Alfred "Chico" Alvarez

Who was Alfred "Chico" Alvarez?

Alfred Alvarez was a jazz trumpeter with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and other bands.

Alvarez was born in Montreal, grew up in Southern California. Upon graduation of high school, he attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music.

Alvarez married Eileen Brennan on December 31, 1949 in Los Angeles and moved to Las Vegas in 1958. They had one daughter, Faith Ann born on February 8, 1958. He had been a business agent for the musicians' union, the president of the Allied Arts Council and a member of the Nevada State Council on the Arts.

Alvarez was a soloist with the Kenton band from 1941 to 1943 and rejoined the band after Army service in World War II. He also played with the Red Norvo and Charlie Barnet bands, and worked in Las Vegas hotels in the 1960s and 70s, accompanying singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.

He has two sons from a previous marriage, Gary and Phillip and six grandchildren.