Willie Martinez has been a familiar face in New York City's eclectic music scene for well over twenty years. As well as being one of the most sought after drummers on the Latin Jazz scene today, Willie is also a gifted composer, arranger and vocalist.
Willie's considerable rhythmic and vocal talents have been featured with groups performing everything from Gothic Funk at the quintessentially New York rock club CBGB's to Afro Cuban Jazz on the grand stage of the prestigious Carnegie Hall. He has performed and recorded with artists as varied as the classic Cuban arranger, composer, and bandleader Chico O'Farrill, legendary Jazz pianist George Cables and contemporary Pop divas Jewel, Faith Hill, and Brandy.
His performances have been documented on television, video and CD, sharing the stage with a wide variety of artists representing a Who's Who in the American music industry, including Latin legends Ray Santos, Paquito D'Rivera, and Bebo Valdes; Jazz greats Danny Mixon, Steve Turre, Benny Powell, and Arthur Blythe; and pop veterans Leon Pendarvis, Barry Eastmond, Jerry Barnes, and Ira Siegel.
Mr. Martinez performs regularly with his group La Familia Sextet, an ensemble that features Willie's original compositions and arrangements, as well as those of the members of La Familia, all top notch composers in their own right, along with new interpretations of a few familiar themes from the past.
Another of Mr. Martinez’s projects is the Willie Martinez Trio, an ensemble that features Willie not only on the drums, but as the group’s vocalist as well. The trio performs classics from the great American songbook, as well as the compositions of the great masters of Be-Bop and Latin Jazz. The Willie Martinez Trio can be heard in New York City’s more intimate venues. Make it out to catch this very swinging little ensemble live!
Mr. Martinez can also be heard with the Bronx Horns, led by longtime Tito Puente saxophonist Mitch Frohman; with master flutist and alto saxophonist T.K. Blue, and the fabulous Latin Jazz pianist Nicki Denner to name a few. He is also the musical director of percussionist Norman Hedman’s tropical jazz ensemble Tropique, and can be heard on their fourth and latest recording "Garden of Forbidden Fruit" on Power Light Records.
He resides in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Aricka and their two children.
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