Colaiuta was given his first drum kit when he was seven. He took to it naturally, with little instruction. When he was fourteen, the school band teacher gave him a book that taught him some of the basics.
Buddy Rich was his favorite drummer until he heard the album
Ego by
Tony Williams and
The Tony Williams Lifetime, an event that changed his life. Colaiuta was also listening to organists, notably
Jack McDuff,
Jimmy McGriff and
Don Patterson. While a student at
Berklee College of Music, when
jazz fusion was on the rise, he listened to and admired
Alphonse Mouzon and
Billy Cobham. After leaving school, he played local gigs in Boston. He joined a brief tour organized by
Al Kooper, then worked in California on an album by Christopher Morris, which Kooper was producing. Although he returned to Boston, Colaiuta was drawn back to California by friends. He took the bus from Boston to Los Angeles during the
Great Blizzard of 1978. After performing in jazz clubs, he won the audition to play drums for
Frank Zappa. He toured with Zappa and appeared on the albums ''
Joe's Garage, Tinsel Town Rebellion, and Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar. Modern Drummer
magazine chose Joe's Garage'' as one of the top 25 drum performances of all time. in the
Five Peace Band, 2008 In 1981, he ceased touring with Zappa to become a
studio musician, recording for the band
Pages and pop singer
Gino Vannelli. Opportunities arose with saxophonist
Tom Scott and bassist
Larry Klein, who invited Colaiuta to play on a record by Klein's then-girlfriend,
Joni Mitchell. When Klein and Mitchell got married, Colaiuta was the
best man at their wedding. During the 1980s, he toured with Mitchell. In 1986, he became the house drummer of
The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. The band, called the Party Boys and the Tramp, was led by
Mark Hudson. By the end of the 1980s he was recording albums, TV and film work during the day, and playing clubs at night. Colaiuta remained with Sting for much of the 1990s, touring and recording the albums ''
Ten Summoner's Tales (1993), Mercury Falling (1996), Brand New Day (1999) and Sacred Love'' (2003). On November 12, 2016, he played with Sting in the first concert to be held at the
Bataclan in Paris since the
terrorist attack a year earlier. He has won over fifteen Drummer of the Year awards from
Modern Drummer magazine's annual reader polls. These include ten awards in the "Best Overall" category. == Equipment ==