Texas native Bill Caballero has been playing trumpet since sixth grade -- when his father refused to give him permission to play trombone and insisted he play trumpet as his grandfather had.

Caballero joined an R&B band when he was in eighth grade and played in it through the 10th grade, when “it was kind of cool playing in nightclubs at the age of 14.” After high school, he auditioned for and was accepted by the Army-Navy-Marine School of Music in Norfolk Va. Caballero then attended the Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle, where he fell in love with jazz.

He formed a couple of bands in Texas, but in 1989, because Latin jazz was “pretty foreign” there, he headed for San Francisco. He stopped in San Diego on the way, but an earthquake shook the Bay Area, so he stayed here.

Since then, Caballero has taught in the local school system as brass coach, assistant band director, and band director. He has performed in musicals, including “Songs of Singapore,” “Five Guys Named Moe,” “A Tribute to Harry Warren,” “Dream Girls,” and “A Chorus Line.”  

The trumpet player, who has recorded three cd’s, has played with various local bands and started his Mambo Orchestra, The Caballero-Verde Quintet, and most recently, the Quinteto Caballero.

Orquesta Bi-Nacional de Mambo is an 18-piece band dedicated to performing and promoting Latin big band music from the 1950's to the present.  The band's dazzling performances celebrate a wide range of musical styles including mambo, bolero, cha cha cha, salsa, and other forms of Latin Jazz.  Led by versatile trumpeter Bill Caballero, this group features some of the best cross-cultural musicians from the San Diego-Tijuana border region.  The band's sizzling live shows have gained them a devoted following and reputation for passion and authenticity.  Since its inception in 2000, the band has performed for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the San Diego Latino Film Festival, the San Diego Museum of Art, the California Center for the Performing Arts in Escondido, the Adams Avenue Street Fair, the Centro Cultural de Tijuana, Tijuana's Casa de la Cultura, Dizzy's, and the KSDS Jazz Live radio program.