This is a very difficult goodbye for us at Sabian & Gon Bops. On August 28th, 2025, our Sabian & Gon Bops family lost a giant in the world of percussion. The great Walfredo De Los Reyes Sr. was so many things to us that it’s hard to put into words our grief saying goodbye to this great man. Along with his legendary accomplishments as a musician, he was, most importantly our dear friend. He was a mentor…both in music and in life. Walfredo truly loved music and loved to share his knowledge. He welcomed everyone with his big smile, quick wit and open arms. When you met him, you immediately felt like you’d met before…that’s the way he was. Considering all of his amazing credits, he never boasted. Rather, he shared his talent to anyone who showed interest. Walfredo was the originator of combining drums and percussion into a setup, playing together what we know commonly today as the ‘hybrid’ percussion set. He influenced the greatest players among us, including many of Gon Bops and Sabian’s top artists. Walfredo LOVED to play and always possessed an almost ‘child-like’ joy when approaching his instrument. He enjoyed nothing more than sit with another player and share ideas and grooves. His knowledge was so extensive that he was called upon to play with many of the greats in music. Walfredo would often, even before his morning coffee, head downstairs to his studio to play.
It’s difficult to imagine life without Walfredo. We will miss him forever and he will always remain, our ‘Maestro’. RIP, dear friend.
Walfredo De Los Reyes Sr. was an internationally renowned percussionist and drummer. Besides recording his own albums, he recorded with artists in both Cuba and the United States such as Cuarteto Las D’Aída, Doris de la Torre, Tito Puente, Rolando La Serie, Rudy Calzado, Louie Bellson, Cachao, Alex Acuna, Tito Rodriquez, Chico O’Farrill, Jose Fajardo, Linda Ronstadt, and Steve Winwood.
Performing in Las Vegas for many years, Walfredo Sr. backed up performers Milton Berle, Wayne Newton, Tony Bennett, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Goulet, Rich Little, Bernadette Peters, Rita Moreno, Juliet Prowse, Ben Vereen, and Dionne Warwick, to name a few.
Walfredo, Sr. was one of Cuba’s most influential drummers and one of the pioneers to play both percussion and drumset simultaneously. His diverse background and experience made him one of the most in-demand clinicians and educators in the country today. Walfredo received recognition/awards including: The Modern Drummer Festival 2005, Sabian Artist Lifetime Achievement Award 2006 (presented by Robert Zildjian), SFjazz, and Drum Magazine Clinician of the Year 2014. In 2017, Walfredo was the 1st recipient of Gon Bops’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
