THE RHYTHM
OF A JOURNEY.

Bogotá roots. A global conversation.

Born in Bogotá and based in Boston, Nicko Guerrero is a Colombian jazz drummer, composer and bandleader. His debut album, Pura Bulla, brings bullerengue, lumbalú, fandango and porro into conversation with contemporary jazz. Developed through fieldwork in San Basilio de Palenque and graduate studies at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, the project explores rhythm as a meeting place between cultures. Guerrero holds a master’s degree in Contemporary Performance and a post-master fellowship from Berklee. His work as a performer and collaborator has taken him across the Americas and Spain, and he takes the stage proudly sponsored by Bosphorus Cymbals and RTOM, the makers of Moongels.

Pura Bulla grows from a sustained engagement with the music of the Colombian Caribbean. Fieldwork with the Cabildo Benkos Biohó in San Basilio de Palenque in 2016 became a foundation for his master’s research at Berklee in 2019. The album carries that inquiry into the sound of an international ensemble.

His musical path also includes collaborations with Luciana Souza, Jesús Molina and Paola Jara, alongside his work with the Bogotá rock band Capital Fire. Across these different settings, his focus remains the same: listening, responding and building a sound together.

Teaching and research inform the music. Alongside his performing career, he has led workshops and masterclasses and worked as a professional accompanist in Berklee’s Ensemble Department.