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Pedrito Martinez

Rumba de la Isla

Sony Masterworks

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Pedrito Martinez - solo de congas
Springfield Jazz Festival 2018 - Pedrito Martinez Group
Pedrito Martinez Group - La Luna
Michael League met Antonio Sanchez en Pedrito Martinez - Pt4- North Sea Jazz 2018
Pedrito Martinez - Concert Afro-Cuban music! #'Dec' 2018
Umbria Jazz Weekend - 2023
1 Que a mi me vio de nacer
2 Yo vivo enamorao
3 Dos estrellas relucientes
4 Solo vivo pa quererte
5 Volando voy
6 Quiero quitarme esa pena
7 No naqueres na de mi
8 Gitana te quiero
9 Homenaje a Camaron
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Sony Masterworks in partnership with Calle 54 Records will release Cuban musician, Pedrito Martínez's new album Rumba de la Isla. Featuring songs once interpreted by Camarón de la Isla, the legendary flamenco icon, Rumba de la Isla is produced by Fernando Trueba and Nat Chediak. The albumcelebrates the convergence of both the Cuban and Flamenco rumbas. The great rumbero Pedrito Martínez manages to integrate, in his own personal way, classic songs by Camarón de la Isla in a unique tribute to the greatest flamenco artist of all times.

Alongside Pedrito Martínez (vocals, conga drums, chekeré, cowbell and harmonies), Rumba de la Isla features many important musicians, who are "essential figures of Cuban music and flamenco." On the Spanish side, collaborators include Niño Josele, playing the guitar and Piraña (the cajon flamenco) and John Benítez, a double bass and bass player from New York. Adding to the list are Alfredo de la Fé – the legendary violin player born in La Habana and current resident of New York, and Román Díaz (cajón, batás, spoon and vocals). Xiomara Laugart and Abraham Rodriguez are included to contribute to the harmonizing vocals.

From the daring first track, "Que a mí me vió de nacer"to the last, "Homenaje a Camarón"(written by Pedrito Martínez and Román Díaz), Rumba de la Isla boasts originality and moves away from well-trodden musical paths while providing a creative merge of Cuban and flamenco music. The record does not include any trite "rumbita-con-son" tracks-instead, it has a percussion basis which along with delightful guitar and violin arrangements, enrich the songs musically and dive directly into the essence of Cuban music.    

Pedrito Martínez was born in La Habana in 1973, but has lived in New York since 2000. He has recorded and toured with Paquito D'Rivera, Brian Lynch, Steve Turre, Me'shell Ndege'Ocello, Eddie Palmieri, Bill Summers and Los Hombres Calientes, Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill, Stefon Harris, Bebo Valdés, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Isaac Delgado, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Edie Brickell, Eliane Elias, and Sting. He also took part in the film Calle 54, directed by Fernando Trueba in 2000. Pedrito Martínez has received six Grammy nominations, winning for Simpático, on which he collaborated with Eddie Palmieri and Bryan Lynch. Martínez was also a member of Yerba Buena, a band he recorded and toured with worldwide, accompanying artists like Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson and Ray Charles.

 

  • Pedrito Martinez Group set for Jacksonville's 'Ritz Theatre and Museum' / JME
    Posted At: October 1, 2023
    JME's JOSUÉ A. CRUZ writes…..Known the world over for working alongside giants of jazz, Latin music, and Rock the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Quincy Jones, Paquito D’Rivera, Ruben Blades, and Eric Clapton, Pedrito Martinez epitomizes living legend status | Richard Termine, courtesy of the artistThe paragon that is Pedrito Martinez has a rather mellow fall 2023 touring schedule, atypical for the normally busy ...

  • Pedrito Martinez backs Cimafunk & La Tribu w/Chucho Valdes, at the Blue Note / New York Latin Culture Magazine
    Posted At: September 19, 2023
    New York Latin Culture Magazine wites…..Pedrito Martinez is a Grammy-nominated Cuban rumba and timba drummer and singer. He is the world’s 1st-call rumbero, and a true force of nature. In Yoruba tradition, he is Changó, the master of the drum, inventor of the sacred bata.Pedrito Martinez NewsPedrito Martinez backs Cimafunk & La Tribu, featuring Chucho Valdés; at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village; Thurs...

