Born in Cuba, Pedrito Martinez began his musical career with a foundation in rumba and Afro-Cuban Yoruba traditions. Since settling in New York City in 1998, he has recorded or performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Paquito D’Rivera, Chucho Valdés, Bruce Springsteen, Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Dave Matthews, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and Sting, contributing to more than 75 albums.

A consummate master of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and the batá drum, Martinez is also the world’s first-call rumbero. He has contributed to or appeared in several films and television series, including Calle 54, Chico and Rita, Boardwalk Empire, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Martinez 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-1990s. His career as a leader began in 2005 with the formation of the the Pedrito Martinez Group. The group’s self-titled debut album was released in 2013, earning a Grammy nomination, and honors from NPR and The Boston Globe as one of the best albums of the year. A follow-up album, Habana Dreams, was released three years later, and included performances by Rubén Blades, Isaac Delgado, Wynton Marsalis, Angélique Kidjo.

In 2019, Martinez and Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez released a duo album—Duologue—to critical acclaim. Later that year, Martinez and Eric Clapton recorded a newly arranged version of Clapton’s “My Father’s Eyes,” which was released on Martinez’s album Acertijos (Riddles). Other guests appearing on the album included Gilberto Santa Rosa and Isaac Delgado. Acertijos was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Best Contemporary Tropical Album category.

More recently, Martinez recorded two singles and performed with superstar Camila Cabello, after being named Jazz Percussionist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association.

Pedrito Martinez uses Latin Percussion, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, DW Drums, Remo drumheads, and Earthworks microphones.

Isaac Delgado Jr. was born in Cuba to a family of music lovers. He studied at the National School of Arts in Cuba (ENA), graduated in 2003, and was immediately invited to start teaching piano. The following year, he toured as pianist for the Isaac Delgado Orchestra. He has since appeared in festivals around the world and shared the stage with dozens of acclaimed artists. Delgado studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and also attended Berklee Valencia in its inaugural year. In 2018, he joined Pedrito Martinez as a full-time member of his group.

Born in Uruguay, Sebastian Natal is a multi-instrumentalist, seasoned performer, and music producer. He is proficient in piano, bass, percussion, trumpet, trombone, and vocals across a range of genres, including salsa, samba, tango, Afro-Peruvian music, Cuban timba, Latin jazz, candombe, Argentine folk, and son. Natal has toured the world, playing alongside such artists as Eric Clapton, Conrad Herwig, and Sonora Borinquen. He gained substantial commercial success, producing albums with Grammy-winner Willy Torres.

Manuel Marquez is a Grammy-nominated percussionist with a swiftly growing career in New York City. He was born and raised in Venezuela, where he began his musical training at the age of four. Marquez is especially known for his expertise on the timbales, tumbadoras, bongos, drum kit, and traditional Venezuelan instruments. Thanks to a reputation for creativity, precision, and excellence, Marquez has had the honor to record and perform with a variety of world-famous artists.

Born in Panama, Xito Lovell is a trombonist, composer, performer, and singer based in New York City. In the past few years, he has performed at the Panama Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, American Folk Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Afro-Latino Festival (NYC), and Atlas Golden Fest (Panama), among many others. In 2013, he received a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. Throughout his career, the Panama-native has had the opportunity to share stages and collaborate with several world-renowned artists.

Grammy-nominee Alfredo Rodriguez finds inspiration in other legendary jazz pianists, including Keith Jarrett, Thelonious Monk, and Art Tatum. Schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana, Rodriguez’s riveting artistry is informed as much by J. S. Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Cuban and jazz roots. Discovered at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival by Quincy Jones, Rodriguez has distinguished himself as the definition of jazz and improvisation without boundaries, earning him frequent invitations to perform on prestigious stages and at acclaimed festivals around the world. He was nominated in 2015 for a Grammy in recognition of “Guantanamera” off his album The Invasion Parade. Rodriguez’s fourth studio album, The Little Dream (2018), was recorded in just two days, with a majority of the tracks being completed in one take. Rodriguez’s most recent album is Duologue, his collaboration with Pedrito Martinez.