Luis Diego Bonilla (October 12, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n descent. He is also a producer, composer, and educator.

Biography

Early life, musical education and influences

Luis Bonilla was born and raised in Eagle Rock, California to parents who had immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from

. He was introduced to music and jazz while attending Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles. Bonilla was enrolled in a 'brass class' (believing it to be a metal shop class) only to find himself learning to play trombone. At Eagle Rock High School he studied under trumpeter John Rinaldo in a well established, award winning music and jazz program that had produced musicians such as Roger Ingram, Carlos Vega, and Art Velasco. During this time he was heavily influenced by the playing and recordings of legendary trombonist Carl Fontana. After graduating from Eagle Rock High School he studied music at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in music. During his time at C.S.U.L.A. he was a member of both the #1 big band and the top jazz quintet taking top honors at the West Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival. Bonilla recorded on five notable recordings with the C.S.U.L.A. big band as a featured soloist and doing arranging for one of those LP's. He studied in Los Angeles with Don Raffell, Roy Main, David Caffey and former

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

trombonist/producer Bob Curnow. When later moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Jazz Performance and Composition from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

Move to New York and professional career

Bonilla moved to

in 1989 in hope of playing with one of his musical heroes, drummer

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

. Bonilla eventually landed with Lester Bowie as the group's trombonist and continues to draw inspiration from Bowie with whom he toured and recorded with extensively. Bonilla refers to Bowie as his "father away from home", with whom he has learned a great deal about music and the creative process. He has supported himself as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

and a sideman performing with

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

Astrud Gilberto Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert; March 29, 1940 – June 5, 2023) was a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter. She gained international attention in the mid-1960s following her recording of the song " The Girl f ...

, Willie Colón, and

Toshiko Akiyoshi is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. In 1984, sh ...

. He has demonstrated his versatility as a musician working and recording with artists as varied as

Tito Nieves Humberto "Tito" Nieves (born June 4, 1958; also known as "El Luciano Pavarotti, Pavarotti de la Salsa") is a Puerto Rican musician who became one of the leading Salsa music, salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Early life Humberto "Ti ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Latin Grammy Award ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

La India Linda Bell Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), known professionally as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the L ...

, and

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

. He has been a member of the

Mingus Big Band Mingus Big Band is a 14-piece ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of Charles Mingus. It was managed by his widow, Sue Mingus, along with Mingus Orchestra and Mingus Dynasty. In addition to its weekly Wednesday ni ...

and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra; he has also toured and recorded extensively with Dave Douglas. Most notably, he served as the 2nd trombonist (jazz chair) for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra for 19 years (1999-2018). In February 2009, he received two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and featured with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Both of these groups have won numerous honors with Bonilla as part of those ensembles and as a featured soloist. Showing his versatility as a trombone artist, in 2010 he was featured as a classical soloist on '' The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper'' and as a jazz soloist on the large ensemble recording '' Coming Through Slaughter – The Bolden Legend'' (SkyDeck). He served as main producer and trombonist in 2014 on the '' Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra'' CD ( Planet Arts, 2014) which garnered international acclaim.

Honors and recognition

Luis Bonilla is the winner of Downbeat magazine’s Rising Star honor in 2010 & 2011. As a trombone artist he was placed on the Downbeats’ Readers Poll in 2012. Bonilla was also named onto the 2011

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

critics poll for top trombone artists that year.

Teaching

Luis Bonilla has taught at the

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, and the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

. Since 2013, Bonilla has served as the musical director for the JM Jazz World International Youth Jazz Orchestra touring many parts of Europe.Luis Bonilla, JM Jazz World Orchestra International youth jazz orchestra
/ref> He has been a guest artist and clinician at numerous colleges and music schools in the

and internationally to include the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

Riverside City College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

, University of Wellington (NZ) and many more. He has taught at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in

Graz, Austria Graz () is the capital of the Austrian federal state of Styria and the second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 including secondary residence). In 2023, the population of the Gra ...

Career timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:200 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:120 top:0 right:14 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1982 till:31/12/2018 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1982 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1982 Colors = id:la value:green legend:Los Angeles id:ny value:purple legend:New York id:gr value:red legend:Graz Austria LineData = at:01/01/1982 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1986 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1991 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1996 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2001 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2005 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2011 color:black layer:back at:01/09/2016 color:black layer:back at:31/12/2018 color:black layer:back PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4) bar:Los Angeles from:01/10/1982 till: 01/10/1989 color:la bar:New York from:01/10/1989 till: 01/06/2018 color:ny bar:Graz Austria from:01/06/2018 till: end color:gr

Grammy Awards as sideman

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Year ! Grammy category ! Album or Single ! Primary artist/group ! Label ! Role ! Honor , - , , rowspan="5", Best instrumental Jazz Performance, Big Band , align="center", ''Can I Persuade You?'' (album) , align="center", Vanguard Jazz Orchestra , align="center", Planet Arts , rowspan="8", trombone/instrumentalist on all tracks , , - , , align="center", '' New York, New Sound'' (album) , align="center", Gerald Wilson Orchestra , align="center", Mack Avenue , , - , , align="center", ''The Way: Music Of Slide Hampton'' (album) , rowspan="3", Vanguard Jazz Orchestra , rowspan="3", Planet Arts , , - , , align="center", ''Up From The Skies - Music Of Jim McNeely'' (album) , , - , rowspan="2", , align="center", ''Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard'' (album) , , - , align="center", Best Latin Jazz Album , align="center", ''Song For Chico'' (album) , align="center", Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra , align="center", Zoho , , - , , rowspan="2", Best instrumental Jazz Performance, Big Band , align="center", ''

Legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...

