photo courtesy of @stratosnolastname
photo courtesy of @adam.mooller
About
Ethan Chilton is an improvising trumpeter and composer based both in Los Angeles and Cologne, Germany.
While growing up in Merced, Ethan participated in Golden Valley High School's Cardinal Regime and Jazz Ensembles. His senior year, he was chosen to participate in the Jazz Band of America, an all-star high school ensemble, in Indianapolis. With Golden Valley, he also won the Best Trumpet Soloist Award at the international Reno Jazz Festival. Ethan credits his high-school band directors Greg Christiansen and Michael Vasquez for the path he is on today.
Ethan attended college on scholarship at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he studied jazz trumpet and composition with Bob Mintzer, Michael Stever, Vