\u201cPedrito [Mart\u00ednez] is a genius.\u201d \u2014 Wynton Marsalis<\/em><\/p>\n Grammy\u00ae-nominated artists Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez leave audiences completely mesmerized by their fearless and virtuosic playing. A classical pianist by training, Rodriguez was discovered by his mentor Quincy Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival while Martinez honed his craft on the streets of Havana, learning the deeply-rooted percussion and vocal style of Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Each brings a different approach to the collaboration. Rodriguez was schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana before Jones took him under his wing when Rodriguez defected to the United States in 2009. His riveting artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro Cuban and jazz roots. Martinez\u2019s musical training came directly from the streets of the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana, in which he was raised, and he has subsequently performed with artists like Sting, Paul Simon, and Wynton Marsalis. Together, these two master musicians take listeners on a unique and exciting journey through a variety of moods and influences, from Cuban classics to collaborative original compositions to unexpected favorites.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Biography<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Painted in the broadest of strokes, the stories of Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez may seem similar: both started life in Havana, discovered their gifts and passions for music, and headed to the United States, where they melded the music of their homeland with a wide variety of influences, each in his own deeply personal way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Zoom in a little, though, and the two paths differ considerably. Rodriguez was born into a musical family, his father a popular singer and television host. A child prodigy, he studied classical piano at the prestigious Conservatorio Amadeo Rold\u00e1n and Instituto Superior de Arte while playing popular music in his father\u2019s orchestra by night. While performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006, he was discovered by his future mentor and producer, the legendary Quincy Jones.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Martinez, on the other hand, honed his craft on the streets of Havana, learning the deeply rooted percussion and vocal style of Afro Cuban folkloric and religious music. Nearly a decade Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s senior, the master percussionist and vocalist arrived in the United States in 1998, was soon awarded First Place at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Afro-Latin Hand Drum Competition, and appeared in the documentary film <\/span>Calle 54<\/span><\/i>. He then co-founded a Latin fusion group, Yerba Buena, with which he toured extensively and recorded several successful albums. Martinez has performed or recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Ang\u00e9lique Kidjo, Chucho Vald\u00e9s, and James Taylor. He has been leader of his own quartet since 2005, with a Grammy\u00ae-nominated album released in 2013 on Mot\u00e9ma Music.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a result of their differences, Rodriguez and Martinez share a natural chemistry that makes for a galvanizing musical experience when they come together. Their first duo outing, <\/span>Duologue<\/span><\/i> (2019)\u2014produced by the legendary Quincy Jones\u2014finds the pair exploring a range of moods and influences, from Cuban classics to collaborative original compositions to a number of unexpected favorites.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSince the beginning, my collaboration with Pedrito has been very exciting,\u201d Rodriguez concludes. \u201cEven though we come from different backgrounds, the energy we share, the passion for what we do, and the respect we have for each other has been beautiful.\u201d Adds Martinez, \u201cIt was an amazing experience and a pleasure to work with Alfredo because he\u2019s a great human being. The way he plays and the way he composes are unique and amazing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Grammy\u00ae-nominated artists Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez leave audiences completely mesmerized by their fearless and virtuosic playing, exploring a variety of moods and influences, from Cuban classics to collaborative original compositions to unexpected favorites.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":13853,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"tags":[253],"tribe_events_cat":[220,27],"acf":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Scottsdale Center For The Performing Arts","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/13852"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribe_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/13852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13852"},{"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events_cat?post=13852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}