Ernie Caceres

The brother of norteño violinist Emilio and trumpet and piano player Pinero, Ernie Caceres found his musical voice through jazz. In addition to long stints as a member of bands led by Bobby Hackett, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, and Eddie Condon, he recorded with Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Ruth Brown, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Hot Lips Page, Frank Sinatra, and Muggsy Spanier. A native of Rockport, TX, Caceres began his career in 1928 with a series of Texas bands. Together with his brother Emilio, he relocated to Detroit and then to New York, where they worked as session musicians. Joining Bobby Hackett's band during the summer of 1938, Caceres went on to be one of New York's in-demand sidemen. He played tenor saxophone in Jack Teagarden's band in 1939 and then accepted an invitation to join Glenn Miller's orchestra. During the two years that he remained with the group, he recorded prolifically and appeared in the film Sun Valley Serenade. Except for a brief period in 1945 when he served in the United States Army, Caceres continued to record with a lengthy list of jazz musicians. Forming his own quartet in 1949, he performed regularly at the Hickory Log in New York and made many television appearances with the Gary Moore Orchestra. After performing with the Billy Butterfield Band during the early '60s, Caceres returned to Texas in 1964. Four years later, he re-formed his group with Emilio and began performing every weekend at San Antonio nightspot the Landing. He continued to perform until succumbing to throat cancer in the early '70s. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi