Eliel Williams Lazo Linares, known professionally as Eliel Lazo, is a Cuban percussionist, songwriter, composer, and producer born on November 1, 1983, in Marianao, Havana, Cuba. Currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Lazo is recognized for blending traditional Cuban percussion with jazz, rock, Latin, and pop music. Over his career, he has earned the International Percussion Percuba Prize and was described in 2008 by the newspaper Havana Times as one of Cuba's top percussionists.
In 2011, Lazo won a Danish Music Award for his album El Conguero. Following this, he established the Eliel Lazo El Conguero Band and the Eliel Lazo Stet. During 2011 and 2012, his groups toured extensively, playing at clubs, venues, and festivals across Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, and Norway.
Throughout his career, Lazo has collaborated with numerous notable musicians and ensembles, including Chucho Valdes, Oscar Valdes, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Bob Mintzer, and Michel Camilo, as well as the DR Big Band, WDR Big Band, BBC Big Band, Diakara, Habana Ensemble, and The Savage Rose. His releases in 2026 include the singles Pan Pa Mayo, Rumba Guajira, and Que Bien me va.
