Master Percussionist/Vocalist Pedrito Martinez Brings Afro-Cuban Magic to Roulette

PEDRITO MARTINEZ brings AFRO-CUBAN MAGIC to Roulette on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 8:00 PM.

Tickets: $25 in advance; $30 at door; $20 students, seniors at door

Box office 917-263-0363

A consummate master of the Afro-Cuban folkloric music and the bata drum, Pedrito Martinez is one of Cuba's hottest musical exports. He has performed with dozens of Cuban rumba groups and contributed to several important films, including Calle 54 (2000) and Chico and Rita (2010). Since settling in New York City in the fall of 1998, he has recorded or performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews and Sting, among others, and contributed to over 100 albums.

This evening's program features music from Pedrito's recent Latin Grammy-nominated album, Acertijos (Riddles), which interweaves rock, jazz, r&b and funk with his compelling Afro-Cuban sound. Pedrito describes Acertijos as "A compilation of emotions and the story of my life living in New York and Cuba." Pedrito on percussion and lead vocals is joined by Issac Delgado Jr. (piano, vocals), Xito Lovell (trombone, vocals), Sebastian Natal (electric bass, vocals) and Manuel Marquez (percussion, vocals).

Pedro Pablo "Pedrito" Martinez was born in Havana, Cuba in 1973 in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana, and began his musical career at the age of 11. He was a founding member of the highly successful Afro-Cuban/Afro-Beat band Yerba Buena, with which he recorded two albums and toured the world in the mid- to late-90s. His career as a leader began in 2005 with the formation in New York City of the Pedrito Martinez Group, which has performed throughout the US, Europe, Australia and Latin America. The ensemble released two albums; the first was released in 2013 and nominated for a Grammy, and the second, Habana Dreams, was recorded in Cuba and released in 2016 featuring Ruben Blades, Isaac Delgado, Wynton Marsalis, and Angelique Kidjo. In 2019, Pedrito and Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez released a duo album called Duologue to critical acclaim, That same year, Pedrito and Eric Clapton recorded a newly arranged version of Clapton's song, My Father's Eyes for Pedrito's Acertijos album and performed together at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas. In 2021, Pedrito was named Percussionist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists of America Association - an award he has won nearly every year since 2014.