| Intro | American jazz musician and trumpet player |
| Was | Jazz musician |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Music |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 29 January 1921 |
| Death |
31 December 2001, New York City (aged 80 years) |
Alexander “Alec” Fila (January 29, 1921 – December 31, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter, and a renowned trumpet player in the Big Band era.
Early life and education
Fila was born on January 29, 1921 in Passic, New Jersey.
While attending the high school, he won a four-year Guggenheim scholarship to study at The Juilliard School, New York, under New York Philharmonic trumpeter Max Schlossberg.
Career
Fila got an early start in music. In 1939, while still at The Juilliard School, he was recruited as lead trumpet player by Jack Teagarden when the band was rehearsing at the school. Shortly after, the band hired Fila as full-time trumpeter.
Throughout his career, he played as “lead trumpeter” in various well-known orchestras including Jack Teagarden, Bob Chester, Benny Goodman, Will Bradley, Glenn Miller, Ray McKinley, and Elliot Lawrence.
Wilbur Schwartz, a colleague with the Glenn Miller Band in 1941 and 1942, said of Fila:
the most inspiring musician the band ever had. When he played the opening of ‘A String of Pearls,’ it would scare the hell out of everybody.
Personal life
Fila married his first wife Dolores O’Neill, in 1940. At the moment, Fila was a member of the Philadelphia-based Bob Chester band. The couple had five children: Gregory, John, Christina, Alexa, and Patricia. Later, in 195, he married his second wife, Joan.
Death
Fila dies on December 31, 2001, in Nw York, NY. He was survived by his second wife Joan Fila, five children, ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.