Rodrigo Cotelo
Rodrigo Cotelo is an award-winning Uruguayan composer, producer, and musician whose work blends jazz, fusion, and a wide spectrum of contemporary styles with a distinctive sense of musicality and depth. Winner of the 2025 Premio Nacional de Música in the Jazz Fusion category and a five-time Semi-Finalist of the International Songwriting Competition, his career spans collaborations across the Americas and Europe, as well as projects ranging from solo releases to large-scale collective works. As the founder of #Bloomerangs and Crash Anxiety, Cotelo continues to explore boundary-pushing, collaborative music, bringing together international artists in projects that are as ambitious as they are expressive.
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Bio
English
Rodrigo Cotelo is an award-winning composer, producer, and musician from Uruguay. He received 1st Prize in the Jazz Fusion category at the 2025 Premios Nacionales de Música, awarded by the Instituto Nacional de Música of the Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de Uruguay. He is also a five-time Semi-Finalist in the International Songwriting Competition (four times in Jazz and once in Blues), and a two-time Premios Graffiti nominee (Jazz Fusion and Metal).
Not defined by virtuosity alone but by a refined musical sensibility, Rodrigo stands out for his taste, tone, and expressive depth. His approach prioritizes musicality, balance, and emotional resonance—qualities that have become the hallmark of his work.
Born in Montevideo in 1978 and raised in Maldonado, Rodrigo grew up immersed in music as the son of a drummer and a dance teacher. He began studying piano at the age of seven at the Schubert Conservatory, continuing until age fifteen, when he discovered the guitar and shifted his focus.
He has studied with Ricardo Lacuan, Ryan Taylor, and Fernando Calleriza, among others, and has participated in masterclasses with internationally renowned musicians such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Luis Salinas, Nguyen Lê, Sylvain Luc, Jean-Michel Pilc, and Yvan Robilliard. In addition, he has worked as a translator and interpreter (English, Spanish, and French) for international artists participating in clinics at the Jazz Tour in Montevideo and the Lapataia International Jazz Festival in Punta del Este.
Rodrigo began performing live in the mid-1990s as part of a rock quartet in Punta del Este, later expanding into a wide range of genres. Since registering his first compositions in 1999, he has built a catalog of more than fifty original works spanning Jazz, Fusion, World Music, Folk, Rock, Classical, and Pop.
His debut solo album, Vieja Mochila (2001), received significant attention in Uruguay, described as an “exquisite surprise” by Sábado Show. In 2003, he released Biendonado in collaboration with Italian-Uruguayan pianist Fabrizio Rinaldi, before joining Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, where he spent a year performing with international musicians around the world. Upon returning to Uruguay, he became an active figure in the local scene, working across Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Fusion as a performer and producer.
Throughout his career, Rodrigo has collaborated with a wide range of artists both in Uruguay and internationally, including Abel García, Walter Cambón, Electric Kool-Aid, Monalisa, Jardín Primitivo, Musiclú, Aida Martínez, Joseph Filipow, Davide Garofalo, Dario Eskenazi, Oscar Stagnaro, Ramiro Flores, Manuel Rocheman, and DJ Fabián Repetto. His work has taken him to stages in Montevideo, New York, Punta del Este, Paris, Barcelona, Dallas, Lafayette, Nashville, New Orleans, Marbella, and San Diego.
His album Ser Sonido (2013), funded by FONAM and released by MT Records, marked a significant milestone in his artistic development. In 2014, he was awarded a scholarship by SUDEI to study harmony and composition with Esteban Klisich.
Several of Rodrigo’s compositions—including Young Dads, In Some Shape or Form, Leaps and Bounces, and S Mitchell St—have been recognized as Semi-Finalists in the International Songwriting Competition. The contest’s juries have included artists such as Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Danilo Pérez, Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding, Gordon Goodwin, Peter Erskine, and Ted Nash. His co-written piece Usual Suspects also reached Semi-Finalist status in the Blues category, notably highlighted by guitarist Joe Bonamassa. In 2017, his composition Oportuno won the Indaba Music Big Band Composition Contest.
In 2016, Rodrigo founded #Bloomerangs, an international music collective dedicated to exploring diverse musical languages. Their debut album Horizon Sunset (2017), released by PARMA Recordings (Big Round Records), features over 20 musicians from the United States, Uruguay, Spain, and Argentina. Their 2020 release Moments and Fragments was nominated for Best Jazz Fusion Album at the Premios Graffiti. That same year, Analysis Paralysis, composed, produced, and performed by Rodrigo for artist Tote Fernández, was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album.
