Biography

Rodrigo Suarez is a rising guitar player from the city of Atlanta, GA. Since graduating Kennesaw State University in 2021 he has given himself entirely to the craft of playing and understanding the ethereal language that is music. From the intensity and aggression of Metal and Progressive Rock to the subtle yet complex beauty of a Jazz and Classical Rodrigo has been dedicated to serving the music to his fullest ability. He is able to take the discipline developed while studying under some of the top musicians in the country and apply it to whatever style or genre he must. As a young student he was fascinated by the complexity of progressive rock and metal acts like Chon, The Mars Volta, and The Human Abstract. This gave him an appreciation for not just the highly technical qualities of their music but the ability to connect raw and honest emotion with it. It wasn’t until college where the pandora’s box of Jazz was truly opened. Since then Rodrigo has been steeped in the repertoire of Charlie Parker, Joe Pass, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Django Reinhardt and many other Jazz greats. It is that same appreciation of being able to emotionally connect with whatever he is playing, no matter how simple or complex, that keeps pushing Rodrigo towards taller heights in his improvisation and composition.

In 2018 Rodrigo became the proud recipient of the Whittlesey-Mays Arts Scholarship at Kennesaw University. Throughout his stay he has maintained a position on the Deans List and due to his high academic achievement in 2019 he has become a proud member of both the Golden Key International Honours Society and The Society of Collegiate Leadership and Achievement. In 2021 he culminated his studies by graduating Magna Cum Laude.

Thus far Rodrigo has had the honor of performing with acts such as; The Bonaventure Quartet, a cornerstone of the Django Hot Club Jazz style in Atlanta. Marla Feeney, a multi instrumentalist with a virtuosic knowledge of early jazz, bluegrass, classical, klezmer, and other styles. Outside of more formal appearances Rodrigo Suarez has also performed at famous local venues such as The Masquerade, Bar 529, and Ten ATL. In 2019 he also had the pleasure of playing with local act Suede Cassidy for the Atlanta EAV summer festival. Rodrigo has also collaborated as a guitarist for the Math Rock band Things Amazing, and can be found in the house band for the Chairs Jazz jam session.

In 2016 Rodrigo started his teaching career while working at Tara Simon Studios. Since then has had close to a decade of teaching everyone from young children to seasoned adult performers. Every personality encountered has sharpened his ability to connect with his student and look at music from a deeper perspective all while developing the technique and knowledge to navigate this art form. Aside from his performance studio work he has also volunteered his time to perform for Rex Mill Middle School, Red Oak Elementary, and North Cobb High School in various assemblies and showcases. Rodrigo now teaches privately or through ATL Music Lessons.

A key to his success is the mentorship of Kennesaw State University’s Jazz faculty, most notably Trey Wright, Tyrone Jackson, Wes Funderburk, and Sam Skelton as well as learning from out of school mentors such as Charles Williams and Dave Pope. Through his years Rodrigo has learned the pedagogy of music by following instructions and emulating his mentors’ teachings and approaches. He now uses this discipline to inspire every student, performance, or project he encounters.