Elmer Ferrer

Elmer Ferrer is a Cuban-Canadian multi-awarded guitarist, music composer, producer and session musician, known for exceptional guitar and musicianship skills as one of the strongest voices in modern guitar music, as much as for being one of the most versatile and prolific session musicians ever from the legendary high-quality music producing island. Born in 1973 in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, Elmer first started to play guitar at age 11 and graduated from Classical Guitar at the National School of Arts in Havana at age 18. One year after graduating he became a teacher of Electric Guitar at the very same National School of Arts. By this time, Elmer’s professional career as a composer and guitarist had already kicked off, while on his second last year as a student, Elmer joined Estado de Animo, one of Cuba’s most celebrated jazz fusion bands at the time, which featured some of the greatest musicians of that young generation (Descemer Bueno, Roberto Carcasses, Ruy Lopez-Nussa and Elmer Ferrer) and in addition, was the accompanying band for one of Cuba’s most beloved songwriters, Santiago Feliu – with whom Elmer continued to record and tour internationally extensively through the years. Ferrer launched his solo career in 2002, winning Best New Album of Year and a nomination as Best Jazz Album of the Year Cubadisco Awards 2003 with his first release Metropoli. His original instrumental Los Gatos de Alf, included in this CD, was Honorable Mention in the Jazz category at the International Songwriting Competition ISC 2006. Elmer was also one of three artists featured in Jazz Cuba Today, the first Jazz DVD made in Cuba, winner Best DVD of the Year Cubadisco Awards 2006. Elmer’s solo projects (the Elmer Ferrer Band, the Elmer Ferrer Trio and the Elmer Ferrer Jazz Project) feature Ferrer’s original music -a revolutionary, advanced take on the mix of Cuban, Latin, Jazz, Rock, Blues and World music, and have headlined international music festivals across the globe since 2005. Elmer has also performed Guitar Workshops and Master Classes at international festivals and events in multiple continents.