Pete Rodriguez
Arthur's Tavern57 Grove Street, New York 10014
Pete Rodríguez is billed at Arthur’s Tavern for a late-night set, with no accompanying musicians or specific program announced. The trumpeter, vocalist and percussionist brings the Nuyorican salsa lineage and wide-ranging jazz language described by the club, moving between hard-driving post-bop, melodic Latin material and R&B-tinged grooves.
Born in New York and raised in the Bronx and Puerto Rico, Rodríguez is the son of salsa singer Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez and the godson of Fania bandleader Johnny Pacheco. He was musical director of his father’s band by 19, later singing on Tito Puente’s Grammy-winning Mambo Birdland and appearing with Celia Cruz, Chico O’Farrill, Bebo Valdés and Eddie Palmieri. He also performed on the Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project’s Grammy-winning Simpático. As a leader, he has released Mind Trip, The Alchemist, Caminando con Papi, El Conde Negro, Obstacles and I’m Pete Rodríguez, Vol. 1, the latter named among the New York City Jazz Record’s Best of 2024. DownBeat called his music “not only instrumentally ferocious, but texturally rich.”
Arthur's Tavern is a basement club in the West Village where jazz, Latin, and blues are played with deep roots and modern energy. The stage is small, the room intimate, and the audience sits close to the musicians, often with a few people standing near the back. Shows start around 5 PM and go late, with some sets extending into the early hours. The club has a history of hosting top-tier performers since 2001, including regular appearances by Yuichi Hirakawa Jazz Group. It's a place where music is the center, and conversation flows naturally between the audience and the performers.