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Musician

Pedrito Martinez

Pedro Pablo “Pedrito” Martinez was born in Havana, Cuba, Sept 12, 1973 in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana, and began his musical career at the age of 11.Since settling in New York City in the fall of 1998, Pedrito has recorded or performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Paquito D’Rivera, Chucho Valdez, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Palmieri, Dave Matthews, Jackson Browne, Elton John, James Taylor and Sting, and has contributed to well over 100 albums.  A consummate master of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and the batá drum he is also the world’s first-call rumbero—playing, singing, and dancing with dozens of Cuban rumba groups and contributing to, or appearing in, several important films, including Calle 54 (2000) and Chico and Rita (2010).

Pedrito 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-90’s.

Mr. Martinez’s career as a leader began in 2005 with the formation in NYC of the The Pedrito Martinez Group. The group’s first, self-titled, studio album, was released October, 2013, was nominated for a Grammy, and was chosen among NPR’s Favorite Albums of 2013 and The Boston Globe Critics Top Ten Albums of 2013.”

Habana Dreams, their second album, recorded largely in Cuba, was released in June 10, 2016. Guests include, Ruben Blades, Isaac Delgado, Wynton Marsalis, Angelique Kidjo.In February of 2019, Pedrito and Cuban pianist, Alfredo Rodriguez, released a duo album called Duologue to critical acclaim and was selected by NPR for a First Listen. Quincy Jones was Executive Producer. In July 2019, Pedrito and Eric Clapton, recorded a newly arranged version of Clapton’s song, My Father’s Eyes for a new Pedrito Martinez album, called Acertijos (Riddles), to be released in early 2021. And on September 22, Pedrito and Clapton performed the song together at Clapton’s, Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas.On March 12, 2020 at the Beacon Theater in NYC, Pedrito had the honor of performing as special guest, with Dave Matthews, Jackson Browne, and The Tedeschi Trucks Band, for a benefit concert called Love Rocks NYC. In June of 2020, Pedrito began releasing singles that were recorded for album, due in early 2021, Acertijos—starting with Yo Si Quiero, an original by Isaac Delgado Jr, Mitchell Delgado, and Pedrito, followed by My Father’s Eyes, a duet with Eric Clapton.

Album

Deborah Silver with the Count Basie Orchestra: Basie Rocks!

Label: Green Hill Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: Paint It, Black – feat. Arturo Sandoval & Pedrito Martinez; Bennie and the Jets; Baby, I Love Your Way – feat. Peter Frampton; Tainted Love – feat. Kurt Elling (duet), Steve Jordan, John Clayton; Band On The Run; A Hard Day’s Night – feat. Monte Croft; Joy To The World – feat. Trombone Shorty (duet); Fly Like An Eagle – feat. Bill Frisell; Every Breath You Take – feat. George Coleman; Old Time Rock & Roll – feat. Wycliffe Gordon (duet) & Herlin Riley; Life’s Been Good – feat. Scotty Barnhart of The Count Basie Orchestra.

Album

Overcoming

Label: Self Produced
Released: 2025
Track listing: 1. Rumination 2. Blissful Sorrow 3. Despair 4. Duality Embrace 5. Negra

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Article: Play This!

Christian McBride Big Band with Sting and Andy Summers: Murder by Numbers

Read "Christian McBride Big Band with Sting and Andy Summers: Murder by Numbers" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


It seems that Sting revisits “Murder by Numbers" with once-in-a-lifetime collaborations as a way to comment on the corrupt pulse of the times. He did so in 1988--as a pointed response to televangelist Jimmy Swaggart's claim that the song was “written by the devil"--with Frank Zappa on the stage of Chicago's Auditorium Theater, after ...

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Article: In Pictures

Tilles Jazz Festival 2025

Read "Tilles Jazz Festival 2025" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Almost a year to the day after the inaugural Tilles Jazz Festival took flight, the second edition was in full swing. This large-scale event--a collaboration between Tilles Center for the Performing Arts and Jazz at Lincoln Center, held on July 19, 2025 on the Brookville campus of Long Island University--boasted four well-set stages and nine artful ...

5

Article: Live Review

46th Annual Tri-C JazzFest

Read "46th Annual Tri-C JazzFest" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


46th Annual Tri-C JazzFest Playhouse Square Cleveland, OH June 26-28, 2025 Jazz festivals occupy a precarious space these days. Pressured by financial constraints, too many have drifted toward booking artists with only a passing connection to the jazz tradition. Cuts to both public and private funding have only compounded ...

3

Article: Album Review

Deborah Silver: Deborah Silver with the Count Basie Orchestra: Basie Rocks!

Read "Deborah Silver with the Count Basie Orchestra: Basie Rocks!" reviewed by Kyle Simpler


Jazz musicians frequently cover popular songs, but few do it quite like vocalist Deborah Silver. With Basie Rocks!, Silver teams up with the iconic Count Basie Orchestra for a genre-crossing collection that you truly have to hear to believe. This is a groove-charged big band album that reimagines classic rock and pop classics through the swinging ...

Album

Candombe

Label: Alafonte
Released: 2024
Track listing: Biricunyamba; Baile del Candombe; Adios a la Rama; Consejo de Eros; Se Abre el Porton; Botija de me Pais; Llamanda; El Tambor.

Album

A Change Is Gonna Come

Label: Savant Records
Released: 2022
Track listing: Moment’s Notice; Loco-Motive; Covid Blues; A Change Is Gonna Come; Sun for Sonny; Enough Is Enough; Sweet Peanut; A Prayer for Us; Chaos; My Foolish Heart.

Album

Generations

Label: Smoke Sessions Records
Released: 2022
Track listing: Planting the Ceed; Dinner with Duke; Blue Smoke; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Don D.; Pharoah's Dance; Flower Power; Good People; Sweet Dreams; Resistance.


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