Pete Siers is a hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and first right-of-call sideman. After spending years with Detroit pianist Eddie Russ, Siers established himself in his adopted hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and since then has played with an ever-multiplying international cast of musicians in an impressive range of styles. These include Mulgrew Miller, Lee Konitz, Benny Golson, Kenny Werner, and Scott Hamilton; he also records with his own trio and quartet. Siers founded the Latin jazz quintet Los Gatos in 1997. Though best-known as a live ensemble, they have recorded several albums including Insight in 2008 and Guaracheate! in 2017. As a sideman, the drummer has appeared on dozens of recordings including Russell Malone's Black Butterfly in 1993; Ellen Rowe's Sylvan Way in 2001; Marcus Belgrave's Tribute to Louis Armstrong in 2002; Maria Muldaur's Naughty Bawdy and Blue in 2007, and Dave Bennett's Blood Moon in 2017. His trio with Tad Weed and Andrew Bishop issued What Holds Us Up in early 2020. (Weed passed on before the album was released.)

Coming from a Polish-American family in Saginaw, Michigan, Siers' first exposure to music came from listening to polkas at home. Starting piano lessons at the age of six, he continued on the ivories until he heard the U.S. Army Big Band with a drummer who impressed Siers so much that he switched to drums.

He earned a music degree from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids and played with their jazz ensemble. In 1984, he joined the John Shea Trio and moved on to play with Detroit pianist Eddie Russ, opening the door to gigs and recording sessions with such Detroit musicians as Paul Vornhagen, Paul Keller, Bess Bonnier, and blues and boogie woogie piano player Mr. B. Since 1987, he has been a member of the Keller-Kocher Quartet, which released its first album, Midnight Sun, in 1993.

Siers was an original member of the Bird of Paradise Orchestra (later the Paul Keller Orchestra). This award-winning aggregation played original, obscure, and classic big-band material from all periods of jazz history. The Pete Siers Trio cut its maiden album, Those Who Choose to Swing, in 1999.

Siers is comfortable with virtually any style of jazz music. In addition to performing with big bands and small groups, he has played with musicians representing dissimilar styles, including Sonny Fortune, Doc Cheatham, Frank Morgan, and Warren Vaché. He has appeared at the North Sea, Playboy, Sunfest, and other major jazz festivals in the United States and Europe. He also leads the Pete Siers Quartet, with organist Duncan McMillan, saxophonist Steve Wood, and guitarist Matt LaRusso. Their 2010 debut, Organic Roots, was internationally acclaimed. Siers also heads Los Gatos, a Latin jazz quintet featuring the music of Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Joe Cuba, and Mongo Santamaria. Though primarily a live group, they've recorded a number of albums including 2001's Cats Got Your Tongue?, 2008's Insight, and 2017's Guaracheate! With a shared interest in unconventional improvisation, Siers, saxophonist Andrew Bishop, and organist/composer Tad Weed cut What Holds Us Up in May of 2018. The eight-tune set included readings of compositions by Frank Catalano, Thelonious Monk, and Leroy Vinnegar, alongside three Weed originals and a group improvisation. It was the last recording the organist played on; he succumbed to cancer in August. The album was issued in early 2020 by PKO. ~ Dave Nathan, Rovi