Carter Beauford was just 3-years old when his father, a professional jazz trumpet player, took him to see the great Buddy Rich.  This performance drew Carter to drums, and led to him begin learning the instrument almost immediately and to begin performing professionally at age 9. 

 

His unique ambidextrous, openhand style provided remarkable flexibility allowing him to adapt to a wide array of musical genres.  In 1991 while playing with his jazz fusion group known as The Secrets, he came to the attention of aspiring singer, writer and guitarist Dave Mathews (who was also a bartender at the time).  That relationship led to the formation of The Dave Mathews Band whose success is now legendary.  In addition to untold numbers of international sold-out shows in venues of every size, the Grammy Award winning band has sold more than 31 million albums and is ranked in the 100 top-selling artists of all time.  Their six consecutive number one ranked studio albums set a record that is unmatched in music.

 

In addition to his ongoing work as a founding member of The Dave Mathews Band, Carter has also worked with various artists, including Carlos Santana, Rashawn Ross, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Vertical Horizon, John Popper, Tim Reynolds and Victor Wooten and more.