SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, December 14, 2022 – Following a 13-year hiatus from recording as
a band leader while experiencing near career-ending health trauma, Jazz Trumpeter Gilbert
Castellanos announced the December release of his new album, Espérame en el Cielo, just in
time for the holidays. Serving as a musical roadmap, documenting his personal, medical and
professional trials, Castellanos projects a steady line-up of emotive solos and his organically
ethereal translations of iconic jazz tunes.
Released by Z Note Media and featuring Christopher Hollyday on alto sax, Joshua White on
piano, Tyler Kreutel on drums and John Murray on bass, the quintet expresses an intimate
comprehension of Hard Bop kinship and Latin jazz flavor, embodying what Castellanos refers
to as a chemistry “deeply rooted in Blue Note DNA, with nods to my heritage.” As evidenced in
Castellanos’ elegant interpretation of the title track, Paquito Lopez Vidal’s haunting bolero,
met with his distinct elan as pronounced in the fiery rendition of Lee Morgan’s Totem Pole,
Espérame en el Cielo as an anthological homage draws from and thusly emits inspiration to
the essence of Latin-fused Jazz Greatness.
Gilbert Castellanos is a a nationally-renowned jazz musician, composer and educator, as well
as one of the country’s top-call jazz trumpeters. Noted for his distinct style as a leader,
Castellanos has also toured and/or recorded with some of jazz’s biggest names, including
Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Golson, Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Diana Krall, Willie Nelson, Jeff
Goldblum and Michael Buble. Castellanos currently serves as the Artistic Director of San
Diego’s prestigious Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, from which album bassist and Essentially
Ellington’s Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Soloist award winner John Murray hales.
Long-Awaited Follow-Up Album by San Diego’s “Jazz Godfather” is a Musical
Homage to a Lifetime Love Affair with Jazz
CREDITS
Espérame en el Cielo | Gilbert Castellanos
Producers: Gilbert Castellanos, Joshua White
Executive Producer: Drew Ziegelbauer
Engineered, Mixed, Mastered: Chris Hobson
Recorded at: Rarefied Recording Studios, San Diego, CA
Record Label: Z Note Media
Cover Art: Jeff Motch
Photography: J Grant Brittain
All tracks performed by
Gilbert Castellanos Trumpet
Joshua White Piano
Christopher Hollyday Alto Sax
Tyler Kreutel Drums
John Murray Bass
Track List
- Balad As Sudan (6:41)
Original Artist: René Mclean
- Home Is Africa (5:27)
Original Artist: Ronnie Boykins
- Espérame En El Cielo (4:45)
Original Artist: Paquit O Lopez Vidal
- Will You Still Be Mine (4:05)
Original Artist: Matt Dennis
- Totem Pole (6:03)
Original Artist: Lee Morgan
- New Delhi (5:51)
Original Artist: Victor Feldman
- La Puerta (5:04)
Original Artist: Luis Demetrio
- Big P (3:55)
Original Artist: Jimmy Heath
Bonus. Espérame En El Cielo (4:28)
Original Artist: Paquit O Lopez Vidal