Born in Sydney, Australia, Abe Rounds musical journey began at just one year old, when he first picked up a pair of drumsticks. Now based in Los Angeles, he has built a dynamic career as a Grammy-winning musician, producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. Since 2014, he has been a core member of his musical mentor Meshell Ndegeocello’s band. Abe has toured, performed, and recorded with some of the most influential artists of our time, including Joni Mitchell, Seal, Andrew Bird, Lizzo, Pino Palladino, Sara Bareilles, Marcus Mumford, Brandi Carlile, Beabadoobee, Jon Batiste, Lucy Dacus, Aimee Mann and many others.

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In 2024, he accepted a Grammy Award for his work on Meshell Ndegeocello’s Omni Chord Real Book (Best Alternative Jazz Album). The following year, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin — a project Abe and Meshell had been performing together since 2016 — also won the Grammy for Best Alternative Jazz Album. That same year, Abe had the immense honor of performing with Joni Mitchell as part of her historic Joni Jam at the Hollywood Bowl.

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A trusted collaborator for leading producers such as Blake Mills, Rick Rubin, Mark Ronson, and Mike Elizondo, Abe’s studio credits span a wide range of genres and projects, including work with bands like Lake Street Dive and Tedeschi Trucks Band. While drums and percussion are his foundation, Abe’s versatility as a producer and multi-instrumentalist allows him to shape sound from every angle.

 

As a composer, Abe’s work extends across film and television. His credits include all seven seasons of Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey’s Queen Sugar, Netflix’s Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, We The People (produced by Barack and Michelle Obama), and 50 Cent’s Black Mafia Family. In film, he contributed drums and percussion to scores for major productions like Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, collaborating with the great, late Robbie Robertson.

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In 2021, Abe released his debut solo album, The Confidence to Make Mistakes, on Colorfield Records. He is also one half of Jake and Abe, a duo with multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jake Sherman, rooted in playful experimentation and deep musicality.

 

A graduate of Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney (’09) and Berklee College of Music in Boston (’14), Abe was awarded the prestigious Alan Dawson Achievement Award.

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Born into a rich musical legacy — his father is acclaimed producer Victor Rounds, and he is named after the legendary bassist Abraham Laboriel Sr. — Abe brings a deep sense of lineage and global ancestry (Fijian, Tongan, Hungarian, and Iraqi) to every note he plays. His artistry is grounded in rhythm, but his reach spans production, composition, and collaboration across genres and generations.​​​

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