Gustavo Cortiñas

Embracing a multicultural language, while investing in a variety of disciplines within the music itself, Mexican born, and Chicago based drummer, composer, & producer Gustavo Cortiñas, has distinguished himself as a dynamic and melodic artist, committed to building empathy and understanding through music, in times of border walls and reductive narratives. Described as “One of Chicago’s most imaginative and exciting composers” (AllAboutJazz), “Cortiñas’ music is bluesy and deeply felt..sometimes it is raucus, sometimes solemn, but the music is always drenched in emotion.” (Modern Drummer). This can be heard on his six records as a leader, "Snapshot" (2013), "ESSE" (2017) “Desafío Candente” (2021), “Kind Regards” (2022) and “Live in Chicago” (2024), “the culmination of a decades worth of music” (The Arts Fuse). “Gustavo Cortinas is a musician with a message, one of social justice. He delivers it in a style that fuses the melodic sensibilities of his ancestral Mexico with the complex syncopation of jazz.” (ALLABOUTJAZZ). His sixth discographic production "The Crisis Knows No Borders" presents a compelling musical narrative that examines sustainability and global interconnectedness, which Downbeat calls “impactful music, marked with all the sorrow, strife, confusion, anger and bits of joy that go into the confounding mix of emotions Cortiñas feels at this moment in history…great storytelling without saying a word”. “Cortiñas doesn’t just write music—he builds bold, urgent conversations into his compositions.” (jazzviews.net) Through these critically acclaimed productions and his participation in more than 40 other discographic productions, “Cortiñas’s deft touch reaffirms his status as one of the great drummers in the City’s new guard.” (ChicagoReader).

A graduate of Loyola University New Orleans (BM Jazz, Minor in Philosophy), and Northwestern University (MM Jazz), Gustavo Cortiñas has developed a successful career in the US for almost two decades, leading and accompanying ensembles in renowned stages and festivals in North America, South America, Asia, Oceania, and Europe. During his time in Chicago, Gustavo has become one of the most sought out drummers, performing and recording with Chuchito Valdés, Entre Amigos, Emily Kuhn, Javier Red’s Imagery Converter, Matt Peterson, Kitt Lyles, Erik Skov, Michael Hudson-Casanova, Roy McGrath, Kyle Madsen, Vladimir Cetkar, Sasha Bayan, Amos Gillespie, and the Carla Campopiano Trio, among other ensembles. Cortiñas is a member of the Chicago Jazz Composer's Collective, performing regularly for their monthly residency at Chicago's very own Green Mill. Gustavo Cortiñas is a proud endorser of Canopus Drums & Bosphorus Cymbals, and has been recipient of grants from the Mexican National Endowment of the Arts (FONCA), the Illinois Arts Council (IACA), the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and Pathways To Jazz. His album Desafío Candente, a sprawling meditation on Latin American life and struggles, earned a well-deserved spot in Jazziz, and 33third’s list of the 2021’s Best Releases, amongst Downbeat’s top rated records of the year, and was listed among the Annual Jazz Critics Poll Top Latin Jazz Albums of 2021, among other critical praise. “Cortiñas' music is uplifting, robust, melodic, and gets your body moving; it's an exciting blend of the artist's musical influences from jazz and Latin America, including his native Mexico.” (DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE)

Born and raised in Mexico, son to a Uruguayan university professor and a Mexican elementary school educator, Cortiñas grew up surrounded by books of all kinds, ranging from religion and philosophy, to history, economics and art. Music was just as diverse: be it through voice of Chavela Vargas, Wagner’s operas, the revolutionary cry of Rock en Español, or the soothing songs of Edith Piaf, music of all kinds was always there. At age 10, he fell in love with the drums, and was soon seduced by the syncopated and improvised beat of Jazz. This love inspired a journey far from home. First traveling to New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, and later Chicago, the place he now calls home. This journey set the foundation for his work: Latin American folklore, classical music, and jazz; philosophy, religion and the Latin American cry for justice. These experiences and streams of inspiration forge the unique voice of an expansive artist who will continue to defy categorization in many years to come.

Cortiñas has relased five albums as a leader, in which he acts as drummer, composer, arranger, bandleader and producer. Snapshot (2013), "a Smörgåsbord of the moods and nuances that make up the human experience," (Jazziz); ESSE (2017) "a fascinating musical realization, exploration, and distillation of the works of Hegel, Aristotle, Descartes, Plato, and other brilliant minds" (AllAboutJazz); and Desafío Candente (2021), “a musical palimpsest that carries the weight of the history of colonialism and neocolonialism of the entire southern part of the Americas” (LatinJazzNet); Kind Regards / Saludos Afectuosos, where he takes on the role of lyricist in a bilingual song set that focused on the immigrant codition, which “triumphs both as a bearer of a message that can’t be heard enough and as purveyor sophisticated acoustic pop of arresting beauty” (LATINO MAGAZINE). His latest album Live in Chicago, “the culmination of a decades worth of music. Cortiñas and band revel in a live setting. They not only demonstrate their intimate knowledge of the compositions, but express their evident joy at melding their musical skills with Cortiñas’s continuing commitment to encouraging social change through music.” (The Arts Fuse)

​Gustavo is extremely thankful of all the great musicians, mentors, and human beings he has been privileged enough to learn from along the way. Some that stand out are Gabriela Fouilloux, León Cortiñas, Andrés Cortiñas, Andrés Suárez, Agustín Yela, Anne-Marie Garas, Santiago Fortson, Rodrigo Jiménez, Hernán Hecht, Wayne Maureau, Johnny Vidacovich, John Mahoney, Tony Dagradi, Janna Saslaw, William Horne, Victor Goines, Willie Jones III, and Bill Bachman.

Cortiñas is invested in giving this back and sharing what he has learned. He started as the drum set instructor at the Edron Academy in Mexico City in 2004. Since then, Gustavo has had an extensive private studio, and also taught master classes in Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, Ecuador, Argentina, and around the US. He has been teaching at Flatts & Sharpe Music Academy since 2014, and has been a guest artist with the jazz small ensembles at Northwestern University. From 2019-21 Cortiñas worked as a Jazz Director at the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. From 2018-2021 Gustavo was the assistant conductor of the jazz combos and jazz orchestras at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. IL and currently teaches drums at the prestigious Chicago High School for the Arts, and Morton College.

Awards

2025 - Individual Artist Project Grant - Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events

2024 - Illinois Arts Council Creative Catalyst Grant 2024

2023 - Pathways to Jazz Grant (Boulder Arts Council)

2022-23 - Cliff Dwellers Artist in Residence

2022 - Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Roster

2022 - Illinois Arts Council - project grant - 2022

2021 - JAZZIZ Top Albums of 2021 - Desafío Candente

2021 - Top latin Jazz Albums - Jazz Journalists Association

2020-21 - FONCA - Mexican National Endowment of the Arts Jóvenes Creadores Grant

2017-18 - FONCA - Mexican National Endowment of the Arts Jóvenes Creadores Grant

2011 - Gerry and Franca Mulligan Foundation Scholarship - LOYOLA  NEW ORLEANS

Gear

Canopus RFM Bop Kit.(18 x 14, 12 x 8, 14 x 13, Zelkova Snare 14 x 5.5)
Charcoal Oil

Canopus RFM Bop Kit.(15 x 12, 10 x 7, 13 x 12, Zelkova Snare 14 x 4.5)
Natural Oil

Bosphorus Syncopation SW Cymbals