987 Streamlines
• 1988 Flashpoint
• 1999 Smokin' Section

• 1991 The Soul Cages Concert (on VHS and LaserDisc)
• 1993 Ten Summoner's Tales
• 1996 Mercury Falling
• 1999 Brand New Day
• 2003 Sacred Love
• 2016 57th & 9th

• 1979 Joe's Garage
• 1981 Tinseltown Rebellion
• 1981 Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
• 1983 The Man From Utopia
• 1988 Guitar
• 1991 Any Way the Wind Blows
• 1995 Strictly Commercial
• 1988 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1
• 1991 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
• 1992 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6
• 1996 The Lost Episodes (1996)
• 1996 Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
• 1997 Have I Offended Someone?
• 1999 Son of Cheep Thrills
• 2003 Halloween
• 2006 Trance-Fusion
• 2007 Buffalo
• 2016 Chicago '78

• 2023 Rio, Trevor Rabin