'' (album) , align="center", Gerald Wilson Orchestra , align="center", Mack Avenue , , - , , align="center", ''OverTime: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer'' (album) , align="center", Vanguard Jazz Orchestra , align="center", Planet Arts , , -

Discography

As leader

* ''Pasos Gigantes'' (Candid, 1991) * ''Escucha!'' (Candid, 2000) * ''Trombonilla'' (Now Jazz Consortium, 2005) * ''I Talking Now!'' (Planet Arts, 2009) * ''Twilight'' (Planet Arts, 2011)

As sideman

With

Africando Africando is a musical project formed in 1992 to unite New York City, New York–based salsa music, salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. Musicians from other African countries were later included under the name Africando All Stars. Salsa has ...

* ''Mandali'' (Stern's Africa, 2000) * ''Martina'' (Stern's Africa, 2003) * ''Ketukuba'' (Stern's Africa, 2006) With Lester Bowie * '' The Fire This Time'' (In+Out, 1992) * '' The Odyssey of Funk & Popular Music'' (Atlantic, 1998) With Dave Douglas * '' Spirit Moves'' ( Greenleaf, 2009) * '' United Front: Brass Ecstasy at Newport'' (Greenleaf, 2011) * '' Rare Metal'' (Greenleaf, 2011) With

George Gruntz George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker ...

* ''Liebermann'' (TCB, 1999) * ''Merryteria'' (TCB, 1999) * ''Expo Triangle'' (MGB, 2000) * ''Global Excellence'' (TCB, 2001) * ''Tiger by the Tail'' (TCB, 2006) With the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra * ''Can I Persuade You?'' (Planet Arts, 2001) * ''The Way'' (Planet Arts, 2004) * ''Up from the Skies'' (Planet Arts, 2006) * '' Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Planet Arts, 2008) * ''Forever Lasting: Live in Tokyo'' (Planet Arts, 2011) * ''Overtime Music of Bob Brookmeyer'' (Planet Arts, 2014) With

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

* ''

Jenna Jenna is a female given name. In the English-speaking world it is a variation of Jenny, which is itself a diminutive of Jane, Janet, Jennifer and is often used as a name in its own right.Katie Martin-Doyle, ''The Treasury of Baby Names'', Worth ...

'' (

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

, 1989) * '' New York, New Sound'' ( Mack Avenue, 2003) * '' In My Time'' (Mack Avenue, 2005) * '' Monterey Moods'' (Mack Avenue, 2007) * ''

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

'' (Mack Avenue, 2009) * ''

'' (Mack Avenue, 2011) With others *

, '' Desert Lady / Fantasy'' (Columbia, 1994) * Toshiko Akiyoshi, ''Monopoly Game'' (Novus J, 1998) *

, '' Otra Nota'' (Sony, 1993) *

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was 16, Childs attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored ...

, ''The Child Within'' (Shanachie, 1996) * Willie Colón, ''Prisioneros Del Mambo'' (Lone Wolf, 2008) * Jack Cooper, '' The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper'' (Centaur, 2010) * Jack Cooper, '' Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra'' (Planet Arts, 2014) * Damian Drăghici, ''Damian's Fire'' (EMI, 2004) *

Paquito D'Rivera Francisco de Jesús Rivera Figueras (born 4 June 1948), known as Paquito D'Rivera, is a Cuban-American alto saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was a member of the Cuban songo band Irakere and, since the 1980s, he has established him ...

, ''Tropicana Nights'' (Chesky, 1999) *

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

, ''Brazil 305'' (Sony, 2020) * Pamela Fleming, ''Fearless Dreamer'' (Infinite Room, 1998) *

, ''Jungle'' (Magya, 2002) * Adam Green, '' Sixes & Sevens'' (Rough Trade, 2008) *

, ''Wise Children'' (Bluebird, 2003) *

, '' New Colors'' (Hip Bop, 2001) *

, '' Dicen Que Soy'' (Sony, 1994) * Alvaro Lopez, ''Suenos'' (One Voice Music, 2000) * Brian Lynch, ''Spheres of Influence'' (Sharp Nine, 1997) * Donny McCaslin, ''Soar'' (Sunnyside, 2006) * Hector Martignon, ''The Foreign Affair'' (Candid, 1998) * Hector Martignon, ''The Big Band Theory'' (Zoho, 2016) *

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

, ''Dragonfly'' (Telarc, 1995) * Arturo O'Farrill, ''Una Noche Inolvidable'' (Palmetto, 2005) * Arturo O'Farrill, ''Song for Chico'' (Zoho, 2008) * Raulín Rosendo, ''Que Se Cuiden Los Soneros!'' (Day Dance, 1992) * Dom Salvador, ''The Art of Samba Jazz'' (Salmarsi, 2010) * Ken Schaphorst, ''How to Say Goodbye'' (JCA, 2016) *

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...

, ''Ska Voovee'' (Shanachie, 1993) * Bebo Valdes, ''Suite Cubana'' (Calle 54, 2009) * Louie Vega, ''Elements of Life'' (Cutting Edge, 2003) * Louie Vega, ''One Dream'' (Vega, 2007)

DVD, movies, television

* 1988: '' Man Against the Mob'' (T.V. Movie, NBC) * 1993: ''The Great Skatalites:Ska Explosion'92'' (VHS, Tokuma Japan Communications Co., Ltd.) * 2001: ''

Unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

'' (T.V. series with

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

) * 2006: ''Jazz club, el sonido del bajo centro'' (T.V. series, Canal 22 Televisión Metropolitana) * 2010: ''Chico & Rita'' (Movie, Gkids)

References

External links

Official web site
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonilla, Luis 1965 births Living people 21st-century American trombonists Afro-Cuban jazz trombonists California State University, Los Angeles alumni Latin jazz trombonists Manhattan School of Music alumni