Joe Mailloux M.M.

Originally from Petaluma, California, Joe started playing drum set and jamming with friends and family at age 12.

Private drum lessons prepared him to participate in music programs throughout middle and high school, where he performed in county honor bands and an award winning jazz ensemble.

Thanks to tuition-waiving ‘survivors’ benefits afforded by Joe's father, a combat veteran, he went on to earn music degrees from Humboldt State University and its sister percussion department at Long Beach State University.

As a graduate assistant at CSULB he helped lead the West African drum ensemble, samba group, and steel pan orchestra, and focused his master’s thesis on the application of Afro Folkloric drum ensembles to drum set. 

Joe has performed throughout the bay area and the world, including in symphony orchestras, on cruise ships, and in hundreds of dance classes.

​He has taught lessons and classes to all ages and skill levels, and especially enjoys sharing and performing samba and other Afrocentric music with his community.

Joe currently resides at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz, CA. ​