Jerry Gonzalez was an American jazz trumpeter and band leader who died aged 69 on 1st October 2018, following a fire at his home in Madrid. Along with his younger brother, bass player Andy González, he was a major figure in the world of Latin jazz, most prominently as members of the Fort Apache Band but they also performed with a great many top jazz stars.
Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, he was the son of jazz singer and MC Jerry González Sr. and so grew up listening to music. He played in bands while at high school and attended the New York College of Music. He performed at the 1964 New York World's Fair and at the age of 21 played the congas with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's band. He had stints with bands led by Eddie Palmieri and Manny Oquendo and formed Conjunto Anabacoa and later Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino. The Fort Apache Band was founded in 1979 with players including pianists Kenny Kirkland and Jorge Dalto, saxophonist Sonny Fortune and percussionist Milton Cardona. In the 1980s he also played with bands led by Tito Puento, McCoy Tyner and Jaco Pastorius. With the Fort Apache Band he recorded several albums including 'Rumba Para Monk', which was named Jazz Record of the Year by France's Academie du Jazz. They won other jazz prizes and earned two Grammy Award nominations for Best Latin Jazz Performance for 'Crossroads' (1994) and 'Pensativo' (1995). His 2004 release, 'Jerry Gonzalez y Los Piratas Del Flamenco' was nominated for a Grammy as Best Latin Jazz Album.
In 2005 he released 'Rumba Buhaina - The Music of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' followed by 'Music for Big Band' (2007), 'Jerry Gonzalez y El Comando de la Clave' and 'Jerry Gonzalez & Miguel Blanco Big Band: A Tribute to the Fort Apache Band' (2014). He is featured in the 2000 documentary film about Latin jazz titled 'Calle 54', directed by Spanish film-maker Fernando Trueba. Upon news of his death, New York's Amsterdam News called him an "innovator whose multi-instrumental talent effortlessly merged the genres of Afro-Cuban jazz, straight-ahead jazz, salsa and Latin".
