Diego Barber is musician from Lanzarote, Canary Islands. There was already some musical precedent in his family; his great uncle was a pianist and his father, in his youth, played the bass in a band called “Peppermint.” Very early on, his mother encouraged listening to classical music. When he turned ten years old he was given as a gift his first electric guitar and firmly decided to study that instrument. At that time, his musical preferences started to include jazz as well as some contemporary guitarists. It can be said that since then, the debate had begun within himself between these two musical styles. Maybe this was a dilemma that remained with him throughout his entire trajectory, until he came to the conclusion that perhaps both of them are part of his musical path.


In the beginning, Diego attended the Conservatory of Lanzarote, taking music classes from Miguel Angel Calzadilla, and he also received private lessons by attending a music school where Toñin Corujo was his professor. He began to seriously consider the idea of relocating away from the island, but because of his young age, this was a decision he had to make with the support of his family. After thinking about it and accepting the challenge that leaving home entails, he moved to Madrid and enrolled in the Conservatory of Arturo Soria. Possibly the most important and providential event that occurred was getting to know Jose Ramon Garcia, whose harmony, analytical and composition classes, helped Diego to develop as a musician. Following this period, he enrolled in the Conservatory Superior of Music of Salamanca where he completed his degree in Classical Guitar. While he studied in Salamanca, two very important events happened: instructors Costas Cotsiolis and Ricardo Gallen accepted him as their student. The first one taught him in Athens for a year; the second, wherever they happened to coincide in the world.

He attended graduate school at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, under the tutelage of master Marco Tamayo. As part of his classical music training, he received master classes from musicians like David Russell, Zoran Dukic, Eliot Fisk and Pavel Steidl, among others. Prior to attending the university, Barber won first place at the Classical Guitar International Contest in 2004 (the event was dedicated to Leo Brouwer) as well as first place at the Miami Classical Guitar Society competition in 2005. He also began performing concerts in different cities across Europe, including those in Greece, Spain and Germany.

Toward the end of his training in Austria, Barber had already composed some of the pieces that would form part of his first album, and he takes great pride in the fact that Ricardo Gallen has chosen one of his pieces as part of his repertoire. He composed other pieces in the Mauritanian desert where he goes every year with his father and family and where he always finds great inspiration.

Before moving to New York in 2007, where he presently resides, he spent time in Madrid with the guitarist Chema Vilchez, who not only taught him jazz, but also gave him great moral support. In New York, Diego composed some of his last pieces and recorded Calima, which is maybe the crystallization of years of doubt and work. For the recording of Calima, he collaborated with first-class musicians like Mark Turner (saxophone), Larry Grenadier (double bass) and Jeff Ballard (drums) for whom he feels great admiration and deep gratitude. This way, his dream is realized.


Barber is currently signed to the prestigious American label, Sunnyside Records, and is collaborating with prominent musicians and playing festivals around the world.