Phil Carreón ''(aka'' Phillip Lozano Carreón, Jr.; ''né'' Alonzo Carreón; May 6, 1923 – October 13, 2010) was an American big band leader based in Los Angeles who flourished from 1946 to 1952, retiring from music in 1952.

Career

Carreón's orchestras performed stock arrangements from Count Basie and other popular swing bands and performed custom arrangements that distinguished his orchestra in both swing and Latin jazz. The Latin jazz was essentially American big band swing-jazz fused with Afro-Hispanic music — mambo and

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, in particular. His band's Latin style became a popular trend with a few other notable Latin oriented Los Angeles big bands that influenced what became salsa. Carreón's band performed in ballrooms around Los Angeles (including the Avadon Ballroom), the rest of the West Coast, the Southwest — and as far as Texas (including Antonio Valencia's famous Patio Andatuz in San Antonio) and Louisiana — in the 1950s. Several major jazz musicians, early in their careers, performed with his band, including a group of saxophonists that included Teddy Edwards, Herb Geller, Warne Marsh, and Herbie Steward. The legendary composer,

Lennie Niehaus Leonard Niehaus (June 1, 1929 – May 28, 2020) was an American alto saxophonist, composer and arranger on the West Coast jazz scene. He played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and served as one of Kenton's primary staff arrangers. He also playe ...

, who went on to write for Basie and the film industry, got his first professional job out of high school as a composer and saxophonist with Carreón. Carreón was a clarinet player; but as a band leader, he did not play an instrument. Notwithstanding the extant recordings of Carreón's popular music, his legacy as the leader of an outstanding swing big band is chronicled but not audibly enshrined due either an absence of jazz discography or an absence of jazz recording sessions. Yet, a consensus of published acclaim by notable band alumni, entertainment peers, musicologists, and historians is that the swing aspect of Carreón's big band was excellent. According to a 1998 interview with Don Tosti (1923–2004), early in his career, Carreón worked for a

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

jukebox industry entrepreneur Frank Navarro ''(né'' Francisco B. Navarro; 1895–1964), owner of Navarro Music Company, driving around Los Angeles replacing older albums with recent hit records. In 1951, Carreón signed a professional management contract with Reg Marshall Agency, a talent management firm based in Hollywood, and went on tour in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. In that same year, his orchestra members were composed entirely of Mexican Americans, according to an article in the ''Prensa,'' a San Antonio Spanish language newspaper. In the early 1950s, his orchestra was aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System.

Service in the U.S. Armed Forces

During World War II, Carreón enlisted in the United States Army and received his basic training at the Infantry Replacement Training Center, Camp Roberts, California, then volunteered for the ski troops. As a member of the Army Mountain Infantry regiment, Carreón was a Browning automatic rifleman in the 1943 U.S. assault on and capture of Japanese occupied Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands. After returning from the Aleutian Islands, Carreón was stationed at Camp Hale, Colorado, with the ski troops, where he also played clarinet in the United States Army 1st Combat Infantry Band and several small, informal, dance bands.

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Carreón wore the Asiatic-Pacific and American Defense ribbons, one

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, and was awarded the Expert Infantryman Badge.

Featured performers, arrangers, composers

; Vocalists * Vikki Carr (born 1940), featured vocalist *

Toni Aubin Toni Aubin ''('' Maria Antoinette Rubio; 22 September 1927 – 10 February 1990) was an American jazz vocalist who sang with big bands in the 1940s. Career Aubin is most known as a featured singer with Earle Spencer and His Orchestra, with wh ...

