Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Brooklyn-based percussionist and composer Samuel Torres thrives at the intersection of Afro-Latin rhythms, Latin jazz, and contemporary classical music.
Torres has performed, arranged, produced, and/or recorded with the luminaries of the jazz, Latin pop, and the classical worlds, including Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin, Don Byron, Richard Bona, Arturo Sandoval, Lila Downs, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Angélique Kidjo, Marc Anthony, Rubén Blades, Fonseca, Andrés Cepeda, Thalía, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Bridget Kibbey, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Nashville Symphony, and his country’s own international superstar, Shakira. He has been featured as a composer and soloist with the Berlin Symphoniker, City of London Sinfonia, Bogotá Philharmonic, Medellín Philharmonic, Delaware University Orchestra, Berklee Composition Orchestra, Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, and the Cali Philharmonic.
Torres won the Latin Grammy Award for “Best Classical Record” for Regreso (2019). He is a three-time recipient of the New Jazz Works Grant by Chamber Music America. In 2000, Torres received second place at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Hand Percussion Competition.
In 2023, he earned his M.M. in classical composition from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was honored with the Nicolas Flagello Award for his outstanding achievements as a composer.
