Rubens de La Corte, born in Sao Paulo-Brazil, graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston with a Jazz Composition and Guitar Performance Degree. Rubens has also completed two Master of Arts programs at Queens College (CUNY) and Stony Brook University (SUNY) in Jazz Performance and Ethnomusicology. Currently, Rubens is a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at The Graduate Center (CUNY).

Rubens is a guitarist, composer, and arranger who has professionally played Jazz, Global, and Brazilian music for forty years. Rubens was the Musical Director and guitarist for multi-Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo, touring the world several times, including concerts in Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, and North, Central, and South America. Rubens has also played with Brazilian jazz pianist and Grammy winner Eliane Elias over the last two decades. Additionally, Rubens has accompanied singers Bebel Gilberto and Lila Downs in several concerts in the United States.

Inspired by his travels worldwide, Rubens has developed a songwriting project called “Nomad” for the past ten years. “Nomad” combines different music styles from Brazil and North/West Africa with Jazz, Rock, and Soul elements. Released in 2015, “Nomad” is Rubens’s first album as a singer/songwriter. He co-wrote, arranged, and co-produced the majority of it.