Amaury Acosta, is a Cuban-American Drummer, Composer, Producer, Educator, Curator, & Entrepreneur from New York City. He Brings an authentic blend of Jazz, Hip Hop, Funk, Soul and Afro-Cuban Music.
At the age of 11, he began studying privately with master drummer Alex Garcia. At age 14, Amaury was awarded a scholarship to Boys Harbor Conservatory of Music in New York City where he studied with David Oquendo, Johnny Almendra, and Ramon Rodriguez.
He attended La Guardia High School for Performing Arts and graduated from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School in 2006. In 2008 He transferred to The New School For Jazz & Contemporary music in New York City, where he studied with Charlie Persip, Dr.Reginald Workman, Billy Harper, Johanes Widenmueller, Richard Harper, Junior Mance, Gerald D’Angelo, Ari Hoening, Obed Calvaire, Greg Hutchinson, Nasheet Waits, Gerald Clayton, Jimmy Owens, Cecil Bridgewater, and many more.
He also co-founded (U)nity along side Cuban pianist Axel Tosca Laugart ( a collective of 5 young international musicians that fuse Afro Cuban grooves with modern jazz and Soul, and Electronica.) The group has been extremely well received in the artistic community, playing such engagements as, the Winter Jazz fest in Greenwich Village, The Blue Note Jazz Club, The National Sawdust. Bird’s Basement in Melbourne, Australia, The Jazz Café, and I.S.A in Havana, Cuba, Cuba Nu Wave Festival and The Standard Hotel in Miami, Florida. won first place in the Pepsi cola independent music contest, for their hit song “Guarapachanga”.
Besides being one of the most in-demand drummers in New York City. Amaury possesses Strong Composition, Arranging, & Producing skills and spends a lot of his time composing and producing for many artists.
Amaury Acosta has played with: Iggy Pop, Kimbra , Candido Camero, Jose James, Paquito D’Rivera, Wynton Marsalis, Ambrose Akinmusire , Luques & Zaccai Curtis, Michael Rodriguez, Casey Benjamin, John Ellis, Joe Sanders, Boris Kozlov, Charles Tolliver, Chris Smith, Xiomara Laugart, Robert Glasper , Kris Bowers, John Ellis, Pedrito Martinez, Isreal “Cachao” Lopez, December Bueno , Raul Paz, Osmany Paredes, George Cables, Chris Turner, Kenneth Whalum III, Burniss Earl Travis , Armando Gola, Cubiche, Taylor Mcferrin, Sean Jones, Lonnie Plaxico, Tia Fuller, John Hicks, Mark Whitfield, Kimbra, Marcus Strickland, Arturo O’Farril, John Benitez, Yosvany Terry, Taylor Eigsti, Jaleel Shaw, Jermey Pellt, David Bryant, Logan Richardson, and many more.
In 2017, Amaury co produced a documentary entitled (U)nity is power along side great film maker keith overton (Dga award winner, Beyonce, Vice, NBC Comedy Central) and Alex Linzimier.
(U)nity was the musical project, of five musicians from different corners of the world. But it stopped being a band a really long time ago. It now has morphed into an ideal, a collective, a movement, of like minded artists that Bring their heritage, expertise, and wisdom to create a sonic euphoria. The core : Michael Valeanu, Axel Tosca Laugart, Chris Smith, Max Cudworth and Amaury Acosta have created an unlikely collaboration, Ranging from a multitude of cultural backgrounds, Paris, Havana, Minneapolis, Providence and NYC. In their mission of fusing Afro Cuban culture with modern jazz, soul, hip-hop and gospel they’ve sacrificed neither virtuosity nor groove
Conceived in the summer of 2006 by Cuban American Drummer Amaury Acosta and Cuban pianist Axel Tosca Laugart. (U)nity represented a universal ideal for the two. They envisioned a collective of musicians whose every note would have the power to cross the lines that divide genres, countries and cultures and reach each listener, no matter his or her place in life.
In 2008, while studying at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City , Axel and Amaury were joined by French guitarist Michael Valeanu, Bassist Chris Smith and alto saxophonist Max Cudworth
Each and every note has the power to cross the lines that divide music and reach each listener in its own unique way. Reflecting back on (U)nity’s strong heritage and eclectic modern influences, their sound have been influenced by : John Coltrane, Miles Davis , J Dilla, Chucho Valdez, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, D’Angelo, Los Van Van, Parliament Funkadelic, Robert Glasper, James Brown, The Soulquarians, Arnold Schoenberg, Led Zeppelin, Alan Holdsworth, Art Blakey And the Jazz Messengers, Just Blaze, Jimi Hendrix, Flying Lotus, La Charanga Habanera, Los Muñequitos De Matanzas, Brian Blade Fellowship , Thelonious Monk , Pancho Quinto, Tata Guines, Jay-Z, Tony Williams, Issac Delgado,Bon Iver, Kendrick Lamar, Irakere Herbie Hancock,Derek Trucks, Nas, Freddie Hubbard,The Grizzly bears,
In early 2017 they premiered the documentary film entitled “(U)nity is Power” which was shot through 3 years of making the album.
The 14 track manifesto will feature Bass Hero Pino Palladino , Cuban Percussionist & Vocalist Pedrito Martinez, Multi Instrumentalist Devonne Harris Aka DJ Harrison , Vocalists Jonathan Hoard, Lauren Desberg , Flautist Elena Pinderhughes, and Bassists Luques Curtis,Dj Ginyard, Joshua Crumbly, and more
Links to International
