Born and raised in San Jose, and gigging professionally in San Francisco and environs at the start of her career, Sylvia Cuenca is now a first call drummer on the New York jazz scene, where she’s been based for well over a decade.  She toured with saxophone legend Joe Henderson for 4 years and with trumpet legend Clark Terry for 17 years. The Joe Henderson quartet toured frequently in European countries Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, England, Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany and venues across the U.S. In a trio setting she performed with Joe Henderson and Charlie Haden in 1989 and with George Mraz in 1994. She performed with the Clark Terry Quintet and Big Band at Village Vanguard, Birdland, Blue Note, Queen Elizabeth 2, Royal Viking, S.S. Norway jazz cruises and clubs, concerts and festivals in the U.S, Europe, the Caribbean and South America. While working with the Clark Terry quintet she had the opportunity to perform with guest artists Al Grey, Red Holloway, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Marian McPartland, Dianne Reeves, Joe Williams and Lou Donaldson to name a few.

Cuenca has also performed with such jazz luminaries as Billy Taylor, Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Big Band, Houston Person, Etta Jones, Helen Merrill, John Hicks, Valery Ponomarov, Lew Soloff, James Spaulding, Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, George Cables, Hilton Ruiz, Jon Faddis, Eddie Henderson, Gary Bartz, John Handy, Kenny Drew Jr., Emily Remler, Richie Cole, Dave Stryker, Jessie Davis, Ralph Bowen, Vincent Herring, Paul Bollenback, Geoffrey Keezer, Mark Whitfield, Ralph Moore, Jesse Davis, Catherine Russell, Dianne Reeves, Dianne Schuur, Denise Donatelli, Ernestine Anderson, the European based Vienna Art Orchestra and many others. In 2015 she performed at Dizzy’s Jazz at Lincoln Center with Albert “Tootie” Heath’s 4 drum set group called “The Whole Drum Truth” which also included drummers Louis Hayes and Joe Saylor.