  • The Goa Spotlight is hooked on Pedrito Martinez
    Posted At: August 17, 2023
    The Goa Spotlight writes….A recent performance at Keystone Korner, one of the most representative jazz clubs in Baltimore, Maryland, got me hooked on this versatile artist, who was born on September 12, 1973, “in a party area in downtown Havana called Key West,” said he is in dialogue with Prensa Latina.This area of ??Havana is “a place where I experienced great joy, studying rumba at its best and the whole...

  • Pedrito Martinez Q&A's with MontrealHispano / CodeList
    Posted At: July 20, 2023
    “Pedrito is a genius…working with him has been a revelation to me.” - Wynton Marsalis“The Pedrito Martinez Group is the real thing.  They had the club JUMPING! It made me feel like a teenager!" - Quincy Jones“The Pedrito Martinez Group is writing a new chapter in Cuban music  history” - NPR All Things Considered Pedro Pablo “Pedrito” Martinez was born in Havana, Cuba, Sept 12, 1973 in the Cay...

  • The Pedrito Martinez Group kicks off 'Percussive Arts Society Convention' with concert and clinic / Indianapolis Monthly
    Posted At: November 3, 2022
    Percussive Arts Society International Convention ReturnsThe convention of percussionists marches to the beat of thousands. Judging by the lineup of artists, they haven’t missed a beat.Indianapolis Monthly's EMMA UBER writes…..Drumroll, please. More than 5,000 percussionists will convene in Indianapolis November 9–12 for the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. The largest drumming convention in...

  • Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez set for the Weis Center in Lewisburg PA / The Daily Item
    Posted At: October 20, 2022
    The Daily Item writes…The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome Cuban street percussionist Pedrito Martinez and Classical piano prodigy Alfredo Rodriguez on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center. Painted in the broadest of strokes, the stories of Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez may seem similar: both started life in Havana, discovered their gifts and passions for music an...

  • Pedrito Martinez - Acertijos nominated for a Latin Grammy
    Posted At: October 1, 2021

    Pedrito Martinez - Acertijos was nominated for a Latin Grammy®  he writes.....I am filled with great joy to share with all of you that my new album "Acertijos" is nominated for a Latin GRAMMY® in the category of best contemporary tropical fusion album!!! Thanks to all my fans, family, friends, to my brothers of "PMG" Manuel Marquez, Sebastian Natal, Xito Lovell, and Issacito Delgado for alwa...

  • Jazz Foundation Of America & Relix presents: #TheNewGig Live!
    Posted At: May 13, 2020

    "They really define the gig economy. These are the people who fall through the cracks when something like this goes down. We're talking about people who virtually live from gig to gig."  - Steve Jordan, Artistic Director of The Jazz Foundation. In demanding times, musicians keep us grounded. They call up the strong, beautiful parts of our spirits. But without a single gig taking place during thi...

  • The nonstop life of Pedrito Martinez / The New York Times Magazine
    Posted At: May 30, 2019

    Pedrito Martinez is a star without stardom - renowned, deeply in demand but not famous. A percussionist (a conguero, in fact), songwriting singer and priest of the Santeria religion, born and raised in Havana and living modestly just across the Hudson River in Union City, N.J., he works nonstop, both on his own music (the Pedrito Martinez Group has two rousing albums and a Grammy nomination) and on the m...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group plays 'Habana Dreams' on npr - Tiny Desk
    Posted At: February 20, 2019

    Something happens when you get a chance to see Afro-Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez perform. First of all, his smile radiates. It's hard to imagine someone happier than he is to make music in front of people; and as we saw during his turn behind Bob Boilen's desk, he mesmerizes with this almost otherworldly talent on congas. His hands can be a blur because they move so quickly. To the untrai...

  • Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez elevate ideas into enlightening listening / Wall Street Journal
    Posted At: January 26, 2019

    ‘Thriller," one of Michael Jackson's biggest hits, rendered as timbá, set to Cuban dance rhythms? How about Koji Kondo's theme for the popular Nintendo videogame "Super Mario Bros. 3" moving to those beats? When pianist Alfredo Rodriguez created videos along these lines and posted them online, he wasn't just messing around: He was working on something. It took percussionist Pedrito Marti...

  • npr: First Listen: Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez, 'Duologue'
    Posted At: January 24, 2019

    Duologue is a reminder that one of the surest ways to get to the music of West Africa is to stop in Cuba first. Pianist Alfredo Rodríguez and percussionist/vocalist Pedrito Martinez have each established a foothold in a Cuban music scene that has its roots in West Africa. They combine their impressive musical talents on an album that demonstrates how flexible those traditions can be when match...

  • Alfredo Rodriguez, Pedrito Martinez juxtapose riffs at WinterJazzfest
    Posted At: January 16, 2019

    This year, for the first time, Winter Jazzfest extended over two weekends and held a half-marathon in Greenwich Village in six venues on the first Saturday of January, followed by the full and classic two-night marathon the following weekend. After a long break, the night at SubCulture culminated in a Cuban firestorm, a mesmerizing duet of superstars from the Cuban jazz scene: Grammy-nominated pianis...

  • Alfredo Rodriguez, Pedrito Martinez duo, set for 2019 JazzFest / ABC2 WBRZ: New Orleans
    Posted At: January 15, 2019

    On Tuesday, New Orleans-based 'Jazz Fest' announced it's full line-up for it's 50th anniversary celebration this year. Grammy® nominated artists; Alfredo Rodríguez and Pedrito Martinez, who usually leave audiences completely mesmerized by their fearless and virtuosic playing as a duo, have appeared together only on rare occasions, up until now. Their new Quincy Jones produced, ...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group set for Houston's 'Da Camera Jazz Series'
    Posted At: November 25, 2018

    Cuban-born and New York-based Pedrito Martinez is a master percussionist and an irrepressible bandleader who has recorded or performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Paquito D'Rivera, Bruce Springsteen and Sting, and has contributed as a percussionist and vocalist to over 50 albums. 2016's Habana Dreams was the #1 Latin Jazz Album in NPR's Top Jazz Albums for 2016 and was one of the Boston Globe's pic...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group set for Jazzanooga
    Posted At: August 23, 2018

    The Levitt AMP CHA Music Series returns for a second year to invigorate the lawn of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center in the historic Martin Luther King district, once again shining a light on the area's renowned musical heritage and building upon the momentum of the past year to solidify its position as a thriving cultural destination. On THURSDAY, AUGUST 23rd we welcome Pedrito Martinez Group to...

  • Jazz Fest - Day 1: Rochester City Newspaper reviews Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez
    Posted At: June 24, 2018

    p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} Over at Xerox Auditorium, Alfredo Rodriguez was playing percussively at the piano while Pedrito Martinez made his drums sing. Rodriguez is one of the most rhythmic keyboard players I've ever heard, but underneath the ever-present pulse were some wondrous chordal melodies. Martinez had five conga drums, all tuned ...

  • Lawrence Univ. World Music Series welcomes Pedrito Martinez Group / Appleton Post Crescent
    Posted At: April 15, 2018

    Cuban-born percussionist Pedro Pablo "Pedrito" Martinez and his international bandmates bring their blend of Latin jazz, timba, gospel, guaguanco, blues and classical music to Lawrence University's Warch Campus Center at 8 p.m. Wednesday in a Lawrence World Music concert. Martinez will be joined by Isaac Delgado Jr.: keyboards and vocals, Jhair Sala: percussion and vocals , Sebastian Natal: bass...

