Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Juan Tizol was born on January 22, 1900 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico and from an early age music was in his life with his first instrument being the violin, but soon switched to valve trombone, his career choice. His uncle Manuel Tizol, music director of the San Juan symphony taught his mostly throughout his youth. He played in his uncle’s band and also gained experience by playing in local operas, ballets and dance bands.

By 1920, Juan joined a band that was traveling to the U.S. to work in Washington D.C. The group eventually made it to Washington, traveling as stowaways, and established residence at the Howard Theater where they played for touring shows and silent movies. At the Howard they also were hired to play in small jazz or dance groups. This is where Juan first came in contact with Duke Ellington.

Tizol got the call to join the Ellington band in the summer of 1929 and became the fifth voice in the brass section of Ellington’s orchestra. This opened up new possibilities for Duke’s writing, as he now could write for trombones as a section instead of just having them play with the trumpets. Juan’s rich, warm tone also blended nicely with the saxophone section, so he was often scored carrying the lead melody with the saxophones.

Juan made many contributions to the Ellington band throughout the 1930s and 40s. One of his major roles in the band was copying parts from Ellington’s scores. Besides copying, Juan also was a band composer. His best-known compositions, Caravan and Perdido are still played by jazz musicians today. Tizol was responsible for bringing Latin influences into the Ellington band with compositions such as Moonlight Fiesta, Jubilesta, Conga Brava, and others.

Juan left Ellington’s band in 1944 to play in the Harry James Orchestra in Los Angeles, to spend more time with his wife. He returned to Ellington in ‘51, but returned to James two years later and remained predominantly on the West Coast for the remainder of his career, playing sporadically with Harry James, Nelson Riddle, and on the Nat King Cole television show.

After another short stint with Ellington in the ‘60s, trombonist Juan Tizol eventually retired in Los Angeles and passed away on April 23, 1984 in Inglewood, California.

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