Joe Bergamini is a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He is the co-founder of the instrumental progressive rock band 4Front. 4Front's other founder, guitarist/songwriter

Zak Rizvi Zak may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Zak (surname), a surname of Russian origin * Żak, a Polish surname * Žák, a Czech surname * Zak (given name) Other uses * Zak, Iran, a village in Razavi Khorasan Province * LWD Żak, a 1940s Polish aircraft ...

, went on to become a member of the classic rock group

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

in 2016. Since 2000 Bergamini has been a member of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band Happy the Man, and appears on their 2005 album ''The Muse Awakens''. In 2003 Bergamini began working on Broadway, with his first show being the New York and national tour productions of the

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

musical '' Movin' Out'', and has also performed at the Broadway productions of ''Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, School of Rock: The Musical, Rock of Ages, In The Heights, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Pippin (revival), Jesus Christ Superstar (revival), Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,'' and ''Million Dollar Quartet''. In addition to performing with Billy Joel himself at ''Movin' Out'', Bergamini has also performed with Bumblefoot,

Dennis DeYoung Dennis DeYoung (born February 18, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was the band's most ...

and Deborah Gibson. He held the drum chair for the short-lived Broadway show ''

Gettin' the Band Back Together ''Gettin' the Band Back Together'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Mark Allen and a book by Ken Davenport and the Grundleshotz, a group of performers and writers including Sebastian Arcelus, Fred Berman, Michael Hirstreet, Jenna Coker Jone ...

'' in 2018. Bergamini was born in Belleville,

, and grew up in East Hanover. He attended the

New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a Public university, public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local indust ...

, receiving a bachelor's degree in architecture while studying drums with Dom Famularo on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, as well as teachers Al Miller, John Riley, and

Jim Chapin James Forbes Chapin ( ) (July 23, 1919 – July 4, 2009) was an American jazz drummer and the author of books about jazz drumming. He is in the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame and was posthumously inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of ...

. Bergamini is known for his work in the area of drum education. He has operated his own private teaching practice since 1990, and among his many successful students is jazz drummer

Mark Guiliana Mark Guiliana (born September 2, 1980) is an American drummer, composer and leader of the band Beat Music. He has played with Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason Lindner, Lionel Loueke, Dhafe ...

. In addition to having given many drum clinics in schools and retail stores in the US, Bergamini has also appeared at large international drum events including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) (multiple appearances), the Ultimate Drummers Weekend (

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

) (2002 & 2007), The Cape Breton Drum Festival (

Nova Scotia, Canada Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

), and KOSA (Vermont, US). After many years as a columnist and contributing writer for ''

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...

'' magazine, he served a brief stint as the drum editor for Carl Fischer publications. In 2007 he became the Senior Drum Editor for Hudson Music, a position which he still holds (as of 2023). In this capacity he has worked with some of the world's most famous drummers, including Steve Smith,

Keith Carlock Keith Carlock (born November 29, 1971) is an American musician who has played drums with Toto, Wayne Krantz, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Tal Wilkenfeld, John Mayer, Sting, Chris Botti, and Christopher Cross. In ' ...

Stanton Moore Stanton Moore (born July 9, 1972) is an American funk, jazz, and rock drummer from New Orleans. Most widely known as a founding member of Galactic, Moore has also pursued a solo recording career (beginning with his 1998 debut '' All Kooked Out ...

, David Garibaldi,

Gavin Harrison Gavin Richard Harrison (born May 28, 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–2021) and The Pineapple Thief (2016� ...

, Simon Phillips, and many others. Bergamini was the co-producer, co-writer and onscreen interviewer for

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

's 2011 Hudson Music DV
Taking Center Stage
and the author of the companion book of the same name. In 2021 Bergamini worked with

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the British rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Polic ...

, writing a book about Copeland's career entitled ''Stewart Copeland: Drumming in the Police and Beyond.'' He has collaborated on two projects with

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American jazz fusion drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction i ...

; serving as editor of Gadd's first educational drum book,
Gaddiments
') and then writing Gadd's authorized musical biography, ''GADD: A Life in Time''. All of the aforementioned books were released by Hudson Music. In addition to his editorial work, Bergamini is an active author with over a dozen books to his credit (listed below). As a music industry consultant, Bergamini has also worked with

Tama Drums Tama Drums (from Japanese: (Kanji); (Kana)) is a brand of drums and hardware manufactured and marketed by Hoshino Gakki. The research and development of its products, along with production of its professional drum lines, is done in Seto, ...

during the R&D for their Bubinga Omnitune drums, and appears on the Tama website in various educational videos. He is also a featured endorser of Sabian cymbals,

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

sticks, Evans drumheads, and Latin Percussion. In 2015 Bergamini became Education Consultant to Sabian Ltd., in which capacity he designed and launched the Sabian Education Network, a club/network designed to help drum teachers in both educational and business skills. In 2007 Bergamini and his former teacher Dom Famularo founded the company Wizdom Media LLC, an independent music publisher specializing in drum books. Bergamini continues to operate the company in partnership with Famularo's estate.

Discography

* 4Front - Malice in Wonderland * Flaud Logic - Flaud Logic * Happy The Man - The Muse Awakens * 4Front - Radio Waves Goodbye * 4Front - Gravity * Joe Bergamini - Arrival * Gettin' the Band Back Together - Original Broadway Cast Recording * Bumblefoot - Uncool * Broadway's Greatest Gifts / Carols for a Cure Vol. 7 (1 track) *

Playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

- What Was Is

BOOKS

* GADD: A Life in Time (Hudson Music) *

; Taking Center Stage : A Lifetime Of Live Performance (

Hudson Music Hudson Music (formerly DCI Music Video from 1982 to 1997) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in New York City by Robert Wallis and Paul Siegel. History Before getting into the publishing industry, founder Rob Walli ...

) *

: Drumming in the Police and Beyond (Hudson Music) * The Working Drummer's Chart Book (Hudson Music) * Arrival Drum Play-Along (Hudson Music) * MD Classic Tracks (Modern Drummer Publications) * Drum Techniques of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Alfred
* Operation: Rockenfield - The Drumming of Queensryche (with Craig LeMay) ( Carl Fischer) * Drumming Out of the Shadows (with

Jason Bittner Jason Bittner (born January 11, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the longtime drummer for metal band Shadows Fall. He is also the current drummer for supergroup Category 7 as of 2024. He was also the drummer for the thrash metal b ...

) (Carl Fischer) * Polyrhythmic Potential (with

Chris Pennie Chris Pennie (born May 31, 1977) is an American musician who is the former drummer for the progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria and former drummer and co-founder of mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. Background Pennie began playing d ...

) (Carl Fischer) * Pedal Control (with Dom Famularo) (Alfred) * It's Your Move (with Dom Famularo) (Alfred) * Turn It Up, Lay It Down: The Book, Vol. 1 (Alfred)

References

External links

Joe Bergamini Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2012) *https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22Joe+Bergamini%22+-wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergamini, Joe American rock musicians American male drummers Drummers from New Jersey Living people Year of birth missing (living people)