He started playing the piano when he was five years old at the “Casa de la Cultura Ricardo Nieto” in Palmira, Valle del Cauca. In 1988 after finishing high school, he entered the “Antonio María Valencia” Conservatory, where he developed a career in classical piano. There, he had the opportunity to study with teachers such as Luis Carlos Figueroa (MM Conservatorio Nacional de Paris), Svetlana Korjenko (MMConservatorio Rimsky Korsakov de Leningrad), Alexander Korjenko (MM Conservatorio Rimsky-Korsakov) and Lucía Dolores Mora (MM La Habana Conservatory) . During these years he played several recitals and concerts, among which the First Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C Major by Ludwig Van Beethoven in 1996 stands out, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatory. At the age of fifteen he had the opportunity to hear for the first time the Jazz album called “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis, which introduced him to this fantastic world of improvisation. He continued his classical piano studies combining them with jazz piano lessons until 1997, when he obtained the title of Master in Classical Piano.
In 1999, he traveled to the United States to study at the Musicians Institute MI, where he had the opportunity to study with teachers such as Carl Schroeder (Sarah Vaughan’s pianist), Kevin King (Chaka Kan), Cheche Alara (Cristina Aguilera),and Steve Weingart (Dave Weckl). He attended several master clinics with artists such as Patrice Rushen, Mike Stern, Herbie Hancock, David Possi, and Derek Sherinian. In 2000, he was awarded with honors the titles of Professional and Journeyman Keyboard Player.
In 2000 he returned to the country and became a teacher at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and the INCCA University, being in charge of subjects such as jazz harmony, jazz ensembles, jazz keyboard and jazz piano. Since then he continued giving concerts at different Jazz festivals and clubs specialized in this music with different formats and artists such as: Trío Trípode Jazz, the Quinteto Los Narváez, and Camaleón Cuarteto. He has had vast experience with other styles such as rock and pop. She has been a member of the band of major pop artists such as Ilona (twice Grammy nominees 2004 and 2007) and Julio Nava. between 2006 and 2009 he is associated with El colectivo ,a proyect directed by colombian piano master Jaime henao taking different courses related with contemporary and popular music.
In 2009 he was awarded with a Fulbright-Ministry of Culture scholarship to do a Master’s in Jazz Performance in the United States, where he studied at one of the best music schools called Aaron Copland School of Music attached to the Queens College of the City University of New York obtaining the degree of Master of Arts in Jazz Performance in 2011. There he studied with world renowned teachers in jazz such as Antonio Hart, Michael Mossman, Howard Brosky, Jeb Patton David Berkman, and Bruce Barth.
Finally, thanks to a Teaching assistantship awarded by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2013, he have the opportunity to Study at this prestigious university (ranked 10 internationally among the Faculties of Music) to obtain his Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance (DMA ), title that was awarded in December 2017, where he has had the opportunity to study and play with renowned teachers such as Chip Stephens, Larry Gray, Ron Bridgewater, Joel Spencer, Chip Mc Neil, and Tito Carillo.
In the field of performance, he has played with numerous Colombian Jazz artists such as Tico Arnedo, Pedro Acosta, Víctor Bastidas, Lucho Guevara, Alejandro Fernández, Julián Gómez, Mendoza Kike Mendoza, Ricardo Narváez, and Richard Narváez as well as with international artists such as Ronald Carter, Antonio Hart, Mark Groos, David Bennet, Joel Spencer, Chip Mc Neill, Larry Gray, Tito Carillo, Ingrid Jensen, Jim Pisano, Bobbie Shew, Dave Pietro, Chad LB, Terry Line Carrington among others. He has played in numerous jazz festivals in Colombia and the United States, among which, the ¨VII Cartagena International Jazz Festival (Festival Voces del Jazz y del Caribe 2019)¨ stands out, where he was the winner as best group with” Adrian Herrera Jazz quintet”, and winner of best composition Category, Concerts at the Jorge Eliecer Gaitán Theater within the framework of the Jazz al Parque 2007, 2009 and 2013 festival, Sevillaz 2008, Julio Mario Santo Domingo Theater 2011, Fernando Sor School 2011, 2012 and 2013 and Adrian Herrera Quintet live in Chicago (2016). These concerts have been alternated with numerous recording sessions and Jam sessions in the United States and Colombia. “Hope” is his last album recorded in 2023 with an independent label which has obtained good recognition from music critics and the media.
Since August 2021 he is the new Assistant professor of piano and Commercial keyboard at Colorado Mesa University.
Adrian Herrera 