Henry Cole Ríos

Henry Cole is a Grammy Award–winning drummer, composer, and educator from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, whose work bridges Afro-Puerto Rican, Indigenous, and European traditions with contemporary jazz; internationally recognized as a sideman, bandleader, composer, visionary, and a cornerstone of Miguel Zenón’s Grammy-winning Quartet for over two decades, he has helped shape the rhythmic architecture of modern Latin jazz on stages worldwide.


In seven-plus decades of listening to jazz and great music — knowing Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Billy Higgins, Louis Bellson, Alex Acuna, Joe LaBarbera, Roy McCurdy and other world class percussionists— I can attest to the singular fact that Henry Cole is among those elite magicians. The unrivaled complexity of his multi-layered rhythmic drive is astonishing in its intricacy, allure and stunning percussive coherence.
— Jim Merod (BluePort Jazz & Soka University)
Henry is definitely one of the greatest drummers I ever heard.
— Claude Nobs (Founder Montreux Jazz Festival)