About
About me...
When Justin Chesarek, one of Atlanta’s go-to percussionists, was a child living in Pennsylvania, his father sat him down and educated him, via the Beatles Anthology documentary. The mesmerized ten-year-old was hooked, and after two years of formal drum study with Randy Roth, a remarkable Pittsburgh-area drum educator, he was gigging with Pittsburgh jazz legend Harold Betters, taking advantage of the experience as an early version of on-the-job training. He also counts the invaluable experience of listening to Roger Humphries, well-known for his work with Horace Silver, as a significant step in his early musical education. This was just the beginning.
After earning a Bachelors of Music in Music Education from Slippery Rock University where Justin studied under Dr. David Glover and Dr. Stephen Hawk, he trekked south to Atlanta in 2008 to pursue a Masters of Music and Jazz Studies at Georgia State University. A year after his arrival, Justin landed a Wednesday show at Churchill Grounds, Atlanta’s premier jazz club at the time. The gig continued for the next five years and along the way, Chesarek began to fill his calendar, making a name for himself as an exceptional musician.
He performs regularly with the Joe Alterman Trio, Trey Wright, Anita Aysola, and he is a regular at the Atlanta Jazz Festival. He’s performed at the The Iridium and The Blue Note in New York, D.C’s Kennedy Center, a TED Talk, the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival in Alaska, not to mention trips across the pond to play The North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Justin has gigged with locals and legends such as the iconic tenor-saxophonist Houston Person, Count Basie Orchestra vocalist Carmen Bradford, trumpeter and Grammy Nominee Russell Gunn, and Donny McCaslin, saxophonist on Blackstar, David Bowie’s final studio album. Recently he has performed with Israeli guitar mastermind Gilad Hekselman, and recorded with vocalist Jonathan Karrant on an album featuring vocal jazz all-star, Diane Schuur.
Chesarek’s love of music extends to the classroom as well. He teaches Jazz Percussion at Kennesaw State University, he is the Artist Affiliate of Jazz Percussion at Emory University, and is the former Professor of Percussion at Morehouse College (2018-2023). His classes include jazz composition and analysis, jazz improvisation, jazz combos, and piano accompaniment for jazz vocalists. He runs a private studio of his own in which he works with students of all ages. Alumni of Justin’s teaching have gone on to become professional touring musicians, Broadway theater pit players, and top call drummers. He is a proud endorser of Canopus Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, and Vic Firth sticks, brushes, and mallets. Justin lives in Decatur, Georgia with his wife and daughters.
