Cuban musican to perform in WSCC series. 

Cuban musican to perform in WSCC series. 

MANISTEE — Pedrito Martinez will take the stage in an explosive Latin/Afro-Cuban music extravaganza on Saturday, November 9, at 7:30 p.m., at the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts in Manistee.

Martinez is widely regarded as the leading percussionist in Latin music jazz and has recorded and performed with Eric Clapton, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Chucho Valdez, and Sting.

Born in 1973 in Havana, Cuba, the Grammy-nominated performer was a founding member of the highly successful, Afro-Cuban/Afro-Beat band, Yerba Buena, with which he recorded two albums and toured the world. 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.

Martinez’s career as a leader began in 2005, with the formation in NYC of The Pedrito Martinez Group whose performances have included festivals, performing arts centers, and venues throughout the US, Europe, Australia, and Latin America.

Released in October 2013, the group’s first self-titled album was nominated for a Grammy, chosen among NPR’s Favorite Albums of 2013, and The Boston Globe Critics Top Ten Albums of 2013.

Xavier Verna, executive director of the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts, says a dance floor has been added to the theater’s orchestra pit area for those inclined to dance “salsa.” “Pedrito is truly one of a kind and a master of Latin percussion. His musicianship is revered across the nation and the chance to see him live in Manistee County is rare.”

The WSCC Performing Arts Series is producing the show in collaboration with the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts and the WSCC Humankind Series.

“Music conveys aspects of how people think and feel that can’t be expressed in any other way, comments Brooke Portmann, one of the organizers of the Humankind Series. “When the team heard a performance by the Pedrito Martinez Group, we were immediately energized by the music and knew this concert would bring to us, way up north here, the energy and vitality of the Caribbean. We are so excited to hear them live.”

“This event is a testament to what can be accomplished in the name of collaboration. I know everyone involved with this project shares a sense of pride in bringing outstanding artists to our region,” says Ted Malt, Director of the WSCC Performing Arts Series.

Tickets for the concert are available online at www.westshore.edu/performingarts, www.mynorthtickets.com or the WSCC Box Office by calling 843-5507.