Tito Carrillo is one of the finest trumpeters to emerge from Chicago’s rich jazz trumpet legacy. He is an accomplished trumpeter, educator, bandleader, and composer, and since 1996 he has been a fixture in the Chicago jazz and latin music scenes. A native of Austin, Texas, the list of artists he has performed, recorded, and toured with is as varied and impressive as his skill set.
He has worked with Chicago heavyweights Willie Pickens, Ryan Cohan, Juan Pastor’s Chinchano, and Geof Bradfield; big bands such as the Woody Herman Orchestra (Frank Tiberi, director), the Chicago Jazz Ensemble (Bill Russo and Jon Faddis, directors), the Chicago Jazz Orchestra (Jeff Lindberg, director), and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (David Baker, director); jazz greats such as drummer Louis Hayes, trumpeter Jon Faddis, and saxophonist Vincent Herring; Salsa legends such as Andy Montañez, Tony Vega, and Cheo Feliciano; latin jazz figures such as Orlando “Maraca” Valle and Paquito D’Rivera; and pop icons Quincy Jones and Phil Collins.
Carrillo has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the world, including Chicago’s Symphony Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. His work has been heard at international jazz festivals in Chicago, Telluride, Montreaux (Switzerland), the Netherlands, and Finland. Recent performances include engagements with Grammy-award winning vocalist Kurt Elling, the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble, and Rudresh Mahanthappa. He has appeared on over 30 album recordings, as well as the concert DVD “Quincy Jones: Live at Montreux 1996”.
Carrillo is also extremely active in jazz education, and was appointed as Assistant Professor of Jazz Trumpet at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006. Prior to his appointment at Illinois, he served on the faculty at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, as well as at Northwestern University. He also has helped to spread jazz awareness to Chicago’s inner city schools through the Ravinia Jazz-in-the-Schools outreach program. Carrillo continues an active career as a guest artist/clinician at secondary and collegiate jazz programs across the nation and internationally.