Caceres, Ernie (actually, Ernesto)

Caceres, Ernie (actually, Ernesto), jazz clarinetist, saxophonist; b. Rockport, Tex., Nov. 22, 1911; d. San Antonio, Tex., Jan. 10, 1971. He was the brother of Emilio (violin) and Pinero (trumpet and piano), who died in 1960. He played clarinet from an early age; also studied guitar and saxophone. He worked with local bands from 1928, then worked with family trio. After a long spell with brother Emilio’s small band including residencies in Detroit and N.Y., he joined Bobby Hackett in summer 1938 and played tenor sax in Jack Teagar-den’s Band from February 1939. In the early 1940s, he played with various bands, including Glenn Miller (Feb. 1940–summer 1942), Benny Goodman (Oct.-mid–1944; except for Dec. 1943, when he was with Tommy Dorsey), and Woody Herman (mid-1944–45). From mid-1945^16, he played in a U.S. Army service band. After the war, he worked in the N.Y. area, taking part in many recordings with Eddie Condon alumni during the 1940s and 1950s. He had regular TV work with Garry Moore Orch. from 1950 until 1956. He also led his own small groups, did freelance session work, recordings, etc., during this period. During the early 1960s worked regularly with Billy Butterfield (with whom he had worked previously in 1947). Around 1963, he settled in San Antonio, Tex., where he continued to work with local bands. Caceres died of throat cancer.

Discography

Emilio Caceres: No More Blues (1937); Ernie and Emilio Caceres (1969). Bobby Hackett, Eddie Condon: Jam Session (1948). Metronome All Stars: Victory Ball (1949).

—John Chilton, Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter