Global Beat: Pedrito Martinez
When Pedrito Martinez was a kid, he was so obsessed with music that, as he drifted off to sleep, he kept a small portable radio pressed against his ear, listening to the exotic sounds floating his way via the far-away stations. Jazz, rock, R&B, pop—he took it all in. It’s a classic tale except for two things: One, young Pedrito did his listening from a poor neighborhood in Havana, Cuba, where the very act of seeking out culture from the United States of America bordered on illegal; Two, that boy grew up to become one of the world’s most in-demand percussionists.
“It’s amazing, man—a dream come true, beyond words,” says Martinez, now 47 and a longtime resident of the New York City area. The list of musicians who’ve called upon him to contribute both on stage and in the studio is staggering: Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Sting and a certain British guitarist who has become such a fan that he’s attended dozens of Martinez’s club gigs, Eric Clapton. The two veteran musicians have also become close friends, and Slowhand is now one of several guests who grace Martinez’s new album for Immediate Family Records, Acertijos. (The list of contributors also includes a number of top-shelf jazz horn players.) Clapton appears on the first three tracks, one of which is a reimagination of his own hit, “My Father’s Eyes.”
“I met him at Guantanamera,” recalls Martinez, referring to the midtown New York City Cuban restaurant where he held down a residency for years. Martinez’s hybrid blend of Latin rhythms and various other forms became the talk of the town. “Quincy Jones was there, Wynton Marsalis, Steve Winwood, Roger Waters— everybody. One day, we were recording the whole show, and Eric Clapton walked in with his entire family. They sat in front of me. I was so scared; it was intimidating to see all those famous people watching my concert. But at the same time, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is one of the best nights of my life!’”
Acertijos, Martinez explains, translates to “Riddles.” He chose the title because, “It was a riddle for me to put together all those pieces [from these different genres]. The roots are still in Afro-Cuban music, but one song has Eric Clapton playing blues guitar, then another song is very contemporary music from Cuba that we call timba. And then we have ‘Por Que Sera,’ which is more pop. I also have the rumba, which is traditional folk from Cuba. The diversity makes it so complicated to name. But I consider myself a citizen of the world.”
Martinez first arrived in the United States in 1998, while touring with Canadian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Jane Bunnett, who specializes in Afro-Cuban jazz. He decided to leave everything behind and make a go of it in the States. “I had nothing. I never went to a school of music. I came from a very, very tough neighborhood and I got here with no friends, no family—it was a long way to go. Years of sacrifice, practicing. It was hard. At first, I had no dreams, no expectations that I was going to get out of that country and become Pedrito Martinez, a percussion player who has played with many great artists. I didn’t think about it. But I was so anxious. I was so curious.”
In time, word of his prodigious talent spread among his peers. He played in a handful of bands and worked as a sideman before forming his own Pedrito Martinez Group. Their self-titled debut album, released in 2013, included contributions from jazz heavyweights Wynton Marsalis, John Scofield and Steve Gadd. His 2016 set, Habana Dreams, also featured several big-name draws. Martinez and his group, whose membership has undergone a few personnel shifts, have held residencies at several other New York clubs over the years—including the now-defunct B.B. King’s—where they’ve welcomed increasingly large crowds. “We were playing in different areas of the city and the audience changed a lot,” Martinez says.
Then came the pandemic. Acertijos had already been recorded, but a decision was made to put off its release. “I was about to release it at the end of [2019] and then I was on tour with a trio. Then I did the Love Rocks [benefit concert in New York]. The day after that, the whole country stopped.”
The year-plus that followed gave Martinez time to reflect on his ongoing journey. “When I first came here,” he says, “I came with a knowledge of Afro-Cuban music. But I said to myself: ‘What am I gonna do in a country where you can find the best musicians from all over the world? How am I gonna deal with the language?’ Then, after one year of living in the United States, I won the Thelonious Monk Competition in Washington, D.C. That changed my life. I signed a recording contract and started practicing for 8-10 hours a day. My wife thought I was going to get sick. But I was desperate to get better and better every day, to get out there and play with the best artists. So that’s what I did. I started getting phone calls from Bruce Springsteen, Sting—all these artists. I was feeling very good and confident about it.”
As work begins to pick up again, Martinez is looking forward to whatever might come his way. “I’ve had more time to spend with my family but I have also been composing way more, and practicing like I did when I got here in 1998,” he says.
“I never thought I was going to be playing my congas with Sting, Elton John or Paul Simon,” he reflects. “It’s crazy—me, a poor Black guy from a ghetto in the middle of Havana. I never pictured myself playing an arena with Eric Clapton right next to me. I don’t remember any conguero from Cuba who had that privilege, until now. They used to say percussion players are not musicians; they’re percussion players. Percussion players were all always in the back. Now we are up front.”
