bio
New York native Adam Cordero is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and multi-instrumentalist based in the NYC area. His dedication to music has led him to play at many established jazz venues in the NYC area such as The Jazz Gallery, Roulette Intermedium, Smalls Jazz Club, Nublu, Williamsburg Music Center, Groove, and Bar Next Door.
Adam has also performed internationally at jazz venues and festivals in Switzerland, South Korea, and Japan. In 2022, Adam’s career as a bassoonist led him to collaborate with avant-garde jazz legend and Pulitzer Prize winner Henry Threadgill on his multimedia project The Other One—performed and recorded live at Roulette Intermedium and released as an album in 2023. Adam has shared the stage with artists such as Morgan Guerin, Alfredo Colon, Ingrid Jensen, Emmanuel Michael, Craig Weinrib, and Tyshawn Sorey. Adam's most recent album recorded with guitarist Odin Scherer, Sonora, "explores musical landscapes, balancing robustness and fragility to evoke significant emotional responses" according to acclaimed reviewer Filipe Freitas at JazzTrail ('24). Adam was named a National YoungArts Foundation Winner in 2018 and in 2019, he performed and was broadcast on the East Coast's premier jazz radio station, WBGO. In addition to saxophone and bassoon, Adam also performs on clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute.
While Adam’s music primarily explores a crossing of different genres & modern jazz, his compositional process is most inspired by nature. In recent years, Adam has been utilizing effect pedals to expand the sonic potential of the woodwind family. Whether it be hearing a bird call or staring in awe at a tree, Adam uses nature as a catalyst for writing his compositions & designing sounds. He hopes his duo project with Odin Scherer and his quintet project, Arcadia, will inspire listeners to consider their relationship with nature.
Adam holds a BFA degree with high honors from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Adam currently teaches a large studio of his own students privately and is an adjunct faculty member at The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music. As well as establishing a career as an artist & educator, Adam is invested in bringing the modern jazz community together - he was a leading founder of the underground music venue Julian's NYC (active 2022-2024) and is currently a co-founder of the genre-bending jazz label, Tidebloom Records.
Adam Cordero proudly endorses D’Addario Woodwinds and Ishimori Saxophones.