Paul Wertico (born January 5, 1953, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American drummer. He gained recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001, leaving the group to spend more time with his family and to pursue other musical interests.
Music career Groups After Pat Metheny heard the Simon & Bard Group with Wertico and bassist Steve Rodby, he invited both to join his band. During his time with Metheny, Wertico played on ten albums and four videos, appeared on television, and toured around the world. He won seven Grammy Awards (for "Best Jazz Fusion Performance," "Best Contemporary Jazz Performance," and "Best Rock Instrumental Performance"), magazine polls, and received several gold records.
He formed the Paul Wertico Trio with John Moulder and Eric Hochberg and collaborated with Larry Coryell, Kurt Elling, and Jeff Berlin. From 2000 to 2007, he was a member of SBB, the platinum-record-winning Polish progressive rock band. Wertico was a member of the Larry Coryell Power Trio until Coryell's death in 2017.
In 2009, Wertico became a member of the jazz-rock group Marbin with Israeli musicians Danny Markovitch and Dani Rabin. The group performed as Paul Wertico's Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance and recorded an album for the Chicago Sessions label that received accolades from the Chicago Tribune, DRUM!, and Modern Drummer.
Wertico formed Wertico Cain & Gray with multi-instrumentalists David Cain and Larry Gray. Their debut album Sound Portraits (2013) won Best Live Performance Album in the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards, and their fourth album Realization (2015) was nominated for Best Live Performance Album and Best Long Form Video in the 15th Annual Independent Music Awards.
Appearances and other work Wertico played drums on Paul Winter's 1990 Grammy-nominated album, Earth: Voices of a Planet. He played on vocalist Kurt Elling's 1995 Grammy-nominated album, Close Your Eyes, as well as Elling's 1997 Grammy-nominated album, The Messenger, 1998 Grammy-nominated album, This Time It's Love, and 2003 Grammy-nominated album, Man in the Air.
Some of the many other artists Paul has played with: Eddie Harris, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Sam Rivers, Bob Mintzer, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, Jay McShann, Herbie Mann, Lew Tabackin, Randy Brecker, Sonny Fortune, Paolo Fresu, George Coleman, Diane Schuur, Ira Sullivan, Kenny Davern, Mike Stern, Patricia Barber, Tim Hagans, Niels Lan Doky, Joe Daley, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Charlie Haden, Tierney Sutton, Joshua Breakstone, Marcus Belgrave, Charles Gayle, Sheila Jordan and Ramsey Lewis.
He hosted his own radio show, Paul Wertico's Wild World of Jazz, from 2010 to 2012. As Musical Director for the crowdsourced TV video series, Inventing the Future, Wertico was nominated for a 2012–2013 Emmy Award in the “Outstanding Achievement In Interactivity” category by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Midwest Chapter.
He's the inventor of TUBZ, made by Pro-Mark, which also made the "Paul Wertico Signature Drum Stick".
In November 2024, Dream Cymbals released two Paul Wertico signature flat ride cymbals, the 20” & 22” Bliss WERTICO RIDE.
Teaching Wertico is very active in the field of education. In addition to teaching drums privately for 55 years, he is an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University in Chicago, and he also headed the school’s Jazz & Contemporary Music Studies program for five years. He served on the faculty of the percussion and jazz-studies programs at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois for 16 years, and taught at the Bloom School of Jazz in Chicago for several years.
He has written educational articles for Modern Drummer, DRUM!, Drums & Drumming, Drum Tracks, and DownBeat, and for Musician.com. He serves on the advisory board of Modern Drummer, and is also one of their Pro-Panelists.
Wertico served five terms on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy Chicago Chapter the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), as well as serving on both the Advisory Board and the Education Committee of The Jazz Institute of Chicago.
Wertico has performed numerous drum clinics and master classes at universities, high schools, and music stores in the U.S. and around the world, including Drummers Collective in NYC, Percussion Institute of Technology in LA, North Texas State University, and the University of Miami, as well as Musicians Institute in England, Drummers Institute in Germany, Escuela de Música Creativa in Spain, Università della Musica in Italy, Escuela de Música de Buenos Aires in Argentina, and the Rimon School of Jazz in Israel.
