An astoundingly prolific songwriter and a sensitive and evocative singer, Flores, who makes his home in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, performed with his siblings in a mariachi group until a tragic accident took the lives of his two brothers, Victor and Alberto, while Gabriel spent three weeks in a coma and a subsequent year in recuperation. Prior to the accident, Flores had balanced his musical pursuits with two years of studying medicine, followed by a budding career in banking.

Finance’s loss has been music’s gain: Since devoting himself to songwriting, Flores has racked up an astonishing number of covers: regional artists like Bronco el Gigante de America, “Huella Digital,” the group’s CD title track; and the massive hit, Quédate Callada,” which garnered a Billboard Latin Music Award for Regional Mexican Airplay Track of the Year for vocalist Jorge Luis Cabrera. Additional songs have been recorded by Mexican star Yahir and a song for Puerto Rican star Ednita Nazario — penned with frequent collaborator and close friend Claudia Brant — became an improbable hit in Portugal.

Flores, who is affiliated with powerhouse Maximo Aguirre Music Publishing, will no doubt add to burgeoning list as a writer as he launches his career as an artist. Writing songs for others to interpret is a fine alchemy; creating melodies and lyrics that define a singer is a powerful art. Gabriel Flores is the rare songwriter who excels at both.

Born from a musical family, Edgar Cortazar has been influenced by art from generations behind. His grandfather, Ernesto Cortazar, composed most of Mexico's popular music hits in the 40's and 50's which were recorded by the voice of Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante among many others. Songs like "No Volveré", "Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes", "Cocula", "Yo Soy Mexicano", "La Chancla", "El Apagón", "Serenata Tapatía", “Esos Altos De Jalisco” , “Amor Con Amor Se Paga”, “Prisionero Del Mar”, “Tequila Con Limón”, “Ansiedad”, “Fiesta Mexicana”, “Soy Puro Mexicano” and many, many others are part of the Cortazar family music catalog.

Edgar Cortazar's father, Ernesto Cortazar Ducker, also kept the family tradition and legacy creating the background music for more than 600 movies in Mexico and his composing skills also gave numerous artists great hit songs in the 70's, 80's, 90's and today. Some of these artists include: Jose Jose, Manoella Torres, Alberto Vazquez, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Cesar Costa, Enrique Guzman, Alejandro Fernandez and Luis Miguel... today's best known contemporary Latin recording artist.

As a lyricist, Edgar Cortazar has shared co-authorship with his father, Ernesto Cortazar Ducker, his brother Ernesto Cortazar, Alejandro Asensi, Scott Blevins, Denise Bradley, Claudia Brant, Lynette Brehm, Alejandro Carballo, Garry Corman, Steve Dorff, Johnson Enos, Maria Entraigues, Rafael Esparza-Ruiz, Anthony Fedorov, Ruy Folguera, Ismael Gallegos, Mauricio Guerrero, Ron Irving, Molly-Ann Leikin, Francisco Loyo, Salo Loyo, Victor Loyo, Ana Malhoa, Paulo Massadas, Tony Melendez, Juan Mesa, Luis Miguel, Ximena Muñoz, D. Pickell, Adrian Pieragostino, Mark Portmann, Michael Ripoll, Toby Sandoval, Stephony Smith, Jose Luis Terrazas, Irene Toumainen, T. Wong, and Antonio Zamora.

Edgar Cortazar’s Songs have been recorded by multiple artists such as:

Luis Miguel, Olga Tañon, Conjunto Primavera, Pablo Montero, Graciela Beltran, La Mafia, Grupo Montez de Durango, Horoscopos de Durango, Banda Machos, Salomon Robles, Chicos De Barrio, No-Pals, Alex Arellano, Grupo Prezisso, Priscilla y Sus Balas de Plata, Witchy's Band, Los Reyes Del Camino, Ke-Zafados and Grupo La Onda among others in the first two years of his exclusive administration agreement with Warner-Tamerlane Music Corp.

Edgar Cortazar is also working Spanish lyric adaptations for authors like, Scott Blevins, Denise Bradley, Lynette Brehm, Garry Corman, Steve Dorff, Johnson Enos, Anthony Fedorov, Ron Irving, Molly-Ann Leikin, Michell Ripoll and Irene Toumainen among others, extending his artistic abilities to the International Music Market.

Edgar Cortazar's singular style of singing and voice recording has made him become part of numerous music projects as a professional in the commercial scene. He has participated in numerous T.V., radio, and commercial voiceover campaigns with companies such as: Ford Motor Company, Disney, Chrysler, Telemundo, Univision and Frito Lay.

Edgar has also become part of many musical productions for the Disney Latin Music Division as a Composer / lead voice and background vocal professional singer.

Some of these productions are: Arrullo (Lullaby) 1996, Navidad Disney (Disney Christmas) 1996, Canciones de Viaje (Travel Songs) 1997, La Fiesta Dinosaurios (Dinosaur Party) 1998 and Multiplicando! (Multiplying!) 1998, among others.

As a professional singer, Edgar Cortazar has participated in the recording of more than 450 demo and full produced songs in different publishing companies and recording studios in the Los Angeles area.

BMI’s Circle of Songs has proudly completed its first six months of the series thanks to the enormously talented performers who participated and a live webcast on LiveOnTheNet.com.

First on, Dax, who alternated from guitar to electric piano, lifted the crowd performing his superbly written material with a style comparable to Billy Joel, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. Next the audience was treated to Argentinean import Claudia Brant, who despite singing in Spanish, had the crowd absolutely captivated. Her numerous accolades were undisputed, as she truly is South America’s version of Celine Dion or Barbara Streisand. Then, Lily Wilson, whose breathy, ethereal voice, vocal range and charming presence provided a tender contrast to the evening’s line-up. Brian P. White was next, charismatically performing a rather raucous, crowd-pleasing set. You can still view this showcase on LiveOnTheNet.com in their archive section. BMI salutes those that continue to make this series a success.

Shown at the show l to r: BMI's Myles Lewis and Tracie Verlinde; Dax; Lily Wilson; Claudia Brant; BMI's Delia Orjuela; Brian P. White; BMI's Barbara Cane.

Shown l to r: Dax; Claudia Brant; Lily Wilson; and Brian P. White

Dax		Lily Wilson		Brian P. White		Claudia Brant

Featuring:

Claudia Brant
Argentinean singer-songwriter Brant has a career that spans continents, mediums, styles and languages. She has three albums released on Warner Bros. Records in South America and has garnered numerous accolades including a "Best Female Artist" nomination for the A.C.E. Awards and awards from the Argentina Composer Society.

Dax
Hailing from New York, Dax's high-energy solo performances feature strong melodies tied with quality lyrics to create a vivid storytelling image in each song. Along with his band "Dax and the Gods of Dave", they celebrated a semifinalist achievement at the Long Island Music Festival in 1997.

Brian P. White
White has a sound and playing style somewhere between Leo Kottke and Van Morrison, but uniquely his own. Talented and gifted, he comes from a musical family drenched in piano, violin, folk singing and guitar. His onstage presence is warm, enjoyable, charismatic and infectious.

Lily Wilson
Growing up on a remote, isolated ranch near California's Napa Valley, Lily provided the family's entertainment. Lily's college days brought her to Spain where she entertained on street-corners and teashops all over Andalusia. Returning to the Santa Cruz area, she finished her degree in Art History then moved to Hawaii to write and record her first CD. Now with roots in LA, Lily performs at various venues.

The BMI Circle of Songs is a monthly showcase series held the last Wednesday of every month at the Gig in West Los Angeles. Some of the talented songwriters who have performed at Circle of Songs include Jimmy Muffin, Eddie Cunningham, Sid Hillman, Alan Rich, Susan Toney, Che Zuro, Eddie Elliott, Daniel Fabiano, Neal Kassanoff, Lenna, Duane Neillson, Reeva Hunter, Alan Foster, Mel Harker, Fran Lucci, Garrison Starr, Frankie Fuchs, Severin Browne, Wendie Colter and James Slater.