Carl Fontana
Encyclopedia
Carl Charles Fontana was an American
jazz
trombonist
. Because Fontana rarely recorded under his own name and toured only occasionally after 1958, he is significantly less famous among mainstream jazz fans, although well-known amongst trombonists.
, Fontana learned jazz music from his father Collie, a saxophonist and violin
player, and first performed with his father's band while in high school. Fontana attended the school known today as University of Louisiana Monroe for two years. He then transferred to Louisiana State University
, receiving his degree in Music Education
in 1950.
His first break into the professional jazz scene came the following year, when in 1951 he was hired to stand in for one of Woody Herman
's regular trombonists, Urbie Green
. Herman was so impressed with Fontana, particularly his improvisational skills, that when Green returned Herman kept Fontana on as a permanent member of the band.
After three years with Herman, Fontana joined Lionel Hampton
's big band in 1954. In early 1955 he played briefly with Hal McIntyre before joining Stan Kenton
's big band later in the year. He recorded three albums with Kenton and also worked with fellow trombonist Kai Winding
during this period.
Recording and touring with these various bands, Fontana became known as a lyrical, inventive soloist. His fluid style was quite different from the be-bop staccato of his great contemporaries Johnson and Frank Rosolino
. Fontana was also greatly admired for his mastery of the "Doodle Tonguing" technique, particularly by fellow trombonists. This skill allowed Fontana to smoothly execute runs of notes at speeds many had not previously considered possible to achieve on a slide trombone.
's band (with Rosolino). He also performed in the bands backing Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett
, Wayne Newton
, and the Benny Goodman
orchestra.
In the 1970s, he continued performing in house orchestras and lounges in Las Vegas. He also recorded with various other artists during this time, such as Louie Bellson
, Bill Watrous
, and Supersax. It was not until 1975 that Fontana recorded an album as an ensemble co-leader. He shared the billing for this record, The Hanna-Fontana Band: Live at Concord (on Concord Jazz) with drummer Jake Hanna
. Uncharacteristically for the period, Fontana also toured in Japan with this ensemble. In 1978 he featured on the classic jazz trombone recording of Bobby Knight’s Great American Trombone Company, alongside Charles Loper, Lew McCreary, Frank Rosolino, Phil Teele, and Bobby Knight. Recorded live at Donte’s in North Hollywood his solos on "Strike up the Band" and "I Got Rhythm" showcase his total mastery of the doodle-tonguing technique.
In the 1980s, he appeared regularly on National Public Radio's Monday Night Jazz program. And although he recorded on more than 70 albums over his long career, his first true record as a headliner did not appear until 1985 when Uptown Jazz released The Great Fontana (1985), his first release as a solo headliner.
Such a long recording career without a headliner release is most unusual for a musician of Fontana's stature, making The Great Fontana the most notable single entry in Fontana's discography. He continued performing and recording sporadically throughout the 1990s.
It is fair to say that although Carl Fontana never earned great fame with general jazz audiences, he is on every great jazz trombonist's list of great jazz trombonists. Watrous, for example, cites Fontana as his favorite trombonist, and the two recorded a record together near the end of Fontana's career, Bill Watrous & Carl Fontana (Atlas Records, 2001). J. J. Johnson called him, "One fantastic trombone player." Legendary jazz critic and historian Leonard Feather
summed up Fontana's career as follows: "Fontana has long been regarded as the most fluid, innovative trombonist after J. J. Johnson--a modern trombonist with exceptional technique and ideas."
Fontana died in Las Vegas, Nevada aged 75 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trombonist
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
. Because Fontana rarely recorded under his own name and toured only occasionally after 1958, he is significantly less famous among mainstream jazz fans, although well-known amongst trombonists.
Birth to 1958
Born in Monroe, LouisianaMonroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, Fontana learned jazz music from his father Collie, a saxophonist and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
player, and first performed with his father's band while in high school. Fontana attended the school known today as University of Louisiana Monroe for two years. He then transferred to Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
, receiving his degree in Music Education
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
in 1950.