He has been a featured clinician/soloist at numerous international drum festivals including Canada’s Cape Breton International Drum Festival and the Montréal Drum Fest, Uruguay’s Montevideo Drum Festival, the CrossDrumming International Festival of Percussive Arts in Poland, the Mendoza International Drum Festival in Argentina, the Percussion Camp International Percussion Festival in Greece, and the First International Drummers Week in Venezuela, as well as at schools and festivals in New Zealand, Chile, Mexico, Russia, Hungary, France, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, and Spain.
He also performed at the 1994, 1999, 2002 & 2018 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, the 1997 Modern Drummer Drum Festival (and appeared in videos of two of those events), and the 2005, 2013, 2014, 2019 & 2023 Chicago Drum Shows. Wertico is featured in the Drum Workshop videos, The American Dream II, The American Dream III and Masters of Resonance.
He has released two instructional videos: Fine Tuning Your Performance and Paul Wertico's Drum Philosophy — the latter (available on DVD), was named “One of the best drum videos of the last 25 years” by Modern Drummer magazine.
Wertico’s drum instructional book TURN THE BEAT AROUND (A Drummer’s Guide to Playing “Backbeats” on 1 & 3) was published by Alfred Music on July 7, 2017.
Recordings Wertico has also released numerous recordings as co-leader: a self-titled LP, Earwax Control, and a live Earwax Control CD entitled, Number 2 Live; a self-titled LP, Spontaneous Composition; a drum/percussion duo CD (with Gregg Bendian) entitled BANG!; a double-guitar/double-drum three-CD set (with Derek Bailey, Pat Metheny and Bendian) entitled The Sign Of 4; and two piano/bass/drums trio CDs (with Laurence Hobgood and Brian Torff) entitled Union and State of the Union.
Some of his latest releases include a DVD & CD by David Cain & Paul Wertico entitled Feast for the Senses; a CD by Paul Wertico & Frank Catalano entitled Topics of Conversation; a CD by Fabrizio Mocata, Gianmarco Scaglia & Paul Wertico entitled Free the Opera!; a DVD & CD by Wertico Cain & Gray entitled Sound Portraits (winner of "Best Live Performance Album" in the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards (2014); Wertico Cain & Gray’s second CD entitled Out in SPACE; Wertico Cain & Gray's second DVD & third CD entitled Organic Architecture; Wertico Cain & Gray's fourth CD & video release entitled Realization (nominated for "Best Live Performance Album" and "Best Long Form Video" in the 15th Annual Independent Music Awards (2016); Wertico Cain & Gray's fifth CD entitled Short Cuts – 40 Improvisations; Wertico Cain & Gray's sixth CD entitled AfterLive; Wertico Cain & Gray's seventh CD & downloadable video release entitled Without Compromise; and Wertico Cain & Gray's eighth CD entitled Windows Of Time; a CD entitled Dynamics in Meditation by the Gianmarco Scaglia & Paul Wertico Quartet; The Paul Wertico/John Helliwell Project has two releases: a CD entitled The Bari Sessions and a 2-CD set entitled Live Under Italian Skies; and the Chicago-based Paul Wertico Trio (featuring guitarist John Moulder & bassist Eric Hochberg) released a CD (celebrating the trio’s 25th anniversary) entitled First Date, and the Italy-based Paul Wertico Trio (featuring pianist Fabrizio Mocata & bassist Gianmarco Scaglia) also released a CD entitled Letter from Rome. Paul’s latest four albums are entitled Paul Wertico’s Drums Without Boundaries (one of DownBeat magazine's Best Albums of 2023); Tuxedo Man by David Becker & Paul Wertico; and Interchange One and Interchange Two by Kevin Kastning & Paul Wertico
Influences Wertico has cited Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Roy Haynes as continual influences on his musical work.
