User:Villaboy

Nando Pettinato is a professional drummer born in 1967 and living in Sydney. He began playing drums at the age of ten by playing along to Beatle records and was soon studying with Sydney jazz legend Don Osborne. Nando played his first professional gigs by the age of 18 and soon followed a succession of stints in many working bands throughout Sydney.

Nando's first drumming influence was Ringo Starr though he was heavily influenced by many of the 1970's and 80's premier drummers. These included Jeff Porcaro, Rick Marotta, Bernard Purdie, Andy Newmark, Phil Gould, Billy Cobham, Gary Husband, Narada Michael Walden, Mark Craney, Simon Phillips. Nando cites landmark albums such as Billy Cobham's Spectrum and Mahavishnu Orchestra recordings as fuelling his interest in jazz fusion.

Nando has a successful career as a drumming tutor these days and has a roster of over sixty students a week. He is teaching at several schools in the Sydney region and from a private teaching studio. Through his four years of private study with Chad Wackerman he learnt the Moeller Technique and is one of the few exponents of that technique in Sydney. He has taught over 12,000 lessons since 1990 and has conducted clinics and workshops. He plays Yamaha Drums and Zildjian cymbals. He has also played alongside many of Sydney's leading musicians and performed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, UK, and parts of Eastern Europe.