Percussionist — Educator — Bandleader — Producer — Arranger
Pablo “Chino” Nuñez Jr
Six decades inside the salsa rhythm section — congas, bongó, and timbales — now teaching the pulse to the next generation of players.
WHO IS CHINO?
The pulse behind the band, and the person who'll teach you to find it
Chino Nuñez has built his career where salsa actually happens: inside the rhythm section. Congas, bongó, timbales, clave — the instruments that turn a song into a groove a room can't sit still to. He came up playing dances and clubs before festival stages, and that dance-floor instinct still shapes everything he plays and teaches.
These days Chino splits his time between the bandstand and the classroom. His teaching is built around the same principle that guides his playing: the rhythm section isn't decoration, it's the foundation everyone else stands on. Students leave with real technique and a working ear for how the clave organizes everything around it.
11 time grammy nominated, 2 time grammy award winner, producer and arranger in the Latin genre
Chino has spent a career in the engine room of salsa — the rhythm section — building a style rooted in tradition and sharpened on the bandstand.
Years On The Bandstand
STUDENTS TAUGHT
Intruments Taught
Cities Performed In
TRAIN WITH CHINO
Learn the rhythm section from someone who lives in it.
Chino has spent his career inside the engine room of salsa—the rhythm section. Whether you want to sharpen your playing, train a group, or bring a musical project to life, work directly with Chino and the experience behind the sound.
01 / Private
One-on-One Lessons
Personalized instruction built around where you are and where you want to go. Develop stronger technique, deeper timing, and a practical understanding of how your instrument fits within the clave and the full rhythm section.
Congas
Bongo
Timbales
Piano
Bass
02 / GROUP
Group Lessons & Clinics
Bring Chino’s rhythm-section training to your band, school, studio, or organization. Learn how the instruments communicate, lock together, and move around the clave as one connected rhythm section.
Ensemble Timing
Clave Theory
Rhythm Section
Custom Workshops
03 / PRODUCTION
Arranging & Production
Bring your music from an idea to a finished, professional arrangement. Work with Chino on arranging, composing, transcription, orchestration, and production—drawing from decades of experience in the studio.
Arranging
Production
Transcription
Orchestration
LIVE
Catch a show, or bring Chino to your stage.
Concerts, festival sets, and open clinics — updated as dates are confirmed.
OCT 3
2026
Una Noche Inovidable Con Tito Rodriguez Jr.
Concert
DISCOGRAPHY
Six decades on record.
From classic New York salsa sessions to Grammy-winning recordings, original albums, arrangements, productions, and collaborations, Chino Núñez has spent his career inside the music.
Explore selected recordings from his work as a percussionist, bandleader, arranger, producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.
SELECTED RECORDINGS
RAY BARRETTO
Irresistible
Timbales · 1989
A recording credit alongside one of salsa’s most influential bandleaders and conga players.
ROLE
Timbales
MARC ANTHONY
Otra Nota
Timbales · 1993
Chino appears on Marc Anthony’s landmark early salsa album as part of its percussion section.
ROLE
Timbales
AFRICANDO
Gombo Salsa
Timbales · 1996
The acclaimed Afro-Latin project brought together African vocalists with some of New York salsa’s leading musicians.
ROLE
Timbales
SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA
Un Gran Día en el Barrio
Timbales · 2002
Chino was part of the rhythm section on Spanish Harlem Orchestra’s debut recording.
ROLE
Timbales
SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA
Across 110th Street
Timbales + Arranger · 2004
Chino returned on the orchestra’s Grammy-winning follow-up, contributing both from the timbale chair and as an arranger.
ROLE
Timbales
Arranger
CHINO NUÑEZ & FRIENDS
It’s SHO Time
Bandleader · 2005
Chino steps to the front with a recording built for the salsa dancer—bringing together an all-star cast of New York salsa musicians and vocalists.
ROLE
Bandleader
Timbales
Piano
Bass
Arranging
CHINO NUÑEZ
Doctor Salsa, Vol. 2
Artist · 2007
Nine tracks of hard-driving salsa showcasing Chino not only as a percussionist, but as a bandleader, arranger, composer, and musician.
ROLE
Artist / Bandleader
Percussion
Arranging
Composition
Multi-Instrumentalist
TITO RODRÍGUEZ JR.
Transición
Multi-Instrumentalist · 2020
Another side of Chino’s musicianship—contributing beyond the percussion chair.
ROLE
Piano
Bongó
Percussion
THE RECORDING CREDITS
More than the name on the front of the album.
Throughout his career, Chino has worked from nearly every position inside a Latin recording session—from the rhythm section to the control room.
TIMBALES
CONGAS
BONGO
PIANO
BASS
PERCUSSION
ARRANGING
COMPOSING
PRODUCTION
ENGINEERING
His recording history spans salsa legends, Grammy-winning ensembles, emerging artists, and projects carrying the music into a new generation.
1980s
Ray Barretto — Irresistible
Timbales
1990s
Marc Anthony — Otra Nota
Timbales
Africando — Gombo Salsa
Timbales
David Benus — Quien Diría
Timbales
José Alberto “El Canario” — On Time
Timbales
José Alberto “El Canario” — Back to the Mambo: Tribute to Machito
Timbales
Tshala Muana — Mutuashi
Timbales
Manny Manuel — Auténtico
Timbales
Van Lester — En Transición
Timbales
Ernie Acevedo — Entrando Al Milenio
Timbales
2000s
Spanish Harlem Orchestra — Un Gran Día en el Barrio
Timbales
Spanish Harlem Orchestra — Across 110th Street
Timbales · Arranger
Chino Núñez & Friends — It’s SHO Time
Bandleader · Timbales · Piano · Bass
Chino Núñez — Doctor Salsa, Vol. 2
Artist · Bandleader · Percussion · Arranging · Composition
Rough Guide to Salsa Dura NYC
Featured Artist · Arranger · Performer
Gilberto “Pulpo” Colón Jr. — Hot Bread
Timbales
2010s
Miguelito LaMorté & The Chino Núñez Orchestra — Superstar
Orchestra / Featured Collaboration
Miguelito LaMorté — Superstition feat. Chino Núñez
Featured Artist
Aaron Acosta — Betcha By Golly Wow
Producer · Arranger · Piano · Bass · Percussion · Synthesizer · Coro
Celesté Polanco — Traicionada
Producer · Arranger
Celesté Polanco — Mi Salsa Te Llama
Composer · Producer · Arranger
2020s
Tito Rodríguez Jr. — Transición
Piano · Bongó · Percussion
Cachi y Saoco Nuevo — Déjala Que Baile Sola
Percussion · Arranger · Mastering
Cachi y Saoco Nuevo — La Fiera
Featured Artist
AND THE RECORD KEEPS SPINNING.
Chino continues to record, arrange, produce, perform, and teach—carrying six decades of experience into every session.