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Tony Guerrero
- Five solo CD's, three of which were Top 5 on radio around the country, and two of which were Top 20 on Billboard Magazine's Jazz Chart. - Current CD, "Mysterie" in the Top 20, with heavy airplay on every Jazz & NAC Station in the nation. - Has toured the world playing concerts, jazz festivals and club dates, including the United States, Europe, The South Pacific, and South America - Headlined the CanCun International Jazz Festival in '91 & '93 to audiences of over 25,000 people - Film/TV work: "Thelma and Louise", "Full House", "Bob Hope Special", "BET's Jazz Festival", "Metallica/Guns & Roses Tour Videos", "El Show De Jazz" (Mexican Prime Time Special),"Saddleback Swings" (syndicated cable concert), "Jazz Club Live" (syndicated cable concert)
With four successful albums to his credit, and now with the release of his fifth and latest on Nu-Groove Records (NUG-3001) entitled "MYSTERIE", composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and performer Tony Guerrero is definitely on the fast track to becoming one of the leading voices on his instrument. Joining the ranks of notable composers, his wonderful way with a melody and the warmth in his music both entertain and inspire his audiences.Tony describes his music as 'contemporary instrumental jazz' - an eclectic blend of jazz, rock, Latin, and pop combined with his own individual signature as a soloist. His compositions are geared towards simple yet expressive melodies, layered over grooves that are sure to move the listener. Tony's live shows often include some of the best musicians in the business. Some of the names who continue to pass through the band are: Rob Mullins, Dan Siegal, Brian Bromberg, Eric Marienthal, Greg Vail, Jeff Kashiwa, Bill Cantos, Vail Johnson, among many others. Tony constantly opens his music up to feature the talents of these musicians in order to keep them from becoming merely sidemen and to bring his music to new levels every night. His 1988 debut album release, TIARA, boosted by the hit single "L.A.'d", paved the way to introducing Tony to the Contemporary Jazz/NAC music scene. His second and third releases, DIFFERENT PLACES and ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DREAM, brought popular singles like, "The Secret Garden", "Slam Shack", "Midnight", "Amorado" (and others), to the top of radio playlists around the country. Both of these releases landed in the Top Ten on all the national radio charts, and reached Top 20 Billboard in sales. DIFFERENT PLACES also charted as #1 most added contemporary jazz album in the nation in the first week of release, reaching the top ten just two weeks later. In 1995, Tony released NOW & THEN, a compilation of his past radio successes that also included three new tunes, including the single, "Underground Society" and a new version of his first hit, "L.A.'d". NOW & THEN also made the most added lists upon release. Now, Tony has taken it to the streets with the help of the brilliant keyboardist and producer, Rob Mullins, and come up with what is sure to be one of the most talked about releases of the year, MYSTERIE. This project represents a fresh new sound for Tony, and helps to bring the Flugelhorn and Trumpet to a new place in contemporary jazz. Born in California in 1966, Tony Guerrero began developing his musical talents by studying the trumpet at the age of 9. How Tony decided to play trumpet, in itself, is unique. When asked by his elementary school's music instructor which instrument he was interested in playing, he responded "drums". The teacher showed him a picture of some bongos. Thinking that wasn't what he had in mind, he quickly blurted out "trombone", not because he had any real interest in it, but because for some reason, it was the first to come to his mind. Three weeks later, Tony brought his "trombone" home for the first time, only to have his dad point out, "Son, that's not a trombone, that's a trumpet!" By then, Tony was already hooked! Within his first year, he was playing lead in the All District Honor Band and was accumulating all the accolades his district could offer. Soon, he would holding the lead and soloist chairs in the California Junior Philharmonic and the California Swingphonics Orchestra. His inspiration and natural aptitude directed him toward choosing the flugelhorn as his premier instrument, turning to its melodic sound for greater expression. During junior high and throughout high school, Tony was composing music and had taken an interest in other instruments. Predominantly self taught, he was soon performing on a variety of keyboards, woodwinds, drums and guitars. As a result of the school director leaving the district, Tony undertook the task of running the school jazz band, and although only a sophomore, began composing and arranging for the group. This prompted him to organize his first band as a leader. He composed and arranged works that combined the school's concert band, choir and orchestra, and continued to write for large combined musical groups in college. While developing his professional career, he kept busy performing in clubs and special events with his band as well as performing on independent film scores and radio jingles, writing television theme songs, and producing his own music, performing first in the Southern California music scene before gaining national recognition. Tony's notoriety has expanded rapidly with his six piece contemporary band touring around the United States, Europe, Mexico,and the South Pacific in concert halls, festivals, and clubs. As a musician and producer, he has recorded and/or performed with artists as diverse as rock legends Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Slash (Guns & Roses), Billy Idol, Toni Childs, jazz artists like Wilton Felder, Freddie Hubbard, Billy Childs, Gerald Albright, Ndugu Chancelor, Bobby McFerrin, and many, many more, as well as producing projects for rock, jazz and country labels. As a writer, his music has been recorded by several artists, most notably the hit single, "Love's Gift" for sax artist Greg Vail. Tony has expressed in interviews "I try to only present music that makes me feel good, and I hope the same can happen to you, both as a listener and as whatever type of artist you choose to be in your own life." |
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