Adrian Harpham

Adrian Harpham (born Adrian Geoffrey Harpham, Los Angeles, California) is an American session drummer, record producer, recording artist/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. He grew up in Southern California, Philadelphia and the Boston area.

Adrian's parents are Geoffrey Galt Harpham and Beatrice De Jesus Souza Harpham. His father is from Park Ridge, Illinois. He was a college professor and much published scholar and now runs the National Humanities Center in Chapel Hill, NC. His mother is from Macau, China (she is Peruvian/ Chinese/Portuguese descent) and was a playwright. Raised by his father, he moved a lot as a child and was exposed to many notable writers, intelligencia and music and art. He heard everything from Art Tatum to the Beatles to Bob Dylan to Ricard Wagner to Duke Ellington on any given day around the house. By the age of 9, He discovered visual arts and began drawing, sketching and painting. He became very serious, attending classes at the Philadelphia College Of Art on the weekends. However, by middle school, he discovered rock radio and was bit by the music bug.

He started playing drums at age 14, being mentored by local Philadelphia drummers Andy Kravitz and Steven Wolf. He was self-taught and primarily into rock and blues. However, during the summer following 9th grade, he attended an outdoor concert by Miles Davis on Penn's Landing in Philadelphia and (the same month) a friend played him Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow album - completely turning his music concept upside down. As a result, by 10th grade, he interest expanded towards jazz, jazz/rock fusion and funk styles. Moving to Boston area for the 2nd half of high school, he began formal private studies with Russell Leach and jazz legend, Alan Dawson. Resulting in further growth stylistically and technically.

Following high school graduation, he relocated back to Philadelphia, continued studies with big band drummer, Carl Mottola and played his very earliest semi professional gigs in clubs. One year later, he began studies at Berklee College of Music, which he did for next 3 years- continuing private studies with Ed Uribe, Gil Graham and Alan Hall and beginning his professional career as a drummer in the Boston area. Notable gigs from this time included: guitarist Bruce Bartlett, Tavares, Letters to Cleo and Myanna.

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