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Gilbert Castellanos

Gilbert Castellanos is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, bandleader, curator, and educator whose work links leader groups with San Diego jazz mentorship.

TrumpetComposerArrangerEducator3 current shows
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Photo source · Photo: Karlheinz Froehner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Gilbert Castellanos

Castellanos’s official biography traces his path from Guadalajara through Berklee and CalArts to Black/Note, leader recordings, and long-running work with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. It distinguishes his own projects from his extensive sideman discography.[1][2]

San Diego State University documents his artist residency, Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, Panama 66 programs, and local symphony and museum partnerships. Those educational and curatorial roles operate alongside his trumpet, composition, and bandleading work.[3]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, trumpeter, composer, and arranger

Gilbert Castellanos leader groups

His official discography follows Hammond-organ, post-bop, and later thematic projects under his own name.[1][2]

Trumpeter and ensemble member

Black/Note

The biography documents Castellanos’s formative role in the group before his leader catalog expanded.[1]

Founder, educator, and artistic director

Young Lions Jazz Conservatory

The San Diego training program connects mentorship with regular public performance opportunities.[3]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

1996

Hammond B-3 Quartet

Leader, trumpeter, and arranger

The early leader record places Castellanos’s trumpet in a dedicated organ-quartet setting.[2]

Release details

2006

Underground

Leader, trumpeter, and composer

Underground continues Castellanos’s small-group leader chronology in a post-bop setting.[2]

Release details

2013

Federal Jazz Project

Leader, trumpeter, composer, and arranger

The later project adds a distinct program to his official leader discography.[2]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Official discography

Browse Castellanos’s leader recordings and selected work with ensembles and vocalists.

Young Lions performance archive

Watch conservatory ensembles and performances directed or presented by Castellanos.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

Wed, Sep 23, 7:00 PM

Gilbert Castellanos Young Lions

Panama 66 · San Diego

Show details

Wed, Sep 30, 7:00 PM

Gilbert Castellanos Young Lions

Panama 66 · San Diego

Show details

Thu, Oct 1, 8:00 PM

Acclaimed jazz drummer Joe Farnsworth with Gilbert Castellanos, Brian Levy, & more

Dizzy's · San Diego

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Evidence-Based Connections

Related Musician Guides

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Charlie PorterTrumpet · ComposerShared documented roles: Trumpeter · Composer · EducatorJason PalmerTrumpet · ComposerShared documented roles: Trumpeter · Composer · EducatorJohn DaversaTrumpet and EVI · Composer and arrangerShared documented roles: Trumpeter · Composer · ArrangerJon FaddisTrumpet · ConductorShared documented roles: Trumpeter · Composer · EducatorTerell StaffordTrumpet · ComposerShared documented roles: Trumpeter · Composer · EducatorArturo SandovalTrumpet · ComposerShared documented roles: Trumpeter · Composer

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official biography and ensemble history

    Gilbert Castellanos

  2. [2] Official leader and sideman discography

    Gilbert Castellanos

  3. [3] Institutional biography and education programs

    San Diego State University