PEDRITO MARTINEZ

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

“To meet Martinez and to see him work is to appreciate the slim odds of stardom’s lottery. But it’s also to understand confidence, cool and self-belief, that the work is for something, something strong and thrilling. The world might not know that Martinez is a star. That’s O.K. He knows.”

— Wesley Morris, New York Times Magazine

Percussionist, drummer, singer, dancer, bandleader, songwriter, composer, and educator, Pedrito Martinez has been a force of beats and rhythm since his childhood in Havana. Revered by some of the biggest names in music (members of the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton always make sure to see him when they are in town), Martinez has always remained his true self while continuing to innovate his eclectic blend of Cuban Rumbas, Afro-Cuban, and Cuban folkloric and religious music.

Born in 1970s Havana, Cuba, Pedrito Martinez’s insatiable love for music and his signature style were developed at a young age and strongly influenced by his surroundings in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana. His childhood home was across the street from a park where locals would constantly gather to play percussion, sing, and dance to Cuban rumba, a foundational folkloric style of music and dance rooted deeply in Africa. 

Captivated by the music, Pedrito began to learn percussion while still a child and began a fast ascent to notoriety. By the age of eleven, he was already performing with Cuban artist Tata Guines and later performed with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas — a long-running Cuban Rumba ensemble formed in 1952 — while still a teenager. Pedrito was later introduced to Yoruba, also known as Santeria, a West African religion origin with a forceful style of music centered on ceremonial drums called Bata. After mastering the complex rhythms and various Orisha chants of Yoruba, he assumed the role and status of "Babalawo,” or Santeria priest.

Pedrito’s first international break came in 1998 when he was brought to Canada by legendary Afro-Cuban jazz artist Jane Bunnett to tour with her group, Spirits of Havana. Two years later, he elected to relocate to New York to further his career. Shortly after moving, he entered the Thelonious Monk Institute Competition’s first-ever Afro-Latin Hand Drumming category at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC., and won first place. Pedrito was also a founding member of the highly successful Afro-Cuban/Afro-Beat band, Yerba Buena, with whom he recorded two albums and toured the world in the mid-to-late-90’s, opening for artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Willie Nelson, and Ray Charles. In 2005, he began his career as a band leader with the Grammy-nominated Pedrito Martinez Group.

Today, Pedrito plays the Batá drum, conga, cajón, timbale, and bongo drums, among other percussion instruments. He has performed and recorded with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D'Rivera, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Sting, Jane Bunnett, Eddie Palmieri, Esperanza Spalding, Elton John, Camila Cabello, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, Steve Turre, Bill Summers, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Brian Lynch, Stefon Harris, Jane Bunnett, Issac Delgado, Eliane Elias, Angélique Kidjo, and Los Hombres Calientes. Today, he continues to tour the world and release new albums, including 2021’s Acertijos, which featured multiple collaborations with Eric Clapton and received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Tropical Album.

Harlem Stage continues to host an array of diverse performances from Latin American Artists from all corners of the world — including right here in New York. Stay up to date on upcoming live and digital performances by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.