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 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 ...

and other popular swing bands and performed custom arrangements that distinguished his orchestra in both swing and

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

. The Latin jazz was essentially American big band swing-jazz fused with Afro-Hispanic music —

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

and

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

, 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 San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

) 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 Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone ...

Herb Geller Herbert Arnold Geller (November 2, 1928 – December 19, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was born in Los Angeles. Early life His mother, Frances ''(née'' Frances Mildred Fullman, also known as Fannie Fullman; ...

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

, and

Herbie Steward Herbert Bickford "Herbie" Steward (May 7, 1926 Los Angeles, California, United States – August 9, 2003 Clearlake, California) was an American jazz saxophonist. He was widely known for being one of the tenor saxophone players in '' Four Broth ...

. 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, Stan Kenton Orchestra and served as one of Kenton's primary staff arrangers. He ...

, 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 are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

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

Spanish language newspaper. In the early 1950s, his orchestra was aired on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

Service in the U.S. Armed Forces

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 Kiska (, ) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required to visit it. The island has ...

, in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. After returning from the

, Carreón was stationed at

Camp Hale Camp Hale was a U.S. Army training facility in the western United States, constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. Located in central Colorado between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River Valley at an elevati ...

, 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. Pvt. Carreón wore the Asiatic-Pacific and American Defense ribbons, one campaign star, and was awarded the Expert Infantryman Badge.

Featured performers, arrangers, composers

; Vocalists *

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than five decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has ...

(born 1940), featured vocalist * Toni Aubin (1927–1990), featured vocalist *

Ray Vasquez Ray Vasquez (12 February 1924 – 25 January 2019), also known as Ray Victor, was an American singer, musician, trombonist and actor, and a significant influence on the Latin jazz scene from 1940 through 2019. Early life Ray Moreno Vasquez w ...

(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 *

(1928–2013), saxophonist *

(1926–2003), tenor saxophonist *

(1924–2003), tenor saxophonist, composer, arranger *

(1927–1987), tenor saxophonist * Billy Byers (1927–1996), trombonist *

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 ...

(1918–2014), trumpeter

Growing up

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

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

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 United States copyright registrations, renewals, and other catalog entries since 1978 are published online at the United States Copyright Office website. Entries prior to 1978 are not published in the online catalog. Copyright registrations and ren ...

, Part 3 Musical Compositions, Third Series'',

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, Copyright Office ;Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Carreon, Phil 1923 births 2010 deaths Swing bandleaders American big band bandleaders Progressive big band bandleaders American jazz bandleaders American jazz clarinetists 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