The collective is currently preparing the release of the four-volume project La Música de Álvaro Pacello, a major undertaking that reflects Rodrigo’s ongoing commitment to collaborative creation and artistic exploration.
Other notable productions include Clay Wulbrecht’s The Clockmaster (2025) and Gastón Reggio’s Michigan (2024).
Español
Rodrigo Cotelo es un compositor, productor y músico uruguayo galardonado. Obtuvo el 1.er Premio en la categoría Jazz Fusión de los Premios Nacionales de Música 2025, otorgados por el Instituto Nacional de Música del Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de Uruguay. Asimismo, ha sido cinco veces semifinalista del International Songwriting Competition (cuatro en Jazz y una en Blues) y dos veces nominado a los Premios Graffiti (Jazz Fusión y Metal).
No definido únicamente por el virtuosismo sino por una refinada sensibilidad musical, Rodrigo se destaca por su gusto, sonido y profundidad expresiva. Su enfoque prioriza la musicalidad, el equilibrio y la resonancia emocional, cualidades que se han convertido en el sello distintivo de su obra.
Nacido en Montevideo en 1978 y criado en Maldonado, creció inmerso en la música como hijo de un baterista y una profesora de danza. Comenzó sus estudios de piano a los siete años en el Conservatorio Schubert, continuando hasta los quince, momento en el que descubrió la guitarra y redirigió su camino.
Ha estudiado con Ricardo Lacuan, Ryan Taylor y Fernando Calleriza, entre otros, y ha participado en clases magistrales con reconocidos músicos internacionales como Kurt Rosenwinkel, Luis Salinas, Nguyen Lê, Sylvain Luc, Jean-Michel Pilc y Yvan Robilliard. Además, ha trabajado como traductor e intérprete (inglés, español y francés) para artistas internacionales en clínicas realizadas en el Jazz Tour de Montevideo y en el Festival Internacional de Jazz de Lapataia en Punta del Este.
Rodrigo comenzó a presentarse en vivo a mediados de los años 90 como parte de un cuarteto de rock en Punta del Este, expandiéndose luego hacia una amplia variedad de géneros. Desde que registró sus primeras composiciones en 1999, ha desarrollado un catálogo de más de cincuenta obras originales que abarcan Jazz, Fusión, World Music, Folk, Rock, Clásica y Pop.
Su primer álbum solista, Vieja Mochila (2001), tuvo una importante repercusión en Uruguay y fue destacado como una “exquisita sorpresa” por Sábado Show. En 2003 editó Biendonado junto al pianista ítalo-uruguayo Fabrizio Rinaldi, antes de incorporarse a Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, donde pasó un año actuando con músicos internacionales alrededor del mundo. A su regreso, se integró activamente en la escena local, trabajando en proyectos de Pop, Rock, Jazz y Fusión como intérprete y productor.
A lo largo de su carrera ha colaborado con una amplia variedad de artistas tanto en Uruguay como en el exterior, entre ellos Abel García, Walter Cambón, Electric Kool-Aid, Monalisa, Jardín Primitivo, Musiclú, Aida Martínez, Joseph Filipow, Davide Garofalo, Dario Eskenazi, Oscar Stagnaro, Ramiro Flores, Manuel Rocheman y DJ Fabián Repetto. Su actividad lo ha llevado a escenarios en Montevideo, Nueva York, Punta del Este, París, Barcelona, Dallas, Lafayette, Nashville, Nueva Orleans, Marbella y San Diego.
Su álbum Ser Sonido (2013), financiado por FONAM y editado por MT Records, marcó un hito importante en su desarrollo artístico. En 2014 recibió una beca de SUDEI para estudiar armonía y composición con Esteban Klisich.
Varias de sus composiciones, entre ellas Young Dads, In Some Shape or Form, Leaps and Bounces y S Mitchell St, han sido reconocidas como semifinalistas en el International Songwriting Competition. El jurado de este certamen ha incluido figuras como Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Danilo Pérez, Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding, Gordon Goodwin, Peter Erskine y Ted Nash. Su obra en coautoría Usual Suspects también alcanzó el estatus de semifinalista en la categoría Blues, destacándose especialmente por el guitarrista Joe Bonamassa. En 2017, su composición Oportuno fue ganadora del concurso de composición para big band de Indaba Music.
En 2016 fundó #Bloomerangs, un colectivo musical internacional dedicado a la exploración de diversos lenguajes sonoros. Su primer álbum, Horizon Sunset (2017), editado por PARMA Recordings (Big Round Records), cuenta con la participación de más de 20 músicos de Estados Unidos, Uruguay, España y Argentina. Su lanzamiento de 2020, Moments and Fragments, fue nominado a Mejor Álbum de Jazz Fusión en los Premios Graffiti. Ese mismo año, Analysis Paralysis, compuesto, producido e interpretado por Rodrigo para el artista Tote Fernández, fue nominado a Mejor Álbum de Hard Rock/Metal.
