Drewes played with big band leaders Lionel Hampton and Woody Herman in the 1970s, and with Buddy Rich and Dizzy Gillespie in the 1980s. At special live concert events, he accompanied Lena Horne, Liza Minnelli, and B. B. King, among others. On albums, he recorded with Jane Horrocks (on The Further Adventures of Little Voice) and Ricky Martin (playing on "She Bangs.") Since 1985, Drewes has been a member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and in 2006 he began playing with Tommy Igoe's Birdland Big Band.