Mark Gutierrez

About Mark Gutierrez

MARK GUTIERREZ, a Los Angeles native is a multi-talented musician well versed in many styles of music including Jazz, Classical, Blues, Rock, Latin, and Flamenco. This versatility finds him in many d "That's so Cool Reviews:


Mark Gutierrez is not an easy artist to categorize. During the course of this 44-minute instrumental album, the Los Angeles-based guitarist draws on everything from pop-jazz to Spanish flamenco to Afro-Cuban music to Brazilian music. Gutierrez, who produced and arranged That's So Cool himself, and composed all of the material, can be jazzy at times even though this isn’t a jazz recording per se. And although he has been influenced by a variety of music from Spain and different parts of Latin America, That's So Cool never gets into traditional flamenco, traditional Afro-Cuban music or traditional Brazilian music; everything he does is a hybrid of some sort. So it would be inaccurate to place That’s So Cool in any one category. But one thing is for certain: Gutierrez is a talented guitarist and as a composer, and his ability to keep listeners guessing is part of this album’s charm.

Gutierrez is at his most jazz-influenced on “Forget About It,” “Two Years,” and the title track. Listen to these selections closely, and one can tell that he has listened to Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Pat Metheny and other jazz guitar greats along the way