Join the instrumental Jazz Ensembles at CWU for the annual John Moawad Memorial Jazz Festival, May 7-8, 2026! This year's headlining artist is NYC Percussionist Bobby Sanabria!

Bobby Sanabria is a seven-time Grammy-nominated artist as a bandleader. A renowned drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, documentary filmmaker, and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent, he was born and raised in New York’s South Bronx.

Sanabria has performed and recorded with legendary artists including Mario Bauzá, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaría, Paquito D’Rivera, Ray Barretto, Chico O’Farrill, Henry Threadgill, Luis “Perico” Ortiz, Daniel Ponce, Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, and many others.

He has an extensive discography as a leader, with several Grammy-nominated albums to his credit, including Live & in Clave!!!, 50 Years of Mambo: A Tribute to Pérez Prado, and Big Band Urban Folktales.

Sanabria currently directs the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra at the Manhattan School of Music. Under his leadership, the ensemble has produced multiple Grammy-nominated recordings.