EDUARDO GUTIÉRREZ DEL BARRIO was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1937. When he was five years old, his family moved to Mendoza, where they opened a music conservatory. Eduardo's musical talent developed in that nurturing environment.

After years of studying the classics, Eduardo formed his first jazz group and started working in clubs at the age of 17. In 1965, he moved to the U.S., first to New York and then to Los Angeles. It was here that Eduardo founded the jazz fusion group Caldera with Jorge Strunz; the group recorded four critically acclaimed albums for Capitol from 1976 to 1979.

Around this time, Eduardo met Dianne Reeves, with whom he has a long musical relationship. He has written songs for her, they have collaborated on songs, and he produced her acclaimed album Art and Survival (1994). He also began working with Earth, Wind, and Fire as a writer, player, and arranger, including for the Grammy-nominated song "Fantasy" (1977).

Eduardo has also collaborated extensively with Herb Alpert, who built him a recording studio at A&M records. It was there that Eduardo worked on the last album Stan Getz did in this country, writing all of the songs but one. Eduardo also collaborated with Alpert on four recordings, and the two co-produced Eduardo's solo album Free Play. A mixture of jazz and classical music, Free Play comes closest to the style of the Misa Justa; it was released in 1991 to outstanding reviews.