Sammy Figueroa - Joyous Percussionist

Sammy is...........ready for some more comedy. Born in the Bronx, New York, he moved to Puerto Rico at age 8 to live with his grandparents, after his father died, a heavy bohemian. Noticing his love of music at an early age, he decided one day that he was going to be a percussionist, and was able to attend music school in Puerto Rico. One day at age 18, he decided to go hotel hunting with some friends, and ended up landing his first gig. When his band was invited to come play and live at the Piedmont Inn in NYC for two months, Sammy fell in love with the Big Apple, and when the band broke up, he walked into a music department store, Sam Goodies, and got a job, claiming to be a "jazz expert", becoming a manager after 3 years. One day his life changed, when he was invited to tour the world with famous flautist, Herbie Mann, and ended up becoming the #1 call for any recordings in NYC, winning the DownBeat Poll award for best percussionist, and networking himself into the scene. Always one to answer the call, Sammy ended up hanging up on Miles Davis three times in the middle of the night, before showing up the next morning, and becoming his #1 sidekick. After a career working with the likes of Mick Jagger, Sammy's next chapter began when he met composer Michel Camilo and friend Rachel Faro, and began recording his own records, winning Grammy nominations for "And Sammy Walked in" and "The Magician". With South Florida as his home, he has been developing more and more his creativity, hosting a radio show weekly for WDNA, and recently winning a grant from the South Arts Jazz Road initiative, to tour the country, and honor his father with a new album. Passionate about healing the earth and supporting fringe science, Sammy is enjoying his voice and his role, advocating for a more sustainable world, and always, forever, rejoicing, in his story.