Samuel is a 2x Latin Grammy winning artist, born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. Samuel was already scoring prominent gigs in the city by age 12. Samuel learned the nuances and styles of pop, jazz, and salsa in what we at The Collective have always believed to be the best way possible: By firsthand experience playing with the pros. He then became a classically trained percussionist as well, he earned a degree in Music Composition from Bogotá’s esteemed Universidad Javeriana. Before departing for the U.S. in 1999, Samuel was extremely well established in his city, backing up major Colombian performing artists and Music Directing/Arranging for popular telenovelas and films.

Samuel has also created his own critically acclaimed projects since then. Skin Tones, his debut recording in 2006 was an album that quickly solidified his reputation as one of the most unique percussionists in latin jazz. JazzTimes magazine described it as “at once intelligent, sophisticated and explosive.” Creating more projects under the multiple New World Jazz Grants he’s been awarded, his most recent 2017 project Alegría pays homage to the people of his native Colombia, as well as other Latin American nations. He’s been nominated for multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Latin Grammy Awards since!