Ricky Sebastian is one of the premier drummers in American music. Fluent in many styles, he has recorded on hundreds of albums, toured the world performing at some of the top jazz festivals with numerous jazz and Latin artists, including Herbie Mann, Harry Belafonte, Dianne Reeves, Michael Franks, Bobby McFerrin, and Jaco Pastorius. Born in southwest Louisiana, Ricky was raised with music at a young age, particularly Soul, New Orleans R&B, Cajun, and Zydeco.

After moving to NYC in 1983 and building a career as an in-demand recording & touring artist,  he moved back to New Orleans in 1998 to become head percussion instructor at the University of New Orleans.  Ricky’s work in education is unmatched, he has trained thousands of students in-person and through his multimedia percussion instruction.  Offbeat Magazine recently awarded Ricky Sebastian the 2023 Lifetime Achievement in Music Education.