New York City-based drummer Diego Joaquin Ramirez was born and raised in Cork, Ireland. He played his first gig on drum set with his fathers’ band at age 4 and by the time he was 17, Diego was performing regularly around Ireland and Europe.
He attended Berklee College Of Music, The Banff International Jazz Workshop, the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program, and has studied with Ralph Peterson Jr, Terri Lyne Carrington, Nate Smith, Rodney Green, Andre Antunes, Jamey Haddad, Clarence Penn, and Tyshawn Sorey.
He is a current member of numerous NYC-based groups including Marc Cary & The Harlem Sessions( at Smoke Jazz Club), Wayne Tucker and The Bad Motha’s, and his own group SULA. He has performed with many other notable musicians including Vijay Iyer, Cyrille Aimee, Duane Eubanks, Michael League, Jazzmeia Horn, Alina Engibaryan, Grace Kelly, Stacy Dillard, Greg Tardy, Theo Hill, Luques Curtis, Walt Weiskopf, Niwel Tsumbu, Loah, Ruth-Anne Cunningham, Brian Deady, and Liam O’Maonlai.
His recognition and awards include the Berklee Vater Drum-Set award, the Cork City Arts Award, the TD Fellowship award, the ASCAP Herb Alpert Jazz Composition award, and finalist in the 2017 DC Jazz Prix Competition with his group SULA.
He has played at many international venues and festivals including the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Fest, Montreal Jazz Fest, SXSW, The Kennedy Center, The DC Jazz Fest, Barranquilla Jazz Fest (Colombia), Umbria Jazz Fest (Italy), Cork Jazz Fest (Ireland), BIRD (Rotterdam), Minton’s Playhouse, Smoke, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Smalls, Fat Cat, Zinc, Nublu, and continues to perform at venues and festivals in North/South America, and Europe.