In The Contemporary Jazz Drummer, Steve Lyman offers a linear, rigorous system for an instrument that has often been taught informally. Drawing on the lineage of Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, and Roy Haynes, he treats the drumset as a fugue-like instrument of independent, interwoven voices. Built from deliberately simple material like Stick Control patterns, core rudiments, and a steady jazz ride, the book uncovers deep creative potential through his Four Pillars of Time (subdivision, pulse, phrase, and form) and a fifth pillar, awareness. More than an exercise book, it’s a philosophy of practice: focused, combinatorial training that gives drummers the command and freedom to shape music in real time.