Awards and honors Seven Grammy Awards with the Pat Metheny Group Chicagoan of the Year, Chicago Tribune, 2004 Fusion Drummer of the Year, DRUM! magazine readers' poll, 1997 Lifetime Achievement Award, Cape Breton International Drum Festival, 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award, Montréal Drum Fest, 2010 Chicago / Midwest Emmy Awards nomination, Outstanding Achievement in Interactivity, Inventing the Future, 2012–2013 Best Live Performance Album, Sound Portraits, AIM Independent Music Awards, 2014 Independent Music Awards nominations, Best Live Performance Album and Best Long Form Video, Realization, 2016
Discography As leader Paul Wertico (featuring Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman, David Mann, Howard Levy, Yu Gno Who (Pat Metheny), Brian Keane, Richie Beirach, Michael Bearden, Nik John Bariluk, Barbara Unger-Wertico, Dave Holland, Victor Bailey, Mino Cinelu, Paul Wertico & Malinke People of Mali) The Yin and the Yout (Intuition, 1993) Paul Wertico Trio (featuring John Moulder, Eric Hochberg & Paul Wertico) Live in Warsaw! (Igmod, 1998) Don't Be Scared Anymore (Premonition, 2000) First Date (GAD, 2019) WERTICO (featuring John Moulder, Brian Peters, Eric Hochberg, Barbara Wertico & Paul Wertico) StereoNucleosis (A440 Music, 2004) Paul Wertico Trio (featuring John Moulder, Brian Peters & Paul Wertico) Another Side (Naim, 2006) Paul Wertico Trio (featuring John Moulder, Larry Gray & Paul Wertico) "Cowboys & Africans" - A Chicago Jazz Tour ("Big Chicago" Records, Inc., 2006) Paul Wertico’s Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance (Danny Markovitch, Dani Rabin, John Moulder, Brian Peters & Paul Wertico) Impressions of a City (Chicago Sessions, 2009) Paul Wertico Trio (featuring Fabrizio Mocata, Gianmarco Scaglia & Paul Wertico) Letter from Rome (AlfaMusic, 2022) Paul Wertico (featuring Mirko Pedrotti, Alex Munk, Gianmarco Scaglia, Paul Wertico & Ichos Percussion) Paul Wertico's Drums Without Boundaries (Da Vinci Classics, 2023)
As co-leader With Spontaneous Composition (Rich Corpolongo, Doug Lofstrom & Paul Wertico) Spontaneous Composition (Spoco, 1981) With Earwax Control (Gordon James, Jeff Czech & Paul Wertico) Earwax Control (Depot, 1984) 2 LIVE (Naim, 1994) "Mein Herr Ball" - Pro-Mark Collector's Edition Vol II (Pro-Mark Corporation, 1998) With Trio New (Laurence Hobgood, Eric Hochberg & Paul Wertico New Bolero (Trio New Prod., 1993) With Paul Wertico & Gregg Bendian BANG! (Truemedia Jazzworks, 1996) With Derek Bailey, Pat Metheny, Gregg Bendian & Paul Wertico The Sign Of 4 (Knitting Factory, 1997) With Union (Laurence Hobgood, Brian Torff & Paul Wertico) Union (Naim, 1997) State Of The Union (Naim, 1999) With Brian Peters & Paul Wertico Ampersand (Rat Howl, 2007) With Silvano Monasterios, Mark Egan & Paul Wertico Jazz Impressions 1 (Dogleg Music, 2007) With David Cain & Paul Wertico Feast For The Senses (UMEDIA, 2012) With Paul Wertico & Frank Catalano Topics Of Conversation (Blue Sky Fable, 2013) With Fabrizio Mocata, Gianmarco Scaglia & Paul Wertico Free The Opera! (RAM, 2013) With Wertico Cain & Gray (Paul Wertico, David Cain & Larry Gray) Sound Portraits (UMEDIA, 2013) Out In SPACE (UMEDIA, 2013) Organic Architecture (UMEDIA, 2014) Realization (UMEDIA Studios, 2015) Short Cuts – 40 Improvisations (UMEDIA, 2016) AfterLive (UMEDIA, 2017) Without Compromise (UMEDIA, 2019) Windows Of Time (UMEDIA, 2021) With Gianmarco Scaglia & Paul Wertico Quartet Dynamics In Meditation (Challenge, 2020) With Paul Wertico / John Helliwell Project