Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez - Duologue (2019) {Mack Avenue}

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Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez - Duologue (2019) {Mack Avenue}

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Grammy nominated artists Alfredo Rodríguez and Pedrito Martinez first worked together on Alfredo’s 2012 release The Invasion Parade. Since that initial recording session, they have had the rare occasion to perform together as a duo, leaving audiences completely mesmerized by their fearless and virtuosic playing. Each artist brings a different approach to the collaboration. A protégé of Quincy Jones, who took him under his wing when he defected to the US in 2009, Alfredo was schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana. His riveting artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro Cuban and jazz roots. Pedrito’s 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 such as Sting, Paul Simon, and Wynton Marsalis. Together, these two master musicians take listeners on a unique and exciting journey on Duologue.

When running down the names of notable and somewhat recent Cuban exports in the jazz realm, Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez both rank at the top of the list. Rodriguez, a conservatory trained pianist with a strong familial connection to the aural arts, came under the wing of the great Quincy Jones back in 2006. He made his way to the United States three years later and began taking the world by storm when he delivered his stunning debut—Sounds Of Space (Mack Avenue, 2012). Martinez, a percussionist reared on the street scene in Havana, arrived stateside just over a decade earlier than Rodriguez. He quickly vaulted to the top of his peer group, besting a talented bunch to take top honors at the Thelonious Monk Institute's Afro-Latin Hand Drum Competition, appearing in the critically-acclaimed documentary Calle 54, co-founding the band Yerba Buena, and racking up an extensive list of sideman credits with everybody from Paquito D'Rivera to Paul Simon. He's since become a widely respected leader in his own right, most recently delivering a pair of celebrated albums on the Motéma Music imprint.