(1927–1990), featured vocalist * Ray Vasquez (1924–2019), trombonist and featured vocalist * Rudy Macias (1925–2012), vocalist, born in El Paso * Frances Irvin (1929–2003), vocalist, born in Fort Worth, raised in Amarillo ; Instrumentalists *

(1929–2020), lead alto, composer, arranger * Herb Geller (1928–2013), saxophonist * Herbie Steward (1926–2003), tenor saxophonist * Teddy Edwards (1924–2003), tenor saxophonist, composer, arranger * Warne Marsh (1927–1987), tenor saxophonist * Billy Byers (1927–1996), trombonist * Gerald Wilson (1918–2014), trumpeter

Growing up

Carreón attended Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles. While a student, he was the leader of the

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Band and also led his own group, Phil Carreón and His Orchestra, a 15-piece orchestra. He had studied clarinet since age 11.

Selected discography

Philmos Records, Philmos Recording Co., Los Angeles

Latino Internacional Inc., Los Angeles

* "Rico, Caliente Y Sabroso" (mambo) : Phil Carreon y Su Orquesta : 108-A (10-in, 78-rpm) * "La Guira" (mambo) : Phil Carreon y Su Orquesta (mambo) : Rudy Marcias, vocals : 108-B (10-in, 78-rpm) * "Mambo No. 8" (mambo), Perez Prado : Phil Carreon y Su Orquesta (mambo) : 110-A (45-rpm)

Whimsy, Ltd., 6118 Selma Ave., Hollywood

* "How Strange" : Phil Carreon and His Orchestra : Johnny Clark, vocalist : Whimsy 243 * "Yuletide" : Phil Carreon and His Orchestra : Johnny Clark, vocalist : Whimsy 243 * "I Know My Limitations" : Phil Carreon and His Orchestra : Johnny Clark, vocalist : Whimsy 244 * "L.C. Jump" : Whimsy 244 * "I Close My Eyes" : Ray Vasquez, vocalist : Whimsy 245 * "No Comment!" : Johnny Clark, vocalist : Whimsy 245

Other

* "I'm In the Mood for Love" : Melodias Rancheras (released 1951) : Phil Carreon ;Notes *Philmos Records was founded in 1950 in Los Angeles by Ray Ramos *Whimsy was the label of Whimsy, Ltd., Hollywood *Johnny Clark (born 1916) and Dian Manners ''dba'' as Whimsy, Ltd. * Whimsy label dating guide: :: 241 – May 1947 :: 243 – June 1947 :: 821 – September 1947 *In 1951, Whimsy, Ltd., called itself a public relations firm

Various names of Carreón's orchestras

* Phil Carreon and His Orchestra * Phil Carreon and His Philmos Recording Orchestra * Phil Carreon and His Popular Latin American Orchestra * Phil Carreon and His Famous 15 Piece Band * Phil Carreón y Su Orquesta

Family

; Parents Carreón's parents: * Filipe Herrera Carreón (1890–1965), was born in Chihuahua, Mexico * Guadalupe ("Lupe") Lozano (1894–1956), who was born in Montemorelos, Mexico They became naturalized United States citizens. ; Siblings Phil Carreon had six siblings, two brothers and four sisters. ; Marriage Carreón married Xina Yvonne ''(née'' Zinn; born 1926) around 1949. They had four children: (i) Daniel Thomas Carreon (1950–2013) survived by wife Judy Harward and 8 children, Jennifer, Kristen, Daniel, John Paul, Rebecca, Bethany, Sarah and Michaela; (ii) Phyllis Carreon (born 1955), who was first married to Vincent Frank Cesare and is currently married to Raymond Alan Taie since 1982 with daughter Kelly Kristine (Pfeiffer); (iii) Patrick Anthony Carreon (born 1958) currently married to Tamerin Kelly with daughter Mary Katherine, and (iv) Yvonne Susanne Carreon (born 1960), married to Karl Alan Schoneman, divorced in 2006 with 4 children Ted, Alexandria, Nicola and Phillip.

Notes and references

;Notes ;Original copyrights : '' Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3 Musical Compositions, Third Series'', Library of Congress, Copyright Office ;Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Carreon, Phil 1923 births 2010 deaths Swing bandleaders Big band bandleaders Progressive big band bandleaders American jazz bandleaders Jazz musicians from California Musicians from Los Angeles American music arrangers Territory bands United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers