Er war Schüler von Max Roach (Schlagzeug), Percy Heath und Kenny Dorham (Jazz) sowie Gunther Schuller, Marshall Stearns und George Russell (Musiktheorie und -geschichte). ###>Under a scholarship, Bergamo studied drumset with Max Roach; had Percy Heath and Kenny Dorham as jazz band instructors; studied history and theory with Gunther Schuller, Marshall Stearns and George Russell; and was classmates with Ornette Coleman, and Don Cherry.