Pedrito Martinez

“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

Grammy®-nominated, Pedro Pablo “Pedrito” Martinez was born in Havana, Cuba, Sept 12, 1973. Since settling in New York City in the fall of 1998, Pedrito has recorded or performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and Sting and has contributed to over 50 albums.
Pedrito was a founding member of the highly successful Afro-Cuban/Afro-Beat band Yerba Buena. He has received the Thelonius Monk Award, Sphinx Award for Excellence and been named “Percussionist of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association every year from 2014-2017.

The Pedrito Martinez Group’s first album (on Motema Music), was was nominated for Grammy, and was chosen among NPR’s Favorite Albums of 2013 and The Boston Globe Critics Top Ten Albums of 2013.
Habana Dreams (Motema Music), their second album, was #1 Latin Jazz Album in the NPR Critics Top Jazz Albums for 2016. Quote from the Wall Street Journal: “…the thrill of real Cuban rumba transformed into something as hip and irresistible as great pop.”