Keisel Jimenez

Keisel Jimenez is a Cuban percussionist based in New York who plays congas, timbales, and drum set. Born in 1983 in Camaguey, he earned a master's degree in classical percussion from the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, then taught percussion there and at the National School of Arts while becoming one of the busiest session players in Cuba, with credits on more than fifty albums. His Havana-era work included Alexander Abreu y Havana D'Primera, Isaac Delgado, Alain Perez, and Orlando Valle's Maraca orchestra, which took him on tour through Canada, France, the Netherlands, and Morocco. He moved to New York in December 2015 and joined Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in 2017, holding the conga chair with the band when its album Fandango at the Wall in New York won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. He has also worked with Ellis Marsalis, David Murray, Lionel Loueke, Pedrito Martinez, and Jon Batiste.