Actualmente, el colectivo se encuentra preparando el lanzamiento del proyecto de cuatro volúmenes La Música de Álvaro Pacello, una obra de gran envergadura que refleja el compromiso continuo de Rodrigo con la creación colaborativa y la exploración artística.
Entre otras producciones destacadas se encuentran The Clockmaster (2025) de Clay Wulbrecht y Michigan (2024) de Gastón Reggio.
releases
"Filling the Blanks" is inspired on the trauma of abandonment and the impact that ghosting has on people.
A deep exploration on Rodrigo Cotelo's songwriting, arranging, and storytelling. This R&B song brings forward the pain and suffering that uncertainty triggers when being a victim of ghosting.
The musical and orchestral journey the listener is invited to onboard with the track, provides complex emotions in their raw state of simplicity while still providing enough diverse avenues and bridges for it to shine its rich and complex textures.
Being Sound is a concept way beyond the name of an album. It alludes to the moment some describe as spiritual, in which a musician loses its individuality and conscience of existence transforming herself/himself into something abstract, without time or form, in channel of a superior will that manifests through her/him and constantly evolving. During improvisation, interpretation or composition the instrument is just a psychic extension necessary to reach that climax where musical intelligence is an aural entity channeling through one self.
“Being Sound” is not a state only for and by musicians but also for the listener that is able to bond with them and emotions bloom due to the sounds and sensitivity. Blessed those that are able to experience sensations with music!
Vieja Mochila (Old Backpack)
Rodrigo Cotelo's first solo project in 2000. The album counts with the participation of 16 musicians from 4 different countries covering multiple genres from alternative rock to jazz. It's a clear sample of Rodrigo's early development whose interests were never set in one place. Produced with Mauricio Trobo in Maldonado, Uruguay. "Vieja Mochila" received a glowing recommendation by Uruguayan magaize Sabado Show (distributed and ran by the country's largest newspaper El País) in an article by Adrián Minutti titled "Exquisita Sorpresa" (Exquisite surprise).
discography
2025 Crash Anxiety "Running Out" Songwriting, Guitars, Percussion, Arrangements, and Production
2025 Clay Wulbrecht "The Clockmaster" Guitars, Percussion, Arrangements, and Production
2024 Gastón Reggio "Michigan" Guitars and Production
2023 Rodrigo Cotelo “Filling the Blanks” Songwriting, Guitars, and Production
2023 Petronio Bendito "Inner Power Flow" Composition, Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion, Audio Engineering
2022 RC Trio “Live by Creekside” Guitars & Production
2021 Chris Parker "Interstate EP" Guitars, Production, and Songwriting
2020 #Bloomerangs “Moments and Fragments” Guitars, Percussion, Arrangements, Musical Direction & Production
2020 Tote Fernandez “Analysis Paralysis” – Composition, Guitars & Production
2019 Erin Mutchler “Better Late (feat. #Bloomerangs)” – Guitars & Production
2017 #Bloomerangs “Horizon Sunset” – Guitars, Percussion, Arrangements, Musical Direction & Production
2017 Chris Parker “Moving Forward Now” Album – Assistant Production
2015 Big Gothic “Flink” – Guitars, Lead Guitars, Production, and Bass
2013 Rodrigo Cotelo “Ser Sonido” (Being Sound) MT – Guitars & Production
2012 Musiclú – Lead Guitars
2011 Jardin Primitivo "Amiga" – Guitars & Production
2010 DJ Fabian Repetto – Guitars for track & Keyboards @ Live appearances
2009 Electric Kool-Aid – Keyboards
2008 Monalisa EP – Rhythm Guitars, Production & Vocals
2007 Martin Berloto Solo Album – Co- Production
2006 Buenperro EP – Guitars & Vocals
2005 Abel García Montevideo Tour – Percussion
2005 Aida Martinez & Rodrigo Cotelo “Metheny Songbook” – Guitars & Production
2004 Tabare Muzio Demo – Percussion
2002 Rinaldi – Cotelo & Cia… “Biendonado” MT -Guitars and Production
2001 Rodrigo Cotelo “Vieja Mochila” MT – Guitars and Production
2000 Semillas “Algo Broto” LBR – Drums
1999 Chalo “Habla No Corre” LBR – Guitars
1998 Volco la Onda “Par” arrangement and vocals on song “Ciclos”
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