Carlos Solórzano is a professional drummer & composer from Southern Arizona. Prior to relocating to Arizona he worked in the Los Angeles music scene and has shared the bill in his performance career with a diverse group of artists including: Maroon 5, Vince Gill, Thompson Square, Nancy Sinatra, Eric Burdon of The Animals, Rick Derringer & Tierra.
He is currently working with the Tony Corrales Band, the Jazz/Fusion Trio Sonoran Sol, his original project called the Blue Note Ritual while freelancing both live and in the studio. He also teaches percussion at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Tucson, AZ.
He also performs as the Desert Drummer solo drumming artist, which is an act where he adapts world rhythms to the American drum set. He has performed all over Arizona & Southern California including sets at/for:
- Music Instrument Museum, Arizona Black Film Showcase, AFASA African Festival, KGUN 9 Tucson Morning Blend TV Show, Access Tucson Cable Television & webcasts, Live on KXCI Radio, NAMM Show 2009, Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, Tucson Convention Center, Club Mythos, Club Red, The District Stage at the Tempe Marketplace, Maricopa County Fairgrounds, 4th Ave Street Festival, BAM! Music Festival, The Hut, Club Congress, The World Famous Blue Café, Pima Community College, Salpointe Catholic High School, St Augustine High School, Bishop Montgomery High School, Carson Community Center & the Tucson Children’s Museum
He is also an award winning composer who writes tribal drumming compositions & instrumental tracks. Highlights from his composition career include:
- Placements on multiple television programs including
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- Law and Order Special Victims Unit: Shattered & Retro
- America’s Top Model: Welcome to New Zealand & Big Hair Day
- Live: With Regis & Kathie Lee (2/20/2012)
- Mapping the World (BBC)
- Maps: Power, Plunder & Possession: Windows on the World (BBC)
- Rhys to the Rescue (BBC)
- Viva Hollywood (MTV Network)
- Weekly with Ed Gordon
- Sunday Best on BET
- E! Entertainment Television’s The Big Party & E! News Live
- A Harey Hatsiltsul (Israeli Television)
- New Moon (Mexican Television)
- Thalassa 2: Teo Di La Flota Enfosada Reco (Spanish Television)
- 50 Years of Bad Sex
- Steelroots Classics
- Original songs played on the following radio stations: BBC, KXCI in Tucson, AZ, KAOS in Olympia, WA, KKNT in Phoenix, AZ, KTDT Downtown Radio in Tucson, KCSB in Santa Barbara, CA and Monsoon Radio
- Commissioning of original music by Universal Music through Mastersource Music Catalog
- Licensing agreements with 1000 Tracks, NOMA Music, Stockmusic.net, Music Dealers, You License & Versus Media
- Multiple winner of an ASCAPLUS Award
- Career Advancement Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts for the recording and licensing of his original compositions
- Distribution deal with Peacework Music for his first solo CD titled Standing Alone
- His second solo release, which is also his first full length solo CD is titled Desert Drummer and is available on Amazon
His drumming abilities have been acknowledged with the following:
- Endorsement deals with Soultone Cymbals, Hansenfutz Pedals, Drum Dots & Ahead Sticks & Percussion Products
- One of the featured drummers in Soultone Cymbals’ 2009 promotional DVD
- Featured in the December 2008 issue of DRUM! Magazine in the New Blood section, April 2018 issue of TR Magazine, the Arizona Daily Star & Sahuarita Sun Newspapers, Arizona Reporter Website and the Quail Notes Newsletter, the Cal State Long Beach alumni magazine The Beach Review and on KGUN On Your Side News in Tucson
He has also written drumming articles for:
- DRUM! Magazine: Groove Analysis of Nicko McBrain (August 2012)
- Los Cabos Sticks newsletter
- Is a published novelist with Crimson Cloak Publishing
Carlos Solórzano has three college degrees:
- Associate of Arts in Music from El Camino Community College in Torrance, CA
- Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach
…and studied drum set privately with Greg Alban, Swede Meredith & Jeanette Kangas
Samples of Carlos Solórzano’s compositions, drum solos and playing can be heard at:
