Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, three-time Grammy nominee Diego Urcola has been a member of the Paquito D’Rivera Quintet since 1991. He also performs with saxophonist Jimmy Heath, the Caribbean Jazz Project, and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All Star Big Band.
Urcola began his musical studies at age nine and earned the title of Profesor Nacional de Música from the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in 1988. He continued his education at Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating in 1990 with a diploma in Jazz Performance. After moving to New York City in 1991, Urcola began his long-standing collaboration with Paquito D’Rivera and worked with other prominent musicians. In the mid-1990s, he toured with Slide Hampton and The Jazz Masters, and joined the United Nations Orchestra under D’Rivera’s leadership. He also performed with Wynton Marsalis, performing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He has performed with Joe Henderson’s band as well as Steve Turre’s ensemble, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and on Wayne Shorter’s TV special The 2nd Annual Celebration of America’s Music. He joined the late vibraphonist Milt Jackson’s all-star band, Avishai Cohen’s International Vamp Band, and D’Rivera’s quintet, which won a Latin Grammy Award in 2001.
Urcola recordings as a leader include Mates (2013), Appreciation (2010), Viva (2006), the Grammy-nominated Soundances (2003), and Libertango (1999).
In 1997, Urcola earned an M.M. in Jazz Performance from Queens College, where he studied under Jimmy Heath and placed second in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition.