Susie Ibarra

Susie Ibarra is an American percussionist and composer of jazz, opera, experimental, and avant-garde music. She is probably best known for her work as a jazz drummer, and is noted for her dynamic range and expressive technique, as well as

Susie Ibarra is an American percussionist and composer of jazz, opera, experimental, and avant-garde music. She is probably best known for her work as a jazz drummer, and is noted for her dynamic range and expressive technique, as well as her incorporation of diverse styles and influences, such as blues, gamelan, and kulintang.

A Filipino American, Ibarra was born in Anaheim, California, and was raised in Seabrook, near Houston, Texas. She learned to play piano as a child, and played drums for a punk rock band while in high school. While at Sarah Lawrence College in the late 1980s, Ibarra attended a Sun Ra performance which she has credited with kindling her interest in jazz. She also attended the Mannes College of Music, and Goddard College, where she received her B.A. Ibarra has lived in New York since 1989.