Pete La Roca (born Peter Sims; April 7, 1938 – November 20, 2012) was an American jazz drummer. He adopted the name La Roca early in his musical career when he was a timbales player in Latin bands. Pete La Roca was born in New York City. Between 1957 and 1968 he played with Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Slide Hampton, the John Coltrane Quartet, Marian McPartland, Art Farmer, Freddie Hubbard, Mose Allison, Charles Lloyd, Paul Bley, and Steve Kühn