Bobby Sanabria

Sanabria was born in the South Bronx where he grew up in the Melrose Housing Projects. He is of Puerto Rican ancestry as both of his parents are from the island but met and married in the Bronx.

He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1975 to 1979 where for he studied drums, classical percussion, arranging and composition. He was mentored by then faculty member Keith Copeland stating, "Keith changed my life. He made me the professional drummer I am today." He received his B.M. Major in Applied Music - (8 semesters of jazz, 8 semesters of Classical music) receiving the Faculty Association Award for his work as an instrumentalist graduating in 1979.[1] He received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1983 and was a featured performer on the Mambo Kings film soundtrack. He also appeared on The Bill Cosby Show with the Mario Bauzá Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra.

Sanabria has appeared over the years in many New York City public schools as well as all over the world teaching about and performing Latin jazz. He has written articles for Modern Drummer, DRUM!, Traps, Highlights In Percussion, and has written liner notes for many albums. He has composed music for the documentary films From Mambo To Hip Hop - A South Bronx Tale (2007) and Some Girls (2017).[1] He directed the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra's at the Manhattan School of Music producing three CD's two of which were Latin Grammy nominated with he conducting with the orchestra (Kenya revisited Live!!! and Tito Puente Masterworks Live!!!. He continues to teach the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music as well as the All University Jazz Orchestra at NYU. He has been featured in such publications as the New York Times, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, Time Out, El Nuevo Dia, Modern Drummer, Rhythm, DRUM!, Jazz Times, Jazziz, and Downbeat Magazine.

He has performed and recorded three CD's (2 Grammy nominated) with the acknowledged creator of Afro-Cuban jazz - Mario Bauzá, as well as artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaría (with whom he started his career), Chico Freeman, Paquito D'Rivera, Yomo Toro, Candido, The Mills Brothers, Ray Barretto, Chico O'Farrill, Francisco Aguabella, Henry Threadgill, Luis "Perico" Ortiz, Daniel Ponce, Yomo Toro, Larry Harlow, Daniel Santos, Celia Cruz, Adalberto Santiago, Xiomara Portuondo, Pedrito Martinez, Roswell Rudd, Patato, David Amram, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, the WDR Big Band, Michael Gibbs, Charles McPherson, Jon Faddis, Bob Mintzer, Phil Wilson, Randy Brecker, Charles Tolliver, M'BOOM, Michelle Shocked, and Marco Rizo. He has guest conducted and performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras.

Sanabria's first CD as a leader, NYC Aché, released in 1993 on the Flying Fish Label featured a series of percussion duets between him and his mentor Tito Puente, as well as a guest appearance by NEA Jazz Master Paquito D'Rivera on clarinet. It received critical acclaim and featured Sanabria not only on drumset but also vibes, congas, bongó, and percussion. It was a National Association of Independent Record Distributors Award winner (NAIRD) for best recording. In 2000 his Afro-Cuban Dream - Live & In Clave!!! CD with his own big band received worldwide critical acclaim for its forward thinking approach to the art of the big band and received a Grammy nomination. Quarteto Aché in 2003 was hailed a "classic" by Modern Drummer Magazine showcasing him in a small group context. 50 Years of Mambo - A Tribute to Perez Prado, another big band recording, received a Grammy nomination in 2004. Big Band Urban Folktales followed in 2007 again receiving a Grammy nomination and also becoming the first Latin jazz CD to chart at #1 on the Jazz Weekly National Chart. With the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra he has recorded two Grammy-nominated albums: Kenya Revisited Live!!! (2009) and Tito Puente Masterworks Live!!! (2011). In 2012 Multiverse, again with his big band featuring original music as well as compositions by Don Ellis and Frank Zappa, was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Latin Jazz Recording and Best Instrumental Arrangement - Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite for Ellington. He was featured in the BBC documentary West Side Stories - The Making Of a Classic (2017). His current CD, released in July 2018 on the Jazzheads label, West Side Story Reimagined, is an ambitious Latin jazz treatment of the entire score of Leonard Bernstein's masterpiece, West Side Story interpreted by his 21 piece Multiverse Big Band in celebration of the Maestro's centennial (2018) and the shows recent 60th birthday (2017). Like all of his other big band CD's it has been nominated for a Grammy in the Latin jazz category. The majority of the proceeds form the sale of the double CD set goes to the Jazz Foundation of America's Puerto Rican Hurricane relief Fund to aid the musicians on the island. Receiving worldwide critical acclaim and again the #1 spot on the JazzWeek charts Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal wrote in his review of the CD, "There’s every reason to hope that Steven Spielberg’s remake of 'West Side Story' will improve upon the 1961 film, but I doubt if we’ll ever hear a more thrilling interpretation of that immortal score than that of the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band." Wall Street Journal July 16, 2018 https://www.wsj.com/articles/west-side-story-reimagined-review-a-kaleidoscope-of-latin-jazz-1531777752

He has been producer, consultant and featured on air personality in the documentaries The Palladium: Where Mambo Was King (2003), From Mambo to Hip Hop - A South Bronx Tale (2006) where he also composed the musical score, Latin Music U.S.A. (2009), We Like It Like That - The Story of Latin Boogaloo (2016), the BBC documentary West Side Stories - The Making Of a Classic (2017). He composed the musical score for the documentary Some Girls (2017). He and a reduced version of his big band are featured in episode 4 of the hit TV series, The Marvelous Mrs. Mazel (2018). He recently was awarded the 2018 LeJends of Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a musician and educator in the field of Latin jazz by the Jazz Education Network. He is an endorser of TAMA Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, Remo Drumheads, and LP Percussion. He is the new host of the Latin Jazz Cruise weekly radio show heard on WBGO FM Jazz 88 wbgo.org on Friday evenings from 9-11pm EST. He was named "Padrino (Godfather) of the 2019 National Puerto Rican Day in New York City and the New York International Salsa Congress bestowed upon him the 2019 David Melendez Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary contributions to Latin music as a musician, teacher, historian, radio host and dedication to preserving the art of Latin music and Latin jazz.

• Bobby Sanabria official site
• AllMusic biography
• Bobby Sanabria interview on AllAboutJazz
• Bobby Sanabria interview on Latin Jazz Club
• Cue the Finger Snapping – Bobby Sanabria Pours Love Into “West Side Story Reimagined” - debbieburkeauthor.com