Bio

Greg Masters is from the greater Philadelphia area. He was born in Perkasie Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. From an early age, Greg was exposed to all kinds of music through his father, also a musician. He introduced Greg to many different genres of music and once Greg got a drumset, his Dad taught him about the role of the drummer in the band. Greg began playing drums in 3rd grade and continued playing more and more until middle school. In middle school, Greg began taking private lessons with Gene Lazowicki and played in the school’s jazz band where he became a decorated soloist receiving 10 outstanding soloist awards. In 2014, Greg was accepted to the renowned Kimmel Center for the Performing Art Summer Jazz Institute. Here he studied under jazz greats such as Sumi Tonooka, Anthony Tidd, Orinn Evans, Maria Grand, Greg Hutchinson, Josh Lawrence, and Brent White to name a few. Sumi Tonooka became Greg’s first mentor in the music and is a big influence on Greg’s musicianship. While studying under Sumi, Greg realized his passion for jazz and decided on making music his future. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts ran a year-round program, the Creative Music Program, directed by Anthony Tidd which Greg participated in from 2014-2020, working his way up to the top chair in the program in 2019. In high school, while participating in the Creative Music Program, Greg continued to play in the school's top jazz ensemble and take private lessons. Greg began studying with Doug Hirlinger in 2018 and continued studying with him until 2022. He was recognized as an Honorable Mention soloist at the 2019 Essentially Ellington festival hosted at Temple University. In 2019, Greg was featured in the world premiere of “Coliphant” a composition written by Maria Grand. After high school, Greg auditioned and was accepted into Temple University’s jazz program directed by Terell Stafford. At Temple, has become an in-demand drummer for recording sessions and performances. Greg has studied with master drummer Byron Landham and currently studies with master educator Steve Fidyk both of whom are on the faculty at Temple. Throughout his professional career, Greg has played with many local jazz musicians both as a sideman and as a leader. He’s a regular call for guitarist Larry Tamanini and has played with Philadelphia legend Mike Boone. Greg has led bands in Perkasie’s Summer Jazz Concert series and has performed as a sideman at many notable clubs such as Chris Jazz Cafe, South Kitchen Jazz Parlor, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio, Common Wealth Plaza, Hamilton Garden, The Sellersville Theater, The Barnes Foundation, Franky Bradley’s, NotSoLatin, Time Sansom, and the Foundry at the Fillmore Philadelphia. Greg has performed in several events such as the 2018 MET Gala, the 2019 Eagles Fashion Show, Philadelphia’s Center City Jazz Festival, Perkasie’s Summer Concert Series, and the Brad Schoener Music Marathon Festival. Greg continues to be an active musician on the greater Philadelphia area's jazz scene, currently as the drummer in The Organization and the Larry Price Quintet. Drawing from his own life-changing musical experiences, Greg hopes to touch others in the same way through his music.