Felix Edmond Barboza (November 20, 1914 – April 9, 1993) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He was known professionally as Phil Edmund, including in his jazz and big band music, and as Phil Barboza in his Latin American music.

Early life

Born in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

, of

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

an parents, Edmund was captivated at an early age by the musical repertoire of the Cape Verde islands. He attended Lawrence High School in Falmouth, MA, where he played trumpet in the school's orchestra and graduated in 1934."Felix Barboza, 78: Accomplished trumpeter, performed with big bands", Cape Cod Sunday Times, 11 April 1993, page B-8.

Career

Edmund played Creole and swing music, and sometimes jazz with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and others. Edmund also played with Boston-area jazz musicians such as

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

and

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 Bro ...

. Early in his career, he was a big band trumpet player in New York with bandleaders such as

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, and

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

. In the late 1930s, he started a big band called the Phil Edmund Orchestra (also called the Phil Edmund Band). It played at dances and clubs in the New England area, including in New Bedford, Providence, Martha's Vineyard, and at colleges. The band included Bob Chestnut, Joe Livramento,

Paul Gonsalves Paul Gonsalves ( – ) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue ...

, and Vicki Vieira. A newspaper article in 1940 describing local trends in dance hall music in Gloucester, MA, included Phil Edmund's orchestra and said "one of their specialties is swinging out of age-old sea chanties". Many

Cape Verdean Americans Cape Verdean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans whose ancestors were Cape Verdean. In 2010, the American Community Survey stated that there were 95,003 Americans living in the US with Cape Verdean ancestors. Immigration waves Prior to ...

in the region descended from people who worked in New England whaling in the 19th century. Phil Edmund's band provided

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

his first paying gig. The style of music the band played came to influence the music Corea created by putting Latin music on his radar. Edmund introduced Gonsalves to Basie, which was a major turning point in Gonsalves' career. In the 1960s, he reunited Livramento and Gonsalves, also

, to publish records featuring Portuguese and Latin American music. That decade, Edmund performed at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

in New York. Edmund was a member of musician's union locals in Boston and New York. He also held a private pilot license.

Death

On April 9, 1993, he died in Hyannis, Massachusetts, of a heart ailment at Cape Cod Hospital when he was 78 years old.

Discography

As Phil Barboza

* ''Só Sabe'' (LP, Album) Cabo-Verde Records, 1962? * ''Phil Barboza and His Latin American Music'' (7", EP) Cabo-Verde Records, 1962 * "Se Olho E Preto E Doce" / "Mumzinha" (7") Cabo-Verde Records 1962? * "Sufrimente" / "Milho-Branco" (7") Cabo-Verde Records, 1962

References

{{reflist Mainstream jazz trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Duke Ellington Orchestra members Count Basie Orchestra members 1914 births 1993 deaths American musicians of Cape Verdean descent 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters Jazz musicians from Massachusetts American male jazz musicians Falmouth High School (Massachusetts) alumni