Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, trumpet whiz Gilbert Castellanos first earned local cred with the Charles McPherson quintet. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, and then Cal Arts in Los Angeles. He replaced the original trumpeter in the bebop band Black/Note, which recorded an album for Columbia Records (Jungle Music, 1993) and two more for other labels before splitting.

He's a member of the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Anthony Wilson Nonet, Charles McPherson Quintet, Willie Jones III Quintet, Gilbert Castellanos Quintet, and Gilbert Castellanos, the New Latin Jazz Quartet, and the Latin Trumpet Summit.

Castellanos has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Diana Krall, Al Jarreau, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Dr. John, Charlie Hayden, Charles McPherson, Eldar Djangirov, Bob Magnuson, Daniel Lanois, Carl Anderson, Liza Minnelli, and Natalie Cole, just to name a few. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.