The JM Jazz World Orchestra continues to thrive under the mentorship of Luis Bonilla, who returns for his fourth season as Artistic Director.

The US trombonist, composer and educator is an internationally recognised force in several musical worlds. He was mentored by the great Lester Bowie during his time as trombonist in Bowie’s Brass Fantasy. He has played as a member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra under Arturo O’Farrill, the Mingus Big Band and in Dave Douglas’s Brass Ecstasy. As a sideman Bonilla has worked with the likes of McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Astrud Gilberto, Willie Colon and Toshiko Akiyoshi.

As a composer, bandleader and recording artist, Bonilla’s records have been praised by major jazz publications, with 2010’s Twilight (Planet Arts) described by All About Jazz as “a well-balanced feast for the aural senses”. In the pop world, Bonilla has recorded and toured with such icons as Tony Bennett, Alejandro Sanz, Diana Ross, Marc Anthony, La India, Mary J. Blige and, most recently, Phil Collins on his European and Latin American tours.  

On top of this Luis Bonilla has worked in music education at such institutions as Temple University, the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory. His dedication to the JM Jazz World Orchestra again demonstrates that, as well as having worked alongside some of jazz’s historic greats, he is committed to nurturing its future.