Luis Bonilla
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| Luis Bonilla | |
|---|---|
 Bonilla Brass Ecstasy at Chicago Jazz Festival 2008
Photo: Mark Mahar |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, Latin jazz, R&B, pop |
| Occupations | Musician, composer, Bandleader, record producer, Instructor |
| Instruments | Trombone |
| Years active | 1988 - present |
| Labels | Candid Records |
| Website | Luis Bonilla.com |
Luis Bonilla (c. 1965) is an American Afro-Cuban jazz and Latin jazz trombonist born in Los Angeles, California of Costa Rican descent. He is a Grammy Award- winning performer, composer, and Music Professor,[1] about whom the New York Times has described as the artist who "explodes the usual musical structures of both [Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz]". [2]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Education
As a youth, Bonilla was introduced to music in general, and exposed to jazz in particular, while still a young student in school. He tells the anecdote of how he was enrolled in a brass class, believing it to be a metal shop class, only to find himself with a trombone in his hands. While learning to play the instrument, he found within himself a talent for music, and an enjoyment of jazz. By the time he graduated high school, he studied at Cal State Los Angeles, earning a B.A. degree, and a M.A. degree in Jazz Performance and Composition from the Manhattan School of Music. [1]
[edit] Sideman
Bonilla supported himself as a session musician, and a sideman with some of the top performers of his time. They include famous jazz musicians such as McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Astrud Gilberto, Willie Colon and Toshiko Akiyoshi. However, Bonilla has demonstrated his versatility as a sideman and studio musician with artists as varied as as a studio musician with Tony Bennett, Marc Anthony, La India and Mary J. Blige.[3] He has drawn inspiration from Lester Bowie, his mentor, with whom he toured. Bonilla calls Bowie his "father away from home", with whom he has learned a great deal.[4]
In 1985 he joined the Gerald Wilson orchestra, with whom he recorded. Pasos Gigantes (1998) reached JAZZIZ's Latin Jazz Recording top ten, and both this effort and Escucha! (2000), were critically praised.
Bonilla moved on to become a bandleader and has recorded albums of his own.
[edit] Recent work
Bonilla has evolved into a Professor of Music, having secured employment from the Manhattan School of Music, and is on the faculty at Temple University. He is a member of the Mingus Big Band, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.[1] In February of 2009, he received two Grammy Awards with Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (Arturo O'Farrill Dir.)[5]
[edit] Select Discography
- Pasos Gigantes & His Latin Jazz All-Stars (1991) Candid Records
- Esucha! (2000, Candid Records)
- Terminal Clarity (2007)
- I Talking Now (2009)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Bonilla, Luis (2009). "Luis Bonilla; Trombonist, Composer". Official Website. Trombonilla.com/biography. http://www.trombonilla.com/trombonilla.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ "Luis Bonilla, Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz". South orange patch.com. South Orange Patch. October 20, 2009. http://southorange.patch.com/events/luis-bonilla-afro-cuban-and-latin-jazz. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Wilkins, Mariah (2009). "Bio: Luis Bonilla". Mariah Wilkins Artist Management LLC. http://www.mariahwilkins.com/bonilla/bio.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Cirelli-Heurich, Julie (April 09, 2009). "Luis Bonilla is a trombonist with a lot on his mind". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2009/04/luis_bonilla_is_a_trombonist_w.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Yanow, Scott (2000). Afro-Cuban Jazz. Miller Freeman Books. pp. p. 22. ISBN 087930619X.
[edit] External links
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