Randolf Jimenez
Randolf Jimenez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Over the last 20 years, he has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the most prominent, versatile and successful Latin American musicians. He is an accomplished Drummer, Percussionist, Composer and Educator. He first fell in love with drums at the age of 4 when his parents gave him a small toy drum kit as a Christmas present. He later began practicing drums by himself and by the age of 16, he was already playing professionally in the Venezuelan music scene. As a bandleader, Randolf is a sound innovator with a passion for pushing creative boundaries. He has released an album ‘Randolf Jimenez Latin Jazz Project’ which is distributed on all digital platforms. Randolf is the kind of drummer that knows how to rock, vibe, swing, and relax into a minimalistic drum part when required.
His work has been featured on websites, newspapers and magazines in Venezuela, Europe, Japan and Canada such as Billboard Magazine, All About Jazz, Malta Core, Drum Fills Kafe, Acid Conga, Tokyo Jazz Review, Latinos Magazine, Ultimas Noticias, A UNO Magazine, CARAS Magazine and many others. ‘Billboard Magazine’ named him one of today’s greatest Latin American drummers. He has also appeared on several TV shows in Venezuela and most recently on NET TV (Europe), Rogers TV Univision Canada and Univision Miami. Randolf’s style, impeccable timing and solid technique has not only earned him the respect of his fellow musicians, but also the title “The groove” in the Venezuelan music community.
Since moving to Canada, Randolf has risen to the top of the Toronto music scene. His musicianship,versatility and professionalism keeps him very busy with a wide variety of bands and musicians and has rapidly become the most sought-after Latin drummer in Toronto. This extremely talented drummer has played in some of the most renowned festivals, venues and stages in Ontario such as Nathan Phillips Square (City Hall), Harbourt Front Centre, Dundas Square, Daniel’s Spectrum Theatre, Opera House, Toronto Centre for the Arts, Glenn Gould Theatre at CBC and many more.
Randolf has worked, performed or recorded with many acclaimed international artists such as: Grammy- Winner Producer Sergio George, Grammy-Winner recording Engineer Guillermo Mandrafina, Latin Grammy Nominee Gerald Chacon, JUNO Award Winner Quique Escamilla, Latina super stars Yahaira Plasencia and Katie Angel, Puertorican Mackie, flute virtuoso Bill McBirnie (who played with Chucho Valdes, Al Jarreau), saxophone virtuoso Sasha Boychuk (who played with Michael Bolton, Tito Puente, Pat Metheny), Brownman Ali, Award- winning Latin Jazz trio Cruzao, Santur player Sina Bathaie , virtuoso flamenco guitar player Miguel de La Bastide, Italian pianist Leonardo Barilaro, and singers Stanislas Vitort, Serge Grinkov, Nicole Lisa Craig, Alexandra Templier, Maria Rivas, Cheo Valenzuela, Roberto Lugo, Aisha Stambouli amongst many more. He has also actively toured with his own Band.
Randolf stays active in education too by teaching an average of 45 students per week in the Toronto area. He has also had the opportunity to teach in many music academies such as Bradford Academy of Music, Infiniti Strings, Hanway Music, Kollari Institute of Music, 4Sound Music, Elite Music in Toronto, Musical Blues, Garage Music, TOTO Music in Caracas and at The Drum Lodge in Malta, Europe.