Sergé "Jojo" Mayer (born 18 January 1963) is a Swiss virtuoso drummer born in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

and currently residing in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Mayer is the son of touring musician and bass player Vali Mayer and the brother of actress

Delia Mayer Delia Mayer (born 8 March 1967) is a Hong Kong-born Swiss actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Isabel Becker in the German television series '' Die Cleveren'' and as Miriam Shapiro in the German-American television drama mini-series ...

. He began his career as a drummer at an early age, receiving his first drum set at the age of two. Having taught himself throughout his childhood, he broke out into the professional music scene at the age of 18, joining the

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis ...

group. Touring with the group launched him into the major jazz music scene, and he has played at the North Sea Jazz Festival,

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

, Nice, and Athens etc., which culminated with his gigging with jazz-greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

. Eventually, after playing with a great variety of artists, Mayer moved away from jazz and into Drum 'n' Bass.Drummerworld: Jojo Mayer
Drummerworld Jojo Mayer is known for bringing together

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, drum and bass,

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

, and other influences. He is also famous for his ability to play the rhythms of programmed jungle drum 'n' bass music on acoustic drums, terming this technique " reverse engineering", a phrase borrowed from computing. He executes this approach using various methods such as the heel-toe bass drum technique, the Moeller stroke, the Valving technique, and the "pull-out" or "push-pull" accent which takes the beat on the rebound. Using these techniques, he can play beats at astonishing speeds. A few of his main influences are Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

. He is the leader of live electronica trio Nerve, which he founded in 1997. He played with the guitarist

David Fiuczynski David Fiuczynski (born March 5, 1964) is an American contemporary jazz guitarist, best known as the leader of the Screaming Headless Torsos and David Fiuczynski's KiF, and as a member of Hasidic New Wave. He has played on more than 95 albums as ...

in the avant-garde jazz rock band

Screaming Headless Torsos Screaming Headless Torsos, also known as the Torsos or SHT is a jazz rock band formed in 1989 consisting of founding member and guitarist David Fiuczynski, vocalist Freedom Bremner, bassist David Ginyard, percussionist Daniel Sadownick, and the ...

and in the

fusion jazz Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

band, Intergalactic Maiden Ballet. He ran the popular Prohibited Beatz live electronica party in NYC from 1996–2001.

Discography

With Intergalactic Maiden Ballet: *1992 - ''Square Dance'' *1994 - ''Gulf'' With

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

: *1994 - ''Lunar Crush'' With

: *1995 - ''Screaming Headless Torsos'' With Harry Sokal: *1996 - ''Rave the Jazz! :live:'' Sulfur: *1998 - '' Delirium Tremens'' With Leo Tardin *2005 - ''

Grand Pianoramax Grand Pianoramax is an experimental keyboard and drums bands conceived by Leo Tardin. The band consists of Tardin and Dominik Burkhalter and features guests, often including Mike Ladd and Black Cracker. Biography The 2005 self-titled debut album ...

'' With

Janek Gwizdala Janek Gwizdala (born 19 November 1978) is an English jazz bassist. Biography Gwizdala initially preferred drums, but switched to bass guitar after hearing Laurence Cottle. Gwizdala later moved to the U.S. to attend Berklee College of Music. Rec ...

: *2004 - ''Mystery To Me - Live in New York'' *2010 - ''The Space in Between'' *2011 - ''Live at the Jamboree June 17th 2011 1st set'' *2011 - ''Live at the Jamboree June 17th 2011 2nd set'' *2011 - ''Live at the Jamboree June 18th 2011 1st set'' *2011 - ''Live at the Jamboree June 18th 2011 2nd set'' *2012 - ''It Only Happens Once'' With Depart *1987 - ''Depart'' *2006 - ''Reloaded'' *2008 - ''Mountain Messenger'' With

Rebekka Bakken Rebekka Bakken (born April 4, 1970 in Lier, near Oslo) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and music producer who is often associated with jazz, although she refuses to characterise herself as a jazz musician. Her voice reaches over three octaves ...

*2009 - ''Art of How to Fall'' With Trace Elements *2015 - Electric Job (Live in Teramo) Nerve (Jojo Mayer, John Davis, Jacob Bergson): * 2007 - ''Prohibited Beatz'' * 2010 - ''EP1'' * 2010 - ''EP2'' * 2011 - ''EP3'' * 2011 - ''The Distance Between Zero And One'' * 2012 - ''EP4'' * 2014 - ''EP5'' * 2015 - ''Live in Europe'' * 2015 - ''Ghosts of Tomorrow'' * 2016 - ''Vocal Collaborations'' * 2017 - ''Nerve'' * 2018 - ''After the Flare'' * 2019 - ''Lunar Tribute'' DVDs: * 2007 - ''Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer: part 1'' * 2014 - ''Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer: part 2''

Media

He was featured as the cover story of the January 2008 issue of

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

magazine. Jojo Mayer was interviewed by DrummerConnection.com in May 2010, and by Linus Wyrsch on "The Jazz Hole" for breakthruradio.com in July 2010.

Gear

Mayer is a long-time

Sonor Sonor is a German musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Bad Berleburg. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest percussion companies in the world. Sonor currently manufactures drum kits and hardware. Apart from drum ki ...

endorser who also uses 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. Biography Vic Firth was born June 2, ...

sticks and

Evans Drumheads D'Addario is a family-owned and operated American multinational company that specializes in musical instrument accessories headquartered in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York. D’Addario is the world’s largest musical instrument accesso ...

. He helped Sonor design the Jungle kit and snare. He has also collaborated with Sabian to create two lines of cymbals, the Vault "Fierce" series, and "Omni" series, which includes both AAX and HHX models. His Vault Fierce cymbals feature a raw, unlathed finish, and extensive hand hammering, while the Omnis are designed to function as both rides and crashes. He also helped to develop the hoop crash of Sabian and the perfect balance (single pedal of Sonor).

References

External links

*
Jojo Mayer's Nerve
Info at Basitours
2013 Audio Interview with Jojo from the podcast "I'd Hit That"

An interview with Jojo Mayer by The Drummer’s Journal, 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Jojo 1963 births Living people Swiss drummers Swiss male musicians Male drummers Jazz drummers Swiss emigrants to the United States Male jazz musicians Vienna Art Orchestra members Screaming Headless Torsos members