Biography

Chris “Ifatoye” Theberge

Raised internationally as the son of an Argentine mother and U.S. Ambassador father, Chris grew up in the U.S., Latin America, and the Mideast, playing drums throughout his teenage years.  After graduating from Boston University as a business undergrad, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he performed as a drummer in area clubs and oversaw the inmate music programs at Patuxent Prison and Lorton Correctional Institution. 

He moved to New York City in the early 90s, where he began his studies of Afro-Latin percussion under Latin percussion pioneers Jerry Gonzalez, Carlos Gomez, Eddie Bobe & Alberto Serrano. He also started developing on-air skills, Producing & DJing the radio show “An Hour of Drums” on NYC’s WNYE 91.5 FM. 

After settling into NYC, following a short stint in international investment banking, Chris joined TouchTunes, an interactive tech/music marketing start-up, forging marketing programs for major labels and Fortune 500 companies and establishing international joint ventures in Tokyo and New Zealand.  

All the while, he was honing his conga drumming skills on the streets of New York.  On these streets, he met his musical colleagues through a regular NYC DJ/live music event called GiantStep.  Chris joined ten musicians from different backgrounds to co-found New York City's Groove Collective jazz group.  

When the group was signed on the spot by Warner Bros. heads Mo Ostin & Lenny Woernecker, Chris left the start-up life to go on tour with the group, recording albums for Reprise, Giant Step/Universal, Shanachie, and Impulse!/Savoy and the band was eventually nominated for a GRAMMY Award for best Jazz album.  

While on the road, Chris performed at Montreux Jazz, North Sea Jazz, Red Rocks, WOMAD, Mount Fuji, and Blue Note jazz clubs in New York, Milan, Tokyo, Osaka & Nagoya.  Groove Collective went on tours with BB King, Fred Wesley, and James Brown, traveling to Russia with Parliament Funkadelic legend Bernie Worrell, and performed in the jam band scene touring Canada with the Dave Matthews Band and stadiums opening for Widespread Panic.  

In between tours, Chris continued his travels to study drumming and built a network of friendships with traditional drumming families across Nigeria, Cuba & Puerto Rico.  When Harvard University held its first international conference on the Yoruba Ifa tradition, they hired Chris to assemble a group of traditional drummers in Nigeria who came to perform for his Royal Majesty the Ọọni of Ife and ten traditional Yoruba Kings during their stay in Cambridge.  Chris was also invited to perform as part of the royal retinue for that historic event.

As a writer, Chris has penned liner notes for NY-based Chesky Records for the Conga Kings and Babatunde Olatunji album releases, and he launched NY International magazine and published articles on drumming for Global Music Magazine & UK’s Straight No Chaser. 

Over the years, Chris has mentored young musicians in drumming and music production, working with the New York Road Recovery program, and also served on the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative nominating panel tasked with searching for a protege for African music icon Youssou N'Dour. 

Chris is a member of NARIP (National Association of Record Industry Professionals) and a voting member of the Recording Academy (The National Academy of Recording Arts And Sciences) (NARAS), which presents the Grammy Awards.