Peter O’Brien was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the son of drummer Bill O’Brien, and began playing the drums as soon as he could sit up at the set, playing along with recordings of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and all the greats of jazz. Bard Formal studies with his father began at the age of five, and at age seven he was accepted into the orchestra at St. Andrew Avellino grammar school, which consisted of seventh and eighth graders. He then received a music scholarship to Power Memorial Academy High School and studied privately with Charlie Perry from age 13 through 17. In 1976, at 16, Peter attended a drum clinic held by Perry at Hofstra University where the final week featured studies with Jack DeJohnette, whose interest in Peter led to recommendations to John Abercrombie, Bill Connors, and Miroslav Vitous.

After graduating high school, Peter decided to forgo college and dove headfirst into the New York City jazz scene, garnering the attention of drummers Jo Jones Jr., Al Foster, Jimmy Lovelace, and Michael Carvin, with whom he studied from 1978 to 1979. In 1982 he toured the U.S. with Brother Jack McDuff, and from 1984 to 1985 he performed across the U.S. and Canada with the Edgar Winter Band, the only group to perform the jazz-inflected fusion material from Winter’s groundbreaking record Entrance alongside his rock and blues music. During this period he also performed several dates with Roy Buchanan, including a sold-out Beacon Theatre show with Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells. In 1989 he became a member of John Hall’s band Orleans, appearing on seven CDs (four with Orleans, three with Hall), touring Japan three times, and performing at countless U.S. dates including Woodstock ’94.

In 2001, Peter joined saxophonist Eric Person’s band Meta-Four, performing at the Guimarães Jazz Festival in Portugal and appearing on Live at Big Sur, released in 2003. He has been a member of pianist-composer Peggy Stern’s Estrella Trio since 2005 Bard and maintains a long association with pianist John Esposito, appearing on numerous SunJump Records releases including Book of Five Rings and Orisha. More recently he toured with blues guitarist Slam Allen, appeared at the Café Lena Jazz Series in Saratoga with pianist Chuck Lamb of the Brubeck Brothers, and has worked with Hal Galper, Cindy Cashdollar’s Rhythm Syncopators, Murali Coryell, and Jay Collins, while beginning a fruitful collaboration with international singer Shiri Zorn and guitar master George Muscatello. Bard In addition to his busy performance schedule, O’Brien maintains a private teaching practice and freelances as a studio session player, with credits that include national commercials for Continental Airlines, AT&T, Macy’s, and Burger King