{{Short description|American jazz trombonist}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Carl Fontana | image = Carl Fontana.jpg | caption = Fontana at Ball State University, 1989 | birth_name = Carl Charles Fontana | birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|7|18}} | birth_place = Monroe, Louisiana, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2003|10|9|1928|7|18}} | death_place = Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | genre = Jazz | occupation = Musician | instrument = Trombone | years_active = 1940–2000 | past_member_of = Supersax }}
'''Carl Charles Fontana''' (July 18, 1928<ref name="LarkinJazz">{{cite book|title=The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-580-8|page=149}}</ref> – October 9, 2003)<ref name=latimes-obit/> was an American jazz trombonist. After working in the big bands of Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, and Stan Kenton, he devoted most of his career to playing music in Las Vegas.
==Career== Fontana was born in Monroe, Louisiana, United States.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> His first break into the professional jazz scene came in 1952, when he was hired to stand in for one of Woody Herman's regular trombonists, Urbie Green.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> When Green returned, Herman kept Fontana on as a permanent member of the band.
After three years with Herman, Fontana joined Lionel Hampton's big band in 1954.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> In early 1955, he played briefly with Hal McIntyre and Chicago pianist and Playboy executive, Sam Distefano at Sam's Miami nightclub, The Stut 'n' Tut. He later joined Stan Kenton's big band.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> Fontana recorded three albums with Kenton and worked with trombonist Kai Winding during this period.
After 1958, Fontana rarely toured, but undertook a 1966 tour of Africa with Herman's band sponsored by the U.S. State Department.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He primarily performed with house orchestras in Las Vegas during the 1960s, particularly Paul Anka's band (with Frank Rosolino). He also performed in bands backing Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, Wayne Newton, and the Benny Goodman orchestra.
In the 1970s, he continued performing in house orchestras and lounges in Las Vegas.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He also recorded with Louie Bellson, Bill Watrous, and Supersax. It was not until 1975 that Fontana recorded an album as an ensemble co-leader. He shared the billing for this record, ''The Hanna-Fontana Band: Live at Concord'' (Concord Jazz) with drummer Jake Hanna.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> Fontana toured in Japan with this ensemble. In 1978, he was featured on the jazz trombone recording ''Bobby Knight's Great American Trombone Company'', with Charles Loper, Lew McCreary, Frank Rosolino, Phil Teele, and Bobby Knight.
In the 1980s, he appeared regularly on National Public Radio's ''Monday Night Jazz'' program. His first album as a headliner was ''The Great Fontana'' (Uptown Jazz, 1985).
In 2001, he joined The West Coast All Stars and played a concert in Stuttgart, Germany. He was joined by Conte Candoli, Teddy Edwards, Pete Jolly, Chuck Berghofer, and Joe LaBarbera. He was featured on the song "If I Only Had a Brain", from the movie ''The Wizard of Oz''.
Fontana died October 9, 2003, in Las Vegas, Nevada, aged 75 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.<ref name=latimes-obit>{{cite news| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-oct-11-me-fontana11-story.html | title=Carl Fontana, 75; Innovative Jazz Trombonist|date=October 11, 2003| newspaper=The Los Angeles Times | access-date= December 20, 2015}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * [http://www.jazzmasters.nl/fontana.htm Carl Fontana at Jazz Masters] * [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/carl-fontana-mn0000797381 Carl Fontana] at AllMusic * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060223054357/http://vegasjazz.org/fontanaprofile.html Profile by the Las Vegas Jazz Society] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070316043049/http://www.din.or.jp/~aypi/Trombone/carl%20fontana/collections.html Carl Fontana Disc Guide]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontana, Carl}} Category:1928 births Category:2003 deaths Category:American jazz musicians Category:American jazz trombonists Category:American male trombonists Category:Cool jazz trombonists Category:Jazz musicians from Louisiana Category:Musicians from Monroe, Louisiana Category:Musicians from Las Vegas Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Nevada Category:Musicians from the Las Vegas Valley Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:Concord Records artists Category:20th-century American trombonists Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:American male jazz musicians Category:World's Greatest Jazz Band members