Orlando Cotto

Orlando Cotto is a professional percussionist and marimba player whose work centers on Afro-Caribbean music, including Cuban danzón, son, bomba and cha-cha-chá, alongside original tunes. He performs with his quartet and in a Latin jazz trio.

He is also a dedicated teacher. He leads group workshops in Afro-Cuban drumming for beginners and serious enthusiasts, where students relearn the basics, develop their internal timing and learn common folk rhythms from Cuba, Puerto Rico and West Africa. The focus is on technique, on applying knowledge from aural traditions, and on improvising with the most popular rhythms while developing sound.

Orlando gives master classes in classical marimba, Afro-Cuban music and classical percussion, each geared to an age level from middle school to college. His most popular class covers scales, arpeggios and modes, playing with the Son and Rumba clave, and bringing the bass tumbao and montuno from the piano to the marimba. Students also build independence by playing the bass tumbao with the left hand while soloing with the right.

He also runs Earthsounds, a recording studio where he works as the engineer, and he has taken part in percussion summer enrichment programs for young players.