His first break into the professional jazz scene came the following year, when in 1951 he was hired to stand in for one of Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
's regular trombonists, Urbie Green
Urbie Green
Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green is an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle....
. Herman was so impressed with Fontana, particularly his improvisational skills, that when Green returned Herman kept Fontana on as a permanent member of the band.
After three years with Herman, Fontana joined Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
's big band in 1954. In early 1955 he played briefly with Hal McIntyre before joining Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
's big band later in the year. He recorded three albums with Kenton and also worked with fellow trombonist Kai Winding
Kai Winding
Kai Chresten Winding was a popular Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is well known for a successful collaboration with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson.-Biography:...
during this period.
Recording and touring with these various bands, Fontana became known as a lyrical, inventive soloist. His fluid style was quite different from the be-bop staccato of his great contemporaries Johnson and Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino was an American jazz trombonist.- Biography :Born in Detroit, Michigan, Frank Rosolino studied the guitar with his father from the age of 9. He took up the trombone at age 14 while he was enrolled at Miller High School where he played with Milt Jackson in the school's stage band and...
. Fontana was also greatly admired for his mastery of the "Doodle Tonguing" technique, particularly by fellow trombonists. This skill allowed Fontana to smoothly execute runs of notes at speeds many had not previously considered possible to achieve on a slide trombone.
Post 1958
In 1958, Fontana moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. After this time, he would tour only on rare occasions, such as a 1966 tour of Africa with Herman's band sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Instead, he primarily performed with house orchestras in Las Vegas during the 1960s, particularly Paul AnkaPaul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
's band (with Rosolino). He also performed in the bands backing Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
, and the Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
orchestra.
In the 1970s, he continued performing in house orchestras and lounges in Las Vegas. He also recorded with various other artists during this time, such as Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
, Bill Watrous
Bill Watrous
William Russell Watrous III is a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known by casual fans of jazz music for his rendition of Sammy Nestico's arrangement of the Johnny Mandel ballad "A Time for Love," which he recorded on a 1993 album of the same name...
, and Supersax. It was not until 1975 that Fontana recorded an album as an ensemble co-leader. He shared the billing for this record, The Hanna-Fontana Band: Live at Concord (on Concord Jazz) with drummer Jake Hanna
Jake Hanna
Jake Hanna was an American jazz drummer.Hanna first performed in his home town of Boston, and was the house drummer at Storyville for a number of years in the 1950s and 1960s. He played with Toshiko Akiyoshi , Maynard Ferguson , Marian McPartland , and Woody Herman's Orchestra...
. Uncharacteristically for the period, Fontana also toured in Japan with this ensemble. In 1978 he featured on the classic jazz trombone recording of Bobby Knight’s Great American Trombone Company, alongside Charles Loper, Lew McCreary, Frank Rosolino, Phil Teele, and Bobby Knight. Recorded live at Donte’s in North Hollywood his solos on "Strike up the Band" and "I Got Rhythm" showcase his total mastery of the doodle-tonguing technique.
In the 1980s, he appeared regularly on National Public Radio's Monday Night Jazz program. And although he recorded on more than 70 albums over his long career, his first true record as a headliner did not appear until 1985 when Uptown Jazz released The Great Fontana (1985), his first release as a solo headliner.
Such a long recording career without a headliner release is most unusual for a musician of Fontana's stature, making The Great Fontana the most notable single entry in Fontana's discography. He continued performing and recording sporadically throughout the 1990s.
It is fair to say that although Carl Fontana never earned great fame with general jazz audiences, he is on every great jazz trombonist's list of great jazz trombonists. Watrous, for example, cites Fontana as his favorite trombonist, and the two recorded a record together near the end of Fontana's career, Bill Watrous & Carl Fontana (Atlas Records, 2001). J. J. Johnson called him, "One fantastic trombone player." Legendary jazz critic and historian Leonard Feather
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
summed up Fontana's career as follows: "Fontana has long been regarded as the most fluid, innovative trombonist after J. J. Johnson--a modern trombonist with exceptional technique and ideas."
Fontana died in Las Vegas, Nevada aged 75 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.