Silvestre Martinez was born in Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, Mexico. He grew up in a large family of musicians, who played chilena, merequetengue and charanga music, which is Afro-Mexican music from the coast. When Silvestre was very young, he would often attend concerts with his father, who played congas in his Uncle’s band. Silvestre would sit backstage and absorb the rhythms of the coast, and by age 10, he began performing and recording with his Uncle's band. At age 15, Silvestre moved to Oaxaca City to study percussion. One of his first teachers, a Latin percussionist, exposed Silvestre to the world of Latin Jazz. There he discovered the recordings and was inspired by musicians such as Giovanni Hildalgo, Poncho Sanchez, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barreto, and many others. He developed a reputation in Oaxaca for being an excellent percussionist, and worked with different salsa bands.   In 1999, Silvestre was invited to live and perform in Bali, Indonesia, where he played salsa, Latin jazz and world music. Silvestre continued to travel and perform in various countries in Europe and Asia. Once Silvestre returned to Mexico, he traveled to Cuba to deepen his understanding of the roots of Afro-Cuban music.   Silvestre's ultimate dream was to play percussion in the United States, and his dream became realized when he moved to the Bay Area in 2002 and began performing with legendary Latin jazz musicians such as Louie Romero (percussionist, Fania All Stars and Mazacote), Paquito D' Rivera, Oscar Stagnaro, Karl Perazzo (percussionist, Santana), Orestes Vilato (Fania All Stars)(Cachao)(John Santos), Benny Velarde ( Cal Tjader) Los Cenzontles, Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids and Jorge Santana (Malo), as well as many other bands who played various types of music from Latin America.   Silvestre Martinez debuts his new Latin jazz project with his album, Vengo de la Costa. The rhythms of the coast of Oaxaca, combined with Jazz and Silvestre's unique, modern Latin jazz sound makes Vengo de la Costa a truly an exciting new sound. Vengo de la Costa features seasoned Latin Jazz musicians including Grammy® nominated bassist  Aldemar Valentin, Silvestre also teamed up with Mexican Latin Jazz musicians, including  Arodi Martinez  (saxophone), Renato Dominguez (drum) and Alonso Blanco (Piano, Keys)     Review from Raul da Gama.  Latin jazz network.   From what seems to be a burgeoning Latin-Jazz environment on the historic West Coast of America, Silvestre Martinez is being warmly praised for not only for his percussion-colourist skills but also for his vocals and it’s easy to understand why from his album Vengo de la Costa. From the upward yearning phrases of the opening track, “Wildcat” it is clear that Mr Martinez’s approach to Latin-Jazz – especially with the added inflections of his traditional Oaxacan rhythms that follow on the rollicking “Charo Choco (Alingo Lingo)” it’s further intimation that the rolling rhythmic hijinks of this exciting musician are here to stay – no-nonsense and free of any posturizing and eccentricity, certainly more dramatic than many other recordings. If Silvestre Martinez takes his foot off the pedal somewhat on “Incertidumbre” he pushes it on with even more force on “Costa Oaxaqueña” fashioning a rich interpretative musical tapestry that is uniquely his own. Apt rhythmic-leading features prominently throughout the recording, but it is never at the expense of luminous musicianship on the part of Mr Martinez. Nothing he writes (or arranges) and certainly everything that the percussionist performs with this well-heeled ensemble presages music that is by turns spirited and nicely flowing, contrasting with a pleasingly spiky baile – which unfolds naturally and with infectious zest on “Vengo de la Costa”. There’s also a range of songs which seem to have been created not only to highlight the special masterly music of Silvestre Martinez, who brings an altogether unique rhythmic voice to Latin-Jazz, but also uniquely, the percussionist employs a breathtaking array of colours and textures in his music. This makes the set consistently appealing. The percussionist needs little by way of an invitation to unleash playing of real power in the music’s melody, the harmonic interaction with – especially – Arodi Martinez and the ever-wonderful Camilo Landau. Best of all is the breathtaking climaxes in rhythm from the expert fingers and hands of Silvestre Martinez. Vengo de la Costa is an impressive addition to the Latin-Jazz library, but more than anything else, it comes from unexpected quarters, infused by clever and inspired interpretations of Mexican rhythms which makes it quite the priceless recording. It’s also original music by an artist from whom we’ll surely be hearing much more in the coming months and years.