  • PMG set for his sold out 'Annenberg Cuba Festival' show / Philly.com
    Posted At: March 20, 2018

    America's political relationship with Cuba has long been complicated and uncertain, but the two countries have always enjoyed a rich and mutually beneficial cultural exchange. The breadth of the island's contemporary artistic output will be spotlighted in Philadelphia over the next three weeks as the Annenberg Center hosts its Cuba Festival, featuring performances by Cuban musicians and dancers, ...

  • Watch time lapse vid of Pedrito Martinez Group at jazz aspen snowmass
    Posted At: March 2, 2018

    When Pedrito Martinez was a teenager in Havana, his favorite bands included Led Zeppelin, the Meters, and Stevie Wonder. That's not an uncommon range of influences for a percussionist born in 1973. What's remarkable is the manner in which he discovered them: through a scratchy radio signal traveling 90 miles over water from the Florida Keys. "You had to put your ear very close to the radio, and i...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group set to close out Utah Arts Festival / The Utah Review
    Posted At: June 24, 2017

    Pedrito Martinez and his group will close out this year's Utah Arts Festival, giving the audience an exuberant and exhilarating sendoff in the language of the drums on June 25. Martinez received his musical education in the streets of central Havana. "There were so many teachers that were my idols," he says in an interview with The Utah Review. The language of the drums drives the musical core for t...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group set for Spoleto Festival / Charleston City Paper
    Posted At: May 24, 2017

    When Pedrito Martinez was a teenager in Havana, his favorite bands included Led Zeppelin, the Meters, and Stevie Wonder. That's not an uncommon range of influences for a percussionist born in 1973. What's remarkable is the manner in which he discovered them: through a scratchy radio signal traveling 90 miles over water from the Florida Keys. "You had to put your ear very close to the radio, and i...

  • Pedrito Martinez named 2017 JJA Jazz Award - Percussionist of the Year
    Posted At: May 16, 2017

    The winners of the 21st annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards have been announced. Professional Journalist Members of the JJA made open nominations in a first selection round; those who received the most nominations advanced to the final ballot. Congratulations Pedrito Martinez on being named 2017 JJA Jazz Award - Percussionist of the Year. Martinez was born in Havana, Cuba, Sept 12, 1973. ...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group leads the charge at Jazz Fest / NolaVie
    Posted At: May 3, 2017

    Jazz Fest #48 is officially underway, and by all accounts weekend 1 was a huge success.  Even with the constant complaints of excessively high ticket prices and a scarcity of true jazz music, Jazz Fest continues to deliver plenty of those magical moments that keep the crowds coming back year after year.  The crawfish bread is still delicious, Miller Lite is the drink of choice, and gale-force w...

  • Pedrito Martinez picks up 2017 JJA nom for 'Percussionist Of The Year'
    Posted At: April 24, 2017

    2017 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees were chosen by the votes of Jazz Journalists Association members. Nominations were made on the basis of work done in calendar year 2016, with the exception of Lifetime Achievement Awards categories, in which nominations are for a lifetime body of work. Members and others were able to submit their own work for consideration in the Photo of the Year category; a committee of JJ...

  • PMG set for Vancouver's St. James Hall / The Georgia Straight
    Posted At: April 20, 2017

    Havana-born singer and percussionist Pedrito Martinez, has been based in the United States since 1998. Martinez plays congas, cajón, timbales, and the bata drums (used only in rituals and ceremonies of Santería, the Afro-Cuban religion in which he's a priest), and has contributed to more than 50 albums and worked with the likes of Paul Simon, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, and Paquito D'...

  • Pedrito Martinez, a look back on the journey thus far / Huffington Post
    Posted At: February 9, 2017

    Unless something unexpected happens (and given this political season, it's a great possibility), 2017 will fill the air with more Cuban music by the best the island nation has to offer. Cuba has quickly become a destination for musical talent in the U.S. in search of the source of all popular music today. And then there are the U.S.-based artists who are celebrating the bridge being reopened between ...

