Sammy Figueroa (born November 16, 1948) is an American percussionist. At 18, he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raíces. He is known as an extremely prolific session player, having played on nearly 400 albums, including ten platinum records.

Early years

Figueroa was born in the Bronx in 1948. He started singing at an early age, following in the footsteps of his father, Charlie Figueroa, whom he never met. However, Sammy later decided that he wanted to be an instrumentalist. By his teenage years, he was focusing almost entirely on percussion. Figueroa moved to Puerto Rico as a child to live with his grandparents amidst rising gang violence in The Bronx and, at 17 years old, joined the band Raíces (not to be confused with the Argentinian rock band of the same name).

Move back to New York

Raíces had a difficult time making a name for themselves and Figueroa left the group and returned to New York City, where he took a job at a Sam Goody record store. Figueroa eventually rejoined Raíces and recorded an album with them in Miami, but moved back to New York again when the group broke up a few years later. While working at the record store, Figueroa met prominent jazz flutist Herbie Mann, who was impressed by Figueroa’s knowledge of music and record recommendations. Upon learning that Figueroa was a percussionist, Mann invited him to sit in at a club gig and, later, offered him a spot in his band. Soon thereafter, Figueroa began working with Average White Band, The Brecker Brothers, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Session work

Figueroa soon became one of the 'top calls' in New York as a session percussionist. Over the course of his career, he worked with a wide range of jazz, rock, pop, soul, fusion, and Latin musicians, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, George Benson, Chet Baker, Al Foster, Stanley Clarke, Art Farmer, Quincy Jones, Grover Washington Jr., Houston Person, Al Jarreau, Lena Horne, Joe Williams, Tony Williams, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Weckl, John Scofield, Don Cherry, Yoko Ono, Pat Metheny, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Gadd, Jaco Pastorius, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, Ben E. King, Peter Tosh, Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, The Bee Gees, Blondie, Bette Middler, Celine Dion, Patti Smith, Narada Michael Walden, David Lee Roth, Roberta Flack, Sister Sledge, Tom Jones, James Taylor, Carole King, Natalie Merchant, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steven Van Zandt, Ashford & Simpson, Hall & Oates, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Chic, The Yellowjackets, Steve Winwood, Nestor Torres, Chico O’Farrell, Paquito D’Rivera, Ruben Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Rafel Cortijo, Tania Maria, and many others.

Move to Miami and solo career

In 1989, Figueroa met producer Rachel Faro at a benefit for Pat Mikell, co-proprietor of Mikell’s jazz club. The two became a production team and went on to produce various Cuban and Puerto Rican artists and bands including Lazaro Roz con Mezcla, Fania All-Star Yomo Toro, a capella group Vocal Sampling, and fusion band Cuarto Espacio. Faro founded the label Ashé Records in 1998 and moved the label to Miami shortly after. Figueroa followed her there in 2002, quickly forming the band Sammy Figueroa and His Latin Jazz Explosion, which debuted at the 2002 Hollywood (Florida) Jazz Festival and held a regular performance slot at the Van Dyke Café in Miami Beach for several years. Figueroa also leads Sally’s Tomato, a Cal Tjader tribute group, as a side project. He has cited Bill Fitch, who played conga with Tjader, as a longtime influence on his own playing. To date, Figueroa has released seven albums as a band leader or co-leader. His most recent album Searching For A Memory/Busco Tu Recuerdo (Ashe, 2023) a tribute to his father, was produced by Faro with Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Cuban singer Aymée Nuviola. The production was made possible by a Creativity Residency Grant from SouthArts Jazz Road initiative.

Awards

Figueroa has won three Recording Academy (NARAS) awards for 'Percussionist of the Year' and has been nominated twice for the Grammy for 'Best Latin Jazz Album' for his first two albums, ...and Sammy Walked In (Savant, 2006, SCD 2066) and The Magician (Savant, 2007, SCD 2079). In March 2024, Searching For A Memory/Busco Tu Recuerdo received a "Production of the Year" award from Puerto Rico's Fundacion Nacional para La Cultura Popular. Figueroa was awarded the title of "Best Jazz Artist" in the Miami New Times "Best Of Miami" awards in 2003 and, in 2008, received a Drum! Magazine Drummie Award for "Best Jazz Fusion Percussionist." He received a Jazz Journalists Association award in 2012 and was a runner-up for another in 2015.

Gear

Figueroa endorses Pearl percussion, Sabian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, and Shure microphones. His gear setup includes:

Selected discography

As leader or co-leader

Solo With Sammy Figueroa & His Latin Jazz Explosion With Raíces

As sideman

With Ashford & Simpson With Average White Band With George Benson With Blondie With Blues Traveler With Tommy Bolin With David Bowie With The Brecker Brothers With Paul Carrack With Don Cherry With Chic With Joe Cocker With Miles Davis With Joey DeFrancesco With Deodato With Will Downing With Paquito D'Rivera With Enchantment With Al Foster With Nnenna Freelon With Hiroshi Fukumura With Bee Gees With Debbie Gibson With Dave Grusin With Gwen Guthrie With Hall & Oates With Major Harris With Debbie Harry With Nicole Henry With Whitney Houston With Grayson Hugh With Dr. John With Etta Jones With Mick Jagger With France Joli With Stanley Jordan With Chaka Khan With Ben E. King With Carole King With Morgana King With Earl Klugh With Gladys Knight & The Pips With Melissa Manchester With Herbie Mann With Jay McShann With Bette Midler With Stephanie Mills With Charles Mingus With Bob Mintzer Big Band With Idris Muhammad With Mark Murphy With Odyssey With Yoko Ono With John Pizzarelli With Jimmy Ponder With Sonny Rollins With David Lee Roth With Diana Ross With Leo Sayer With John Scofield With Sister Sledge With O. C. Smith With Patti Smith With Spyro Gyra With Billy Squier With Candi Staton With Peter Tosh With Luther Vandross With Narada Michael Walden With Dionne Warwick With Steven Van Zandt