Ignacio Berroa Since 1980, drummer Ignacio Berroa has boasted an impressive resume of sideman recording and performance duties with such maestros of the jazz world as Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean and Charlie Haden.
Berroa was born in Havana Cuba on July 8, 1953. Following his father’s footsteps he began his musical education as a classical violinist, but his life changed the day he heard albums by Nat King Cole and Glenn Miller. It was then that he realized he wanted to play that music and pursued that dream with a passion, taking his first drum lesson at age 11.
He studied at the National School of Arts and subsequently at Havana’s National Conservatory, beginning his professional career in 1970. After only a year in New York, Dizzy Gillespie officially invited Ignacio to join his quartet. Later he would also become an integral part of the bands Gillespie assembled during that decade, such as ?The Dizzy Gillespie?s 70th Anniversary Big Band?, ?Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band? and the Grammy Award winner United Nations Orchestra.
As an educator he first made his mark by becoming an Adjunct Faculty Instructor at Florida International University from 1991 to 1994. Later in 1995, he released his video Mastering The Art of Afro-Cuban Drumming under Warner Bros Publications, deemed by Downbeat magazine as the best instructional videos of the year.
His books, Groovin’ in Clave and A New Way of Groovin, distributed by Carl Fischer are great tools to learn independence, Afro-Cuban grooves as well as mixing the Rumba clave with other styles like rock, funk and Brazilian.
Berroa has also conducted clinics and master classes all over the world and has recorded and played with a variety of musicians such as Tito Puente, Danilo Perez, Ivan Lins and others.
His CD Codes (Blue Note, 2006) is a distinctive jazz-meets-Latin project that weaves the intrinsically stylistic codes of both genres of music. Codes was Berroa’s first project recorded as a leader.
Discography:
Codes (Blue Note, 2006)
Heritage and Passion (2014)
Straight ahead from Havana (2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
