Clinician: TITO CARRILLO

Tito Carrillo has been a mainstay on the Chicago Jazz and Latin music scene since 1996. Upon his arrival from Austin, TX, at the age of 23, the trumpeter quickly made an indelible impression as a fearless improviser, capable of gentle melodic beauty as well as fiery and passionate statements. 

His versatility is evident by his numerous collaborations with such Chicago luminaries as Willie Pickens and Patricia Barber, and big bands, such as the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and the Woody Herman Orchestra. 

Carrillo’s appeal has led him beyond the confines of the Midwest. In 1998, he embarked on a 2-month tour with legendary pop singer/ drummer Phil Collins, which led him through 10 US states and 10 European countries. The tour produced a live album entitled, A Hot Night in Paris with The Phil Collins Big Band. Carrillo currently performs and tours with the widely recognized Chicago blues unit, The Mighty Blue Kings. 

Tito has also remained active in Chicago’s vibrant Latino music scene, concentrating on the rhythms of Cuba and Puerto Rico. He, himself, is of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent; as a result, his interest in Latin music was cultivated early in his childhood by listening to the classic recordings of Tito Puente and Celia Cruz, as well as the great Salseros of the 70’s, such as Hector Lavoe, Andy Montañez and Cheo Feliciano. His enthusiasm was fueled even more when he was able to perform alongside Puente as a student at Northern Illinois University in 1993 and 1994. In Chicago, he has lead his own All Afro-Cuban group at Joe’s Bebop Café and Jazz Emporium and has performed with groups Havana and Orquesta Azucar. 

The Tito Carrillo Sextet is the highlight of this young artist’s experiences and influences as a jazz musician and as a student of Afro-Latino rhythms. The group does not try to separate the two, but seeks to forge a fresh language based on the prevailing spontaneity and harmonies of American jazz with the complex and electrifying polyrhythms of the Caribbean. Accompanying Tito will be Scott Burns on tenor saxophone, Dennis Luxion on piano, Lorin Cohen on acoustic bass, Eric Montzka on drums, and Joe Rendón on congas.  

Carrillo was heralded in the Chicago Tribune as one of Chicago area’s “Hidden Talents”. Of him the Tribune writes, “[Carrillo] has acquired a reputation as a fluid improviser, doubly blessed with a warm lyric style and technique to burn.”