5 Questions with... Your Favorite Drum Authors!

Percussionist/composer Dave Black received his Bachelor of Music in percussion performance from California State University, Northridge. He has traveled around the world, performing and recording with a wide variety of well-known entertainers and shows.

As one of the biggest selling percussion authors in the world, Mr. Black is the author and/or co-author of over 30 books, including Alfred’s Drum Method (the world’s current bestseller) and Sound Innovations for Concert Band . His books and music are used and performed by young people all over the world, with combined sales now totaling two million units.

Jost Nickel is one of the new breed of drummers emerging from Germany. A top session and tour player, like his friends and contemporaries Benny Greb, Marco Minnemann and Anika Nilles (one of Jost’s students), Jost is taking contemporary drumming in new directions.

Jost was nominated "Best Clinician" by Modern Drummer Magazine in 2016 and was voted on MusicRadar's list of "the 10 best drum clinicians in the world" in 2016 & 2017. He has written feature articles and workshops in Modern Drummer (USA), Drummer (UK), Rhythm & Drums (Japan), Batterie (France), Drums & Percussion (Germany) and other publications.

Jost has released three best-selling books through Alfred Music: Jost Nickel’s Groove Book (2015), Jost Nickel's Fill Book (2017), and Jost Nickel's Snare Book (2019) that any drummer of any level will benefit from.

Peter Erskine has been a student of the drums since the age of 4. He is known for his love of working in different musical contexts. He has recorded 400 albums, including several on his own Fuzzy Music label. His playing and recording credits include the big bands of Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, and Bob Mintzer; groups such as Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Steely Dan, and the Yellowjackets; vocalists Diana Krall, Joni Mitchell, Kurt Elling, and Kate Bush; and jazz artists such as Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Kenny Wheeler, John Abercombie, Eliane Elias, Sadao Watanabe, Gary Burton, and Pat Metheny, as well as his own trio. He has appeared in concert as soloist with the City of Birmingham and BBC Symphony Orchestras, Ensemble Modern, and the L.A. Philharmonic New Music Group.

Mr. Erskine conducts clinics, classes, and seminars worldwide, and teaches at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee School of Music, has been the recipient of a Drum! magazine's DRUMMIE award, the winner of Modern Drummer magazine's Readers' Poll in the Mainstream Jazz Drummer category numerous times, and has won 2 Grammy Awards. Mr. Erskine is a member of the Percussive Arts Society and the International Association of Jazz Educators. He plays Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Evans Drum Heads, and Vic Firth sticks and brushes.

Aldo Mazza is an internationally recognized multi-percussionist, recording artist, clinician, composer, author, publisher, artistic director, producer, and educator. He is a member of the internationally acclaimed percussion quartet, Répercussion. For over 30 years, Aldo has gone around the world with his ensemble, recorded five albums, and performed over 2,500 concerts and television appearances, including performances before Canadian Prime Ministers and United States Presidents. Aldo is a freelance artist with over 100 albums and sound tracks to his credit, having recorded with such well-known artists as Céline Dion, Jon Bon Jovi, and also performed live with artists such as James Brown, Michael Bolton, and more. Regularly appearing as a drumset artist, he is equally acclaimed as a world percussion and concert percussion performer. He has been the artistic director and founder of the KoSA International Percussion Workshops & Festivals for the past 23 years (USA, Canada, Cuba, China & Italy), and is currently the instructor of Drums and Percussion at KoSA Academy of Music in Montreal (Canada). He is a clinician around the world for percussion companies such as Sabian Cymbals, Ludwig Drums, Musser Mallet Instruments, Latin Percussion (LP), Evans Drumheads, HQ, Mike Balter Mallets, Alfred Music, and Pro Mark Drumsticks.

A professional drummer since age 16, Magadini's professional drumming credits include: Diana Ross, George Duke, Bobbie Gentry, Mose Allison, Sonny Stitt, Chet Baker, the Don Ellis Band, Al Jarreau and the John Handy Quintet. He has also performed as an orchestral percussionist at the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood, Toronto Symphony and the Fromm Festival of Contemporary Music. In addition there are four released albums under his own name and two published books on drum set techniques and pedagogy. Perhaps Peter’s most well known for his two treatise’s on the subject of polyrhythms — one of these being his legendary (Alfred) book “Polyrhythms For The Drumset”; which has been endorsed and recommended by highly regarded drummers and percussionists world-wide. In addition to being a respected private teacher and mentor, Peter has served as drumset instructor at the Dave Brubeck Institute (University of the Pacific) McGill University, the Professional Drum Shop (Los Angeles) the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and taught drumset & percussion at Concordia University in Montreal. He is an endorsed drum artist and plays: Yamaha Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks & Brushes and Aquarian Drumheads.