Pedrito Martínez & Alfredo Rodríguez: Duologue Conquers the US

In the universe of Cuban music, few pairings are as unlikely —and as explosive— as Pedrito Martínez and Alfredo Rodríguez. One grew up in Havana’s solares, learning sacred Santería rhythms in religious ceremonies. The other trained in Cuba’s most demanding conservatories, mastering Bach and Stravinsky before discovering jazz.

Now, together on stage under the Duologue project, they’re electrifying audiences across the United States with a fusion only two Havana-born souls could achieve.

Two Paths, One Destiny

“In Cuba, supposedly there are no social classes,” Martínez jokes in a recent interview. “But Alfredo comes from the conservatory and I come from the streets. What unites us is more important: we both heard rumba, ceremonies, folklore. It’s in our blood.”

Pedrito Martínez, 52, is universally recognized as the preeminent conguero of his generation. The New York Times described him as “as close as traditional Afro-Cuban music has to a superstar.” Born September 12, 1973, in Havana, he arrived in the United States in 1998 and now lives in New Jersey.

Alfredo Rodríguez, 40, represents the other side of Cuban musical heritage. Son of legendary singer Alfredito Rodríguez —who passed away in January 2026 at 74— he studied at Havana’s Instituto Superior de Arte. His life changed when Quincy Jones discovered him at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006.

The Birth of Duologue

The duo met at Montreux in 2011. “I knew about his music, his career,” recalls Martínez. “I’m a fan, and my family loves his father, a great bolero singer.”

Rodríguez invited Martínez to record on his second album, Invasion Parade (2012), which earned him his first Grammy nomination. “We knew we had chemistry,” says Rodríguez, “but when we played together, it was something magical and spiritual.”

The Duologue project was formally born in 2019, during a show at Jazz at the Bistro in St. Louis. Since then, they’ve sold out shows at New York’s Jazz Standard and toured the country with their fusion of classical, African, and jazz.

¡Take Cover!: The New Album

In January 2026, they released ¡Take Cover!, an album reimagining pop and rock classics with their unmistakable Cuban stamp. The tracklist includes:

• The Final Countdown (Europe)
• Hotel California (Eagles)
• I Wish (Stevie Wonder)
• Barbie Girl (Aqua)
• Themes from Mission Impossible, The Pink Panther, and Chariots of Fire
• Latin standards like Oye Como Va and La Cucaracha

Their previous album, Duologue (2019), had already showcased their audacity with a virtuosic arrangement of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

2026 US Tour

The duo is currently touring the United States:

“It’s not virtuosity we’re after,” explains Rodríguez. “There are many moments where we can show technique, but what we want is to tell a story.”

For Martínez, the project even transformed his playing approach: “Before Duologue, my setup was simple: three congas and a foot pedal. Now I use a whole percussion arsenal. Alfredo looked at me and said, ‘I know you can play all that.’ He was right.”

Two Worlds, One Havana

In Pedrito and Alfredo’s music resonates something deeper than technique: the essence of Cuba. The conservatory and the solar, the grand piano and the conga, Bach and the orishas —all converge in a dialogue only two Habaneros could sustain.

“Music doesn’t come from music,” reflects Rodríguez. “It comes from experiences. Everything we’ve lived, we put on stage.”

And on that stage, every night, Havana is reborn.

Links:

• Pedrito Martinez Music
• Alfredo Rodríguez
• Chucho Valdés and his Royal Quartet — another Cuban piano legend on tour