Steve Cardenas began his career in Kansas City, Missouri, and has been a member of the New York City jazz community since 1995. Following in the footsteps of contemporary stylists such as John Scofield and Pat Metheny, he built a warm, lyrical sound with frequently edgy, rock-influenced improvisations. He has been a member of the Paul Motian Electric Bebop Band, the Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra, the Steve Swallow Quintet, and Joey Baron's band Killer Joey, and currently plays in the Ben Allison Band, the John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet, the Jon Cowherd Mercy Project, and the Adam Nussbaum Lead Belly Project.

Cardenas has also worked with Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Paul McCandless, Madeleine Peyroux, Norah Jones, Eliane Elias, bassist Marc Johnson, and bassist Thomas Morgan. He has released seven recordings as a leader, and teaches on the faculty of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, alongside past work at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Camps, and the University of Missouri.

Cardenas's warm, lyrical guitar tone, following the John Scofield/Pat Metheny lineage while pulling in rock-influenced edge, has anchored his work across a wide range of settings, from Charlie Haden's politically charged Liberation Music Orchestra to Paul Motian's freewheeling Electric Bebop Band.