Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivan Trujillo.
Born in Ensenada, Baja California, Ivan Trujillo is known to be one of the region’s most versatile musicians, playing in ensembles ranging from Jazz and Classical Music to Electronic and free improvisation. He did his first music studies in his hometown Ensenada and finished his music studies at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Before that he had a chance to take some trumpet lessons with some of the great San Diego masters like Gilbert Castellanos and Frank Glasson and learn about the discipline and love of music.
In his professional life as a musician, he was fortunate to meet the band from San Diego, the b side player. I had the opportunity to tour with them and learn from Karlos Paez how to lead such a large band. Now Trujillo is the director of Iván Trujillo Ensamble and La Covacha Big Band and founder of improvisation collectives such as Tacet Synchros and LC eTrois. He is also co-founder and director of the improvisation week La Covacha. The improvisation Week, this festival has given me the opportunity to work and meet impressive musicians from San Diego and wonderful improvisers such as Nathan Hubbard, Stephanie Richards, Wilfrido Terrazas and many more.
In May of 2018, Trujillo released his first album, “Part Zero,” in trio format with the Ivan Trujillo Ensamble under the Castor & Pollux Music Label lead by Nathan Hubbard. Currently, he makes guest appearances in a number of ensembles, including Nortec Collective, Bostich & Fussible, Ensenada Jazz, The B side players, Ensenada Chamber Orchestra, and many more. He has performed in many festivals around the world, such as FONT (NYC), FONTwest (San Diego), Glastonbury (England), Fusion (Germany), Cervantino Festival (Mexico), and National Jazz Festival (Mexico).
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I have always considered myself a lucky guy, that does not mean that everything has been simple, but if I can say that for the most part, I have had the fortune to surround myself with the people indicated as those whom I have previously mentioned.
Something that I remember that has given me a lot as a musician has been taking classes in San Diego twice a week and having to take the bus and trolley, five hours of travel to take my lessons. That’s something I will always keep in mind. And I also want to mention my teachers and mentors in Mexico who have always supported and encouraged me, such as Francisco Rosas, Ernesto Rosas and Luis Salazar, and obviously, my family has always supported me.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
Music is my passion and it is what motivates me every day, I am always working with my ensemble all the time, making new music and generating new ideas, always looking for platforms where to expose my music, such as festivals or clubs. Ensenada is a small town, very cultural but small, after traveling through many places, I have always looked for ways to provide my city and the new generations with more cultural options. That is why I created the improvisation week and La Covacha Big Band, also in 2019 I created the first children’s big band in Baja California.
Now in Mexico, there are many community music programs for children, but they are all focused on classical music, that It is wonderful but a style that I am passionate about and which is not widely explored in Mexico is jazz and improvisation. In Mexico, you study jazz since you are older, that is good but it is much better than you have many more options from youth people, options that can give you a broader panorama of music for your life.
What were you like growing up?
I am a lucky guy. My family, my teachers, have always helped me with very good advice and I try to always follow them to make less mistakes and when I make mistakes, I try to learn from them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lacovachamusic.weebly.com/contacto.html
- Email: ivan.trp@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivantpt/?hl=es
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivantrujillomusic/
Image Credit:
Braulio Lam, Melany León, Michelle Rivas, Lukas Frei
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