Alfredo Rodriguez Band featuring Pedrito Martinez

Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez are bringing their collaboration to the Jo Long Theatre on Saturday, May 8, 2027, at 8 PM. Both are Grammy-nominated artists born in Cuba, and the show puts them center stage together—Rodriguez on piano and Martinez on percussion. The set blends jazz, Cuban roots, and contemporary sounds in an improvisational format, so it's less about a fixed setlist and more about how they play off each other in the moment.

They come from two very different paths. Rodriguez grew up in a musical family and trained in Havana's rigorous conservatories, and he's known for dynamic piano work that mixes Cuban jazz with more modern sounds. Martinez, on the other hand, honed his craft on the streets, absorbing the percussion and vocal traditions of Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music, and he brings that rhythmic fire to the band. When they play together, those two backgrounds—the conservatory and the street—meet in the middle. Phillip Lutz of The New Mexican described their chemistry as rare, saying they "share DNA" and give new meaning to the word "synergy."

The Jo Long Theatre is part of the Carver Community Cultural Center at 226 N. Hackberry, and it's a seated venue, which works well for the kind of listening this music calls for. Tickets are $42. The show starts at 8 PM on Saturday, May 8.