Jose Guzman

Teaching Artist, Guitar
A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, José Guzmán holds a B.M. from the Puerto Rico Conservatory in Jazz Guitar and Afro-Caribbean Music, an M.M. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Theory and Composition, and a D.M.A. from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in Jazz Guitar Performance with a minor in Composition. Guzmán has participated in several music festivals and conferences such as the CU Jazz Festival, Southern Illinois Music Festival, Jazz Educators Network Conference, and has worked as an artist in residence as a classical and jazz guitarist at the Caroga Lake Music Festival. 

​Guzmán's Latin jazz group, The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective, released an EP on Spotify in 2019. His collaborations include recording with Dimijtre Vasiljevic on his album Accidental Nomad (released on Rope a Dope Records), KASA String Quartet Forever Wild Vol. 1, Simply This Quintet Simply This, and Kavi Naidu's Tsuganari. His composition for Latin Big Band, Holande' Pa' Uste', was recently published on 3-2 Music Publishing. Guzmán is a recipient of the Mykytyn Composition Award in 2016 for his composition “Isochronal: A Suite for Big Band” and 2020 Urbana Arts Grantee for the Salsa Dance Night with The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective.