Victor Solano

Victor Solano was born and raised in Brooklyn, growing up in the Marcy Houses in Bed-Stuy. The city was his first classroom—its rhythms, voices, and contradictions shaping the way he hears and responds to sound. New York is not simply where this music was made; it is embedded in how the music moves, breathes, and speaks.

Victor is a graduate of City College’s Jazz Conservatory, where he studied privately with tenor saxophonist Jason Rigby. His musical foundation was shaped through studies with alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, arranger, pianist, and big band leader Mike Holober, pianist Ray Gallon, and his mentor Danny Dalillo. These teachers instilled a deep respect for tradition alongside the responsibility to develop an honest and personal voice.

He later earned a Master of Music degree from Brooklyn College, where his studies with tenor saxophonist Dan Blake and jazz drummer Ronnie Burrage further expanded his approach to sound, rhythm, and composition—encouraging openness, risk, and intention.

Beyond the classroom, Victor’s voice has been shaped through lived collaboration. Performing with Takuya Kuroda and as a member of the Harlem Society Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Steven Fowler, he learned the weight and beauty of ensemble playing, sharing space with musicians such as Braxton Cook. His continued studies at Brownstone Jazz in Brooklyn, learning from artists like Eric Lemon, Patience Higgins, and Stanley Banks, keep him connected to the living tradition of the city. He also performs as a member of Ryan Easter’s Trap Music Orchestra, where boundaries dissolve and new sounds take form.

Victor’s path has carried him beyond jazz and beyond New York. Playing alongside artists such as Mase and Steve Aoki, contributing music for world music artist Sinkane, and opening for Indian artist Diljit Dosanjh expanded his sense of rhythm, audience, and possibility. Performances in Japan with Chilly Source and in New Orleans with The Simplistic Big Band led by Anthony Coleman deepened his understanding of music as a shared, global language.