Biography
Andrés López is a versatile drummer, percussionist, composer, and educator whose work moves fluidly between jazz, Latin music, and contemporary genres. Based in Chicago, his artistry is rooted in Latin American traditions, shaped by global influences, and driven by a deep commitment to performance, composition, and education.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with artists from diverse countries and musical traditions, including Alberto Plaza, Noel Schajris, Papaya Dada, Alfonso Ponticelli, Telmary & Habana Sana, Yandi Feliz, Margarita Laso, and Elif Sánchez. His album Outrospección features the acclaimed multi-Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist Dave Pietro.
Now based in Chicago, Andrés has represented Ecuador on prestigious stages across the world such as the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), The Chicago Jazz Festival (Chicago), The University of Louisville (Louisville), The Green Mill (Chicago), Evanston SPACE (Evanston), Andy’s Jazz Club (Chicago), The Wicker Park Festival (Chicago), The Panama Jazz Festival (Ciudad de Panamá), The Cubadisco Festival (Habana), The CubaLibro Festival (Habana), IFEMA (Madrid), and Sinc Bar (New York), among many others.
Since 2019 he has been a member of Swing Gitan, led by gypsy jazz star Alfonso Ponticelli, with whom he maintains a weekly residency at the legendary Green Mill, one of the most iconic jazz clubs in the world. In parallel, he leads the Latin Jazz Jam at The Lemon and serves as the official drummer at Dunamis Church Life – Chicago.
Andrés holds a Master’s degree in Jazz Performance from New York University (NYU) and a Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Music from Universidad San Francisco de Quito, complemented by extensive training with industry icons such as Chris Potter, Ari Hoenig, Becca Stevens, Nicolás Ospina, Marta Gómez, and Julian Velard.
As an educator he designed the rhythmic studies curriculum for the Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA) in Quito. He is currently a professor at the prestigious SAE Institute Chicago and has been invited numerous times to deliver workshops, masterclasses, and lectures at institutions including The University of Chicago, California School of the Arts (Los Angeles), Ciudad del Saber (Panama), the FITUR festival (Madrid), the National Conservatory of Ecuador (Quito), Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory (Guayaquil), Universidad Católica de Guayaquil, Conservatorio Salvador Bustamante Celi (Loja), and Universidad San Gregorio (Portoviejo).