Colombian songwriter and guitarist Sebastian Cruz has been at the forefront of the new Colombian music movement since arriving in NY in 1997. He has contributed his unique sound full of rhythmic ingenuity and melodic inventiveness, as well as his gift for visual and evocative lyrics in seminal projects covering the range from very traditional to highly experimental such as Lucia Pulido’s ensemble, La Cumbiamba eNeYé, Los Aliens, and his own Coba, and The Cheap Landscape Trio. As a teenager in Colombia in the 90s, Cruz was part of a budding local rock music scene with an interest in exploring the country’s rich musical traditions. Cruz started his life on stage performing original music at all the local venues, and the first three editions of Rock al Parque, the largest free rock festival in Latin America.

His newest project, Sebastian Cruz Quartet, comes form his lifelong search of finding an organic meeting place for his eclectic interests: Colombian traditions, electric sounds, creative improvisation, and sophisticated songwriting; and after recording two albums of original songs showcasing a diverse selection of stellar singers, this marks the beginning of a new creative and expressive era that incorporates Cruz’s own singing.

As a guitarist, Cruz appears on numerous CDs and has toured all around the US, Europe, South America, and Asia.

His compositions for film, theatre, and dance have awarded him prestigious recognitions including the Van Leer fellowship from meet the composer, and an ASCAP for the composition of a song for theatre.

A devoted educator, Cruz is guitar and music theory faculty at Bloomingdale School of Music and has taught at Brooklyn Guitar School, Brooklyn Conservatory, and has been a Teaching Artist for LeAp, Community-Word Project and Young Audiences New York. Every other Spring semester Cruz leads Columbia University’s Latin Jazz ensemble with a focus on Colombian music. During the Spring of 2012 Cruz served as faculty at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in South India where he led ensembles, taught guitar, Composition and arranging, and Colombian music.