Yissy Garcia

Yissy García, composer and drummer, is one of the most powerful artists of the new
generation of Cuban musicians. Considered one of Cuba’s most dynamic and
innovative musicians who defies genre and tradition with every funky groove, she
demonstrates the art of combining traps and percussion, drawing from the wealth of
Cuban folkloric and popular styles alongside serious jazz and funk.

Yissy has quickly become an iconic figure of female percussion in Cuba and beyond,
having performed with the likes of Dave Matthews, Esperanza Spalding, Concha
Buika, Joshua Bell, Munir Hossn, Diego Torres, and Allison Russell, and been
likened to “the Cuban version of Terri Lyne Carrington” by Tom Tom Magazine.
Since 2012 she leads Bandancha, an off-the-charts quintet that follows the routes of
Latin jazz, funk, and afro Cuban music.

Her first record, Última Noticia(2015), joined the island musical scene as a paradigm
of the most contemporary sound. She is part of the line up of Maqueque, together
with the Canadian sax player Jane Bunnett, whose first record, Jane Bunnett and
Maqueque, won the Juno Award for the best Jazz Album and the second record,
Oddara, was nominated for the Best Latin Jazz Grammy award.