Sylvia Cuenca

Possessed of a simmering drive and powerful command of the instrument, the San Jose native was brought up in a house full of music and discovered jazz through her father’s record collection, falling in love with the intense swing of Max Roach on his classic 1956 quintet date At Basin Street with trumpeter Clifford Brown.

A scholarship to the Stanford Jazz Workshop led to a move to New York at 21, establishing her career as a supremely talented young drummer and semi-finalist in the 1992 Thelonious Monk International Drums Competition.

Four years with Henderson and 17 with Terry took Cuenca around the world and back, leading to work with a hugely impressive roster of greats including Dianne Reeves, Jimmy Heath, Eddie Henderson, Gregory Porter, John Clayton, Jon Faddis, Etta Jones, Lou Donaldson, Frank Foster, Michael Brecker, and countless more.

Described by the legendary critic and author Nat Hentoff as “the fiery incarnation of Art Blakey,” Cuenca brings her current working band for this performance.