Juan Tizol (1900–1984) was a Puerto Rican jazz trombonist and composer. He was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. In 1920, Tizol joined a band that was traveling to the United States to work in Washington, D.C. The group eventually made it to Washington (traveling as stowaways) and established residence at the Howard Theater, where they played for touring shows and silent movies. At the Howard they also were hired to play in small jazz or dance groups. This is where Tizol first came in contact with Duke Ellington.
Tizol joined Ellington’s band in mid-1929. Along with his distinctive sound, Tizol was also known for being one of the best sight-readers and overall musicians in the band. He played with great accuracy and was considered to be the solid rock of the trombone section.
Tizol made many contributions to the Ellington band throughout the 1930s and 1940s. One of his major roles in the band was copying parts from Ellington’s scores. Tizol spent time extracting parts that needed to be written out for upcoming shows. Besides copying, Tizol was also a band composer. His best-known compositions, “Caravan” (1936) and “Perdido” (1941), are jazz standards. Tizol left Ellington’s band in 1944 to play in the Harry James Orchestra. The main reason for this was to allow him to spend more time with his wife, who lived in Los Angeles. In 1951, he returned to Ellington, along with James’s drummer and alto saxophonist, in what became known as ‘the James raid’. However, he returned to James’ band in 1953 and remained predominantly on the West Coast for the remainder of his career. In Los Angeles, he played sporadically with Harry James, Nelson Riddle, Louis Bellson and on the Nat “King” Cole’s television show. Tizol returned very briefly to Ellington’s band in the early 1960s, but eventually retired in Los Angeles. He died of a heart attack at the age of 84 on April 23, 1984 in Inglewood, California.