Bassist Ryan Trujillo is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most prominent working musicians and jazz educators. Holding a bachelor’s and master’s degree in jazz studies from San Jose State University, Trujillo boasts over a decade of professional accompanying local and international artists and managing his own projects. In performance Trujillo combines his rich musical knowledge and virtuosic musicianship with an uncompromising passion for groove, expression, and improvisation.

A California native, Ryan Trujillo began his formal musical education in 2011 at Redding CA’s Shasta Community College. Notable achievements from his time there include cofounding the college’s first jazz combo, which would receive unanimous superior ratings at the 2015 Cabrillo Jazz Festival, and portraying the titular character/lead in the Shasta College Opera Theater production of Gounad’s Faust. Following completion of an Associate’s in general music, Ryan transferred to San Jose State University.

Trujillo would study a combined 5 years at SJSU between undergraduate and graduate school under the guidance of bay area jazz bass titans John Shifflett and Dan Robbins. Specific accomplishments at SJSU include accompanying guest artist Dee Dee Bridgewater with the SJSU Jazz Orchestra dir. Aaron Lington, studying Afro Cuban culture, tradition, and music abroad in Havana, Cuba with the SJSU Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble dir. Jeff Lewis, performing Claude Bolling’s Concerto for Jazz Piano Trio and Orchestra with the SJSU Symphony Orchestra dir. Fred Cohen, as well as directing the SJSU Jazz Ensemble.

Since graduating in 2022, Trujillo has firmly established himself as a performer working with a wide variety of groups and managing his own projects. He continues to study the music and cultures of latin America and has become a pillar of the California jazz community as a performer, recording artist and educator.

Ryan maintains a private lesson studio, is a teacher at East West Music and Dance in Cupertino and Opus 11 in San José, is an upright and electric bass coach for Homestead and Cupertino High Schools, and is regular faculty for the San Jose Jazz and Stanford Jazz middle and high school education programs.