Born and raised in Mexico City in an atmosphere of music that ranged widely, I took up the guitar as a young child and have dedicated my life to mastering the intricacies of this "small orchestra".

The guitar is my instrument, and jazz is my passion. Very few things in life make me as happy as time spent playing jazz, and when I can improvise ... when it all flows ... the results are more than fun.

I am mainly self-taught as both guitarist and composer, but had three years at the National Conservatory of Mexico and studied in New York with some of the greatest players that call that city home: Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wayne Krantz and Christopher Rosenberg, to name a few.

I have worked as a professional musician for more than twenty years in live performances, session work and teaching, most recently in Switzerland which has been home since 2003. Through the 1990s I toured the world with Ricky Martin and performed with Carlos Santana, Kermit Driscol and many others.

JazzWorldQuest describes my work as follows:

Outstanding spiritual music from a versatile master of strings. Combining subtle expressions of flamenco with energetic free jazz improvisations virtuoso guitarist Ernesto Cortazar creates a beautiful fluid musical ambience with references to Wes Montgomery and Pat Martino. Noteworthy the contribution of Cortazar's band mates: Rodrigo Castelan (bass) and Ricardo Castelan(drums) in bringing depth and colour to his compositions.

The CDs featured on this site, "Ernesto Cortazar Trio" with Rodrigo Castelan on six-string semi-accoustic bass and his brother Ricardo on drums, and "Ernesto Cortazar Duo" with Rodrigo, are all about jazz ... modern, experimental, improvisation.

Two new Cds have been released in 2009, "Signal" ... ambient, healing music ... and "You Are Welcome" ... where my jazz love and Latin roots combine ... both, like the first two, compilations of original compositions, and all are soon to be available for digital downloads.

My international performances are now moving beyond the previous boundaries of the Americas and Europe toward Africa and the Indian Ocean region.

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