Yayo Serka

Edgardo "Yayo" Serka is a Chilean-born, New York-based drummer and percussionist known for his work with singers Lila Downs and Angelique Kidjo. He discovered jazz in Santiago, where in 1995 he studied with Sergio "Tilo" Gonzalez of the Chilean group Congreso, and he spent the years 1990 to 1994 studying in Havana as the timba style was taking shape. In New York he has performed with Claudia Acuna, Bobby Watson, and the Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. His playing blends jazz with the Latin American and Afro-Cuban traditions at the root of his training. He is endorsed by Istanbul Agop cymbals, Latin Percussion, and Vic Firth.