Craig M. Cortello

Craig Cortello, The Business Musician

About Me

I am the author of “Everything We Needed to Know About Business, We Learned Playing Music,” a compilation of 32 profiles/interviews with CEOs and business leaders who played music as a child or adolescent and view that experience as a defining one in preparing them for success.

Check out my thoughts on music and the importance of music education at my blog.

I am a contributing writer for “Where Y'at” magazine in New Orleans, the city's monthly entertainment magazine. I've also written articles on the topics of business creativity for publications such as “Convention Forum” and “Industrial Engineer.”

Musically, I grew up on 70's rock until Steely Dan's Aja redirected my musical explorative journey in 1977 at the age of 13. I also began to realize that I wasn't progressing as a guitarist due to a limited understanding of theory. At that point, anything with interesting chord progressions intrigued me, and most of what I had been listening to bored me. As jazz guitarists go, I'm still barely respectable, but at least my taste in music has dramatically improved.

Perhaps it's my frame of reference. Growing up in New Orleans gives you access to music virtuosity in staggering numbers and a cultural playground unlike any other. That experience provided a foundation not just for music, but for a creative outlook on every aspect of life.

I am a proud resident and native of the New Orleans metropolitan area, and a Hurricane Katrina survivor!

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because... I was first exposed to jazz... I met [musician name]... The best show I ever attended was... The first jazz record I bought was... My advice to new listeners... Or whatever else you have in mind.