Biography
Born in Salem, Massachusetts, trumpet player and composer Jim Centorino first immersed himself in music through drum and bugle corps, which he entered during high school. He later marched in the Boston Crusaders and Rhode Island Matadors units and eventually received induction into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame. While enrolled at Boston College he served as featured soloist and band president, yet pursued a geology degree rather than one in music. He subsequently completed a master’s degree in geophysics and took additional coursework in composition and trumpet at the Boston Conservatory of Music. Centorino performed the national anthem at major-league sporting events in Boston and continued the tradition in Los Angeles once he moved there. His debut recording appeared in 1991 alongside pianist and fellow composer Carol Cole; the resulting contemporary-instrumental project Footsteps in the Sand became the top seller on the modest World Disc imprint. Centorino’s first full solo release, the 1993 album Ivory: A Celebration of Wildlife, comprised works designed to conjure images of various endangered species, with a portion of its proceeds directed to wildlife organizations. He followed with the 1997 holiday collection It’s Christmas Everywhere. After World Disc declared bankruptcy two years later, Centorino secured ownership of his earlier recordings and reissued them through his own Centorino Productions label. In 2002 he released the new album Portraits of America, whose compositions again painted sonic pictures of the American landscape.
Albums
