Tony Guerrero

Tony Guerrero (born September 20, 1966) is a musician, songwriter, and producer.

Guerrero's first album, Tiara, was produced in a sixteen-track studio owned by John Friesen, drummer for the 1970s band Player.

Guerrero had little experience in the studio at the time and producer Terry Whetton rarely showed up during the recording sessions.

The musicians were a mixture of Guerrero's college-age friends and industry professionals, including Grant Geissman, Merry Clayton, and Max Bennett.

Guerrero's career began in 1984 shortly after graduating from Saddleback High School when he began working professionally in Orange County, California in jazz clubs and dinner theaters.

By 1986 he had formed his band Vision with college friends and caught the eye of White Light Productions, a record label led by Lucille Hunt.

After signing Guerrero to a record deal, Hunt left her job in computers to pursue music management full-time, eventually managing Brian Bromberg, Max Bennett, and Rahsaan Patterson.

His career as a jazz trumpeter has spanned more than thirty years beginning with the release of his first CD, Tiara, in 1988.

To date, he has released nine solo albums (as well as duo and band releases), several of which have garnered him critical praise, Top 20 jazz radio play, and earned him a worldwide audience.

His songs have been recorded by jazz artists around the world including contemporary artists Brian Bromberg and Greg Vail, and he has toured as a headliner and guest artist throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and the South Pacific.

He has played on over 200 albums by other artists and recorded and/or performed with artists as diverse as Freddie Hubbard, Paul McCartney, Joe Sample, Jane Lynch, Tom Scott, Brian Wilson, Billy Idol, Dick Van Dyke, Slash, Phil Keaggy, David Pack, and numerous others.

His work as a composer and producer has placed him in a wide variety of styles from jazz, rock, country, Christian, and musical theater.

Upon its release in 1988, Tiara ended up with a minor hit, "L.A.'d", that started receiving airplay on jazz radio stations around the country, most notably WNUA in Chicago, where the song would remain a staple for many years to come.

White Light Productions was dissolved as a record company.

Hunt negotiated a record deal for Guerrero with Nova Records, at the time one of the country's most successful independent contemporary jazz labels.

Different Places was released in 1989 and several songs ended up receiving substantial airplay around the country.

The songs "Slam Shack", "Pancho", and "Mangione" helped drive the song into the Billboard Top 20 charts.

Different Places featured musicians Brian Bromberg, Richard Smith, Norman Brown, Bill Cantos, Brandon Fields and many other contemporary jazz notables.

The album also led to Guerrero's first national touring dates as a headliner, performing mostly in clubs and at the Milwaukee Summerfest.

The album also featured the song "The Buckethead Shuffle" which was arranged in 1990 for big band and released by Hal Leonard Publications.

It became one of their top-selling releases that year and has remained a staple in high school, college and even professional big bands around the world.

Another Day, Another Dream was released in 1991 and was a bigger hit on the radio, landing on several national radio charts.

Another Day, Another Dream would lead to more national and international touring dates and established Guerrero as a recognized voice in the early smooth jazz market.

The album featured guests artists such as Gerald Albright, Mike Garson, Rob Mullins and more, performing along with Guerrero's band.

The cover song, "The Secret Garden", also gave Guerrero a presence on R&B radio playlists.

In 1991 and 1993, Guerrero was a featured headliner at the CanCun Jazz Festival, sharing the stage with legends such as Nancy Wilson, Joe Sample, Wynton Marsalis and more.

During the same time, Guerrero also performed on extended European tours with Dutch guitarist Emiel van Egdom.

After signing to Fahrenheit Records for one album (1995's Now & Then which was a collection of new tracks and previous releases), Guerrero signed to NuGroove Records and released Mysterie in 1996, produced by keyboardist Rob Mullins.

The songs "Mysterie" and "For Your Love" were both hits on jazz radio.

More albums would follow in the coming years: Apasionado (2008), a collection of original Latin/Brazilian-themed music featuring Grant Geissman, Bill Cantos, Brian Bromberg, and Eric Marienthal; Blue Room (2010) released on Charleston Square Records, which was Guerrero's first release featuring a more traditional, acoustic jazz setting.

Blue Room spent nearly six months on the national jazz charts and received positive reviews.

Over the years, Guerrero has also recorded duo albums (with Bill Cantos and Frank Giebels) and band projects featuring his side groups, The Hi-Fi Quintet and West Coast Sound.

In 2010, Guerrero was chosen to create the big band arrangements for two John Tesh albums (John Tesh Big Band & John Tesh Christmas Big Band).

These albums were followed by national tours (for which Guerrero held the solo trumpet chair with a 12-piece big band) and a well-received PBS special.

In 2014, Guerrero hired as music director for Emmy Award-winning actress Jane Lynch's national cabaret tour, See Jane Sing.

Guerrero's band, The Tony Guerrero Quintet, accompanied Lynch, actress Kate Flannery, and singer Tim Davis on tour dates around the country.

In 2016, Jane Lynch recorded and released a Christmas album called "A Swingin' Little Christmas" in 2016.

The album was released on KitschTone Records, Lynch's own record label, which was co-founded by Guerrero.

In 2018, Guerrero released a new album of Latin-inspired ballads entitled "Abrazo".

The album features the flugelhorn as the primary instrument with Guerrero performing most of the other instruments.