  • Alfredo Rodriguez - Pedrito Martinez duo set for Jazz Bistro / St. Louis Public Radio
    Posted At: February 2, 2017

    Anyone who visits Cuba would be struck by two important musical currents: the streetwise character of modern dance music - and the elegance of classically trained performers adept at various genres. St. Louisans this week have a chance to see both when pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, who hails from the Cuban Institute of Music, joins conga player Pedrito Martinez, who had no formal training. Since crossing pa...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group - Habana Dreams makes NPR Music ' 2016 Jazz Critics Poll'
    Posted At: December 22, 2016

    Pedrito Martinez is one of the most respected "musician's-musicians" in New York City, sought out by other artists regardless of language or genre for recording sessions, or just to discreetly take-in an evening of percussion mastery, from intimate venues to the city's most revered performance spaces such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Now, in celebration of the quickly evolving cultural opening of...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group gets Kennedy Center crowd to its feet / Washington Post
    Posted At: November 7, 2016

    It's not instantly clear that there's jazz in Havana native Pedrito Martinez's music. The percussionist leans toward a pop take on Cuban mambo, more focused on song form and sustained rhythmic momentum than on improvisation. (Although, in fairness, the latter isn't absent.) Slowly, however, his quartet brought a Saturday-night Kennedy Center audience around to its way of doing things. Opening with a ...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group, Habana Dreams featured in Sep 'Downbeat'
    Posted At: August 29, 2016

    The Pedrito Martinez Group follows up their GRAMMY-nominated debut with the release of Habana Dreams, pushing forward the group's cutting-edge sound with some of the biggest names in Latin music - Rubén Blades, Descemer Bueno, and Issac Delgado. Recorded in both Cuba and New York, the album marks the homecoming of Cuban-born conguero and rumbero Pedrito Martinez, and a return to his Afro-Cuban...

  • Pedrito Martinez returns to his homeland for new recording / The Straits Times review
    Posted At: August 10, 2016

    Cuba-born, New York-based singer-percussionist Pedrito Martinez returns to his homeland to record some of the tracks on this new recording - Havana Dreams, a follow-up to his 2015 Grammy-nominated self-titled debut album. Built on the foundations of Afro-Cuban folk music and the more contemporary dance music genre of timba, Martinez's brand of music is a melting pot that incorporates jazz and pop. Th...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group set for New Mexico Jazz Festival / Albuquerque Journal
    Posted At: July 22, 2016

    Cuban-American percussionist Pedrito Martinez lives in New York City, but he returned to his musical roots to record his newest album - Habana Dreams."I have never had a problem traveling freely back and forth to Cuba," Martinez wrote in an email. The difference is that since President Obama has improved relations with Cuba, it made it possible for Martinez to record there. "We recorded at a legendar...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group set for New Mexico Jazz Festival / Santa Fe New Mexican
    Posted At: July 17, 2016

    It's said that to be a musician in Cuba, one must learn three things: how to play an instrument, how to sing, and how to dance. "Yes, yes, it's true," said Cuban-born percussionist Pedrito Martinez, whose quartet appears as part of the New Mexico Jazz Festival on Wednesday, July 20, at St. John's College, and the following two nights at the Outpost in Albuquerque. "The hardest thing for me ...

  • Pedrito Martinez Group - Habana Dreams featured on WCVE: World Music Show
    Posted At: July 8, 2016

    On this week's WCVE - Richmond VA - World Music Show, we'll check out a new CD from the Pedrito Martinez Group, who's Latin fusion sounds include a duet with actor/musician Ruben Blades. The Pedrito Martinez Group is a Cuban band out of New York who's new CD is called Habana Dreams. The first thing that struck me about this group is that their new CD features...

  • Pedrito Martinez talks to MSNBC: Cafecito
    Posted At: July 5, 2016

    Cuban musician Pedrito Martinez is one of the most respected musicians in the world, sought out by other artists regardless of language or genre for recording sessions, or just to discreetly take-in an evening of percussion mastery, from intimate venues to the city's most revered performance spaces such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Now, in celebration of the quickly evolving cultural opening...
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