Into His Own
In the early ‘90s, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos was a spirited if undeveloped soloist who got a few minutes of fame in the L.A.-based Black/Note quintet, which eventually recorded for Columbia Records and opened for Wynton Marsalis in concerts on the East Coast and in Europe.
After the subsequent break-up of the band, Castellanos realized that his art needed some refining.
So in 1994, Castellanos, the native of Guadalajara, Mexico, who was raised in Fresno and who attended both the Berklee College of Music in Boston and CalArts in Valencia, moved to San Diego and “adopted a low profile.”
“I just wanted to start fresh, to work on my craft, and put my own thing together,” he said.
He’s done all that. The trumpeter, who appears tonight at Rocco in Bel-Air, has appeared regularly in San Diego, leading bands in clubs and producing tribute concerts to Horace Silver, Lee Morgan and other jazz giants. He’s just released his debut solo recording, “The Gilbert Castellanos Hammond B-3 Quartet,” featuring guitarist Anthony Wilson and organist Joe Bagg, both of whom will perform this evening.
Castellanos’ music mixes well-built originals with jazz pieces from the ‘60s that haven’t received a lot of airing, such as Hank Mobley’s motoring-along “Roll Call” to Joe Henderson’s catchy, Latin-based “Mamacita.”
On the CD, the Kenny Dorham-Dizzy Gillespie-influenced trumpeter plays with elan, evincing a more individual, ever-large sound and offering hard swinging, often ear-grabbing solos.
Castellanos, 27, is yet another artist who proves that music with deep roots in jazz’s glorious ‘50s and ‘60s can sound completely contemporary today.
“I like that period’s rawness, its freshness,” he said. “It’s the music that I love, that I’m still caught up in and learning about. You can listen to it just after you get up, or at 2 a.m. and it will sound the same. It’s so comforting.”
BE THERE
Gilbert Castellanos plays tonight, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., at Rocco Ristorante, 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air. $8 cover, no minimum. Call (310) 475-9807.
In Brief: Mike Campbell’s a singer who relishes standards and jazz-flavored material and whose pure voice and emotive approach really bring his performances to life. Hear him on Saturday, 8 p.m. to midnight, with the superb pianist Tom Garvin, at Ca’ del Sole (4100 N. Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood; no cover, no minimum; [818] 985-4669). For invigorating Brazilian fare, catch singer Katia Moraes, who delivers with pizazz on Monday, and Feb. 18 and 26, 9 and 11 p.m., at La Ve Lee (12514 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. $8 cover, two-drink minimum. Information: [818] 980-8158.
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Zan Stewart writes about jazz for the Valley Edition. He can be reached at Zansky@AOL.com.