Saturday, March 21, 2009


Federico Cervantes Trumpeter-pianist, Federico Cervantes, booked in San Francisco, California at the Meridien Hotel and the Maltese Grill, respectively, began his musical career at the end of the golden age of Bebop. Being able to work more steadily as a jazz pianist, Cervantes, throughout his early circuit of bookings had the privilege of knowing, playing, and being contracted with many well-known jazz artists and vocalists of that time.Back in the '50's Cervantes worked mostly locally; sometimes only as trumpeter, sometimes mostly as pianist, and was introduced on World Pacific Jazz label, (under a pseudonym in 1952), as featured pianist in the Chico Hamilton trio. It was Hamilton who brought Federico down to Los Angeles, after having heard Federico one night in San Francisco, and being very impressed by the Oscar Peterson-technique that Federico Cervantes in his own piano styling demonstrated.The 1958-59 albums recorded by Cervantes on the World Pacific Label included such people, respectively, as Ben Tucker, Armando Peraza, Ray Mosca, and flautist Paul Horn. In one of Federico Cervantes' three albums recorded in the late '50', Paul Horn as flautist appears; the album, A Jazz Interpretation of the Mikado. It was Federico's idea to record a jazz version of this operetta, and even though he mitigated his pianistic technique on the recording for fear of sounding like his favorite jazz pianist. Federico's piano part swings and swings hard!Federico Cervantes also developed the Federico Cervantes Orchestra.

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