William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes.

During the 1980s, Bruford returned to King Crimson for three years (1981–1984), collaborated with several artists (including Patrick Moraz and David Torn), and formed his own electric jazz band Earthworks in 1986.

Bruford then spotted an ad in a music shop from the Noise, who were looking for a drummer to play with them for a six-week residency at the Piper Club in Rome, Italy.

[13] It was spotted by singer Jon Anderson of the psychedelic rock band Mabel Greer's Toyshop, formed of bassist Chris Squire and guitarist Clive Bayley, who sought a replacement for their departing drummer, Bob Hagger.

[11] Their entire set consisted of "In the Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett as it was the only song they all knew how to play through, but Bruford was impressed with the band's ability to sing in harmony.

The four entered rehearsals, which ended in Peter Banks replacing Bayley on guitar, Tony Kaye on keyboards, and the group changing their name to Yes.

His main interest was allowing the drums to "be heard" as Squire played his bass often in the higher register, and so developed a style that involved "unusual beat placement" and time signatures.

These, for him, included problems in understanding other members' accents, differences in social backgrounds, and many other issues that set the band in a constant state of friction between Anderson, Squire, and himself.

In late 1974, he became a temporary member of the Anglo-French band Gong for a European tour after drummer Laurie Allan was busted for drugs at a border.

[19] In 1975, Bruford played drums on Fish Out of Water by Chris Squire,[20] HQ by Roy Harper,[17] and At the Sound of the Bell by Pavlov's Dog.

[17] By mid-1976, Bruford had rehearsed with Ray Gomez and Jeff Berlin in the US but plans to form a group failed, partly due to the members living far away from each other.

[17] It was their first album and tour after original frontman Peter Gabriel had left, leaving drummer Phil Collins to sing lead vocals.

[24] In 1977, Bruford recorded his debut solo album Feels Good to Me (1978), with Dave Stewart (keyboards), Jeff Berlin (bass), and Allan Holdsworth (guitar).

[25] The four stuck together and became a full-time band named Bruford, which also featured Annette Peacock on vocals, Kenny Wheeler on flugelhorn, and John Goodsall on rhythm guitar.

Their final album, Gradually Going Tornado (1980), features backing vocals from Canterbury scene stalwarts Barbara Gaskin and Amanda Parsons, as well as Georgina Born on cello.

Bruford embraced the Simmons drums for the next fifteen years as it allowed him to play programmed chords, samples, tuned pitches, and sound effects, which expanded his musical palette.

"[30] In 1986, Bruford formed his jazz group Earthworks with Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Mick Hutton (later replaced by Tim Harries), with initial assistance from Dave Stewart.

[28] Bruford put Earthworks on hold in late 1988, after Jon Anderson invited him to play on a new album that also featured past Yes members Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe.

Bruford later remarked that while ABWH could have been an interesting group had they been given time to develop instead of being pushed immediately into a recording studio, for him it was primarily a business-motivated arrangement which he took on so that he could pay for Earthworks.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989) was supported by a world tour, and in 1990, while recording a second album, ABWH merged with Yes to become an eight-member formation.

[34] He took part in the subsequent Union Tour in 1991 and 1992, and though he enjoyed the enthusiastic audiences in large venues and performing with former bandmates, he found the experience "pretty horrible".

[36] King Crimson re-emerged once more in 1994 as a six-piece band, consisting of its 1980s line-up with the additions of Pat Mastelotto sharing drumming duties with Bruford, and Trey Gunn on Chapman Stick.

[34] This also marked the end of Bruford using the Simmons electronic drums due to the high overhead costs, the time required to program the kit, and the lackluster Japanese model that was made after the original manufacturer went bankrupt.

[37] This line-up involved pianist Steve Hamilton, saxophonist Patrick Clahar, and double bassist Geoff Gascoyne, soon replaced by Mark Hodgson.

These included a collaboration with Americans Eddie Gomez and Ralph Towner in 1997, the jazz-rock band Bruford Levin Upper Extremities in 1998, a duo with Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap from 2002 to 2007,[14] the contemporary composer Colin Riley with the Piano Circus collective in 2009, and presenting drum clinics.

[44] He had wanted to do something related to music following his retirement, and considered his missed opportunity in pursuing higher education in the late 1960s as a factor in his decision to enter academia.

The University of Surrey offered to award Bruford an honorary doctorate, but he wanted to put in the effort and work for his degree, which focused on creativity and music performance, specifically with a drum kit.

[46] Bruford has since written various journal articles, book chapters and liner notes, and presented guest lectures at universities and music institutions in Europe and North America.

[38] In October 2020, Bruford put much of his personal collection of instruments, microphones, tour cases, and other equipment from his career, up for sale, totalling 258 separate listings.

"[58] Many other drummers have cited Bruford as an influence, including Danny Carey,[59] Mike Portnoy,[60] Matt Cameron,[61] Brann Dailor,[62] Tim "Herb" Alexander,[63] Gene Hoglan,[64] Aaron Harris,[65] Chad Cromwell,[66] Ben Koller,[67][68] Chris Pennie,[69] Steve Arrington,[70] Mac McNeilly,[71] Morgan Simpson of Black Midi,[72] Eric Kretz,[73] and Martin Dosh.