StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: The percussive prowess of Pedrito Martinez

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martinez, who's coming to St. Louis to perform Wednesday, April 24 through Sunday, April 28 at Jazz St. Louis.

Martinez, 45, was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, where he learned to play popular Cuban styles as well as Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music on a variety of percussion instruments. He came to the U.S. from Havana in 1998, and over the past 20 years has compiled an extensive resume of credits with well-known musicians in several genres.

In all, Martinez has contributed to more than 50 recordings as well as live performances by jazz musicians including Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D'Rivera, Steve Turre, Bill Summers, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Brian Lynch, Stefon Harris, Jane Bunnett, Eliane Elias, Stefon Harris, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Conrad Herwig, Eddie Palmieri, Esperanza Spalding, and Los Hombres Calientes.

He's also lent his talents to rock and pop performers including Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Sting, Angélique Kidjo, Edie Brickell, Rubén Blades, and Elton John. Before starting his own group, Martinez was a founding member of the band Yerba Buena, which released albums in 2003 and 2005, and he's also is a member of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Nuevo Jazz Latino program.

More recently, Martinez earlier this year teamed up with pianist and fellow Cuban Alfredo Rodriguez on an album called Duologue, a collaboration that actually got started here in St. Louis when the two played a duo gig in February 2017 at Jazz St. Louis. That was Martinez's second gig at the Bistro, having previously brought his group here for a two-night stand in May 2015.

The Pedrito Martinez Group, which began in in 2005, has put out two albums to date, releasing their first recording in 2013, and the follow-up Habana Dreams in 2016. Along with Martinez on percussion and lead vocals, the group includes Sebastian Natal on bass and vocals, Jhair Sala on percussion and vocals, and Issac Delgado Jr. on keyboards and vocals.

You can see and hear them in action in the first video up above, an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert recorded just a couple of months ago.

After the jump, you can see and hear three selections recorded in 2018 at Galeria Cafe Libro in Bogota, Colombia: "La Luna," "Amor de Mi Vida" and "Yo Si Quiero Estar Contigo."

Next up is a video performance of "Recuerdos," recorded in August 2018 at a gig in Bologna, Italia.

Finally, you can get a close-up look at some of Martinez' techniques via a brief instructional video released earlier this year by The Drum Channel.

For more about Pedro Martinez, read his 2016 interviews with Afropop.org and Billboard.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...