Richard Cortez

A rising voice in the contemporary straight-ahead jazz scene, Richard Cortez’s recordings of jazz standards have amassed nearly five million streams worldwide. Amazon Music named his recording of You Don’t Know What Love Is one of the top jazz recordings of 2024, while his music has been featured across major streaming platforms and editorial playlists. Deeply devoted to the Great American Songbook, Richard has shared the bandstand with some of today’s most respected jazz musicians, including Sullivan Fortner, Peter Bernstein, Emmet Cohen, Kyle Poole, Yasushi Nakamura, Adam Birnbaum, Paul Gill, Grant Stewart, Joe Farnsworth, Jerry Weldon, Nicole Glover, and Russell Hall. With a voice rooted in the tradition of Sinatra and the great jazz singers who came before him, Richard Cortez brings warmth, sophistication, wit, and vulnerability to songs that have defined generations. His performances offer a fresh perspective on the Great American Songbook, reminding audiences that while these songs are timeless, every generation has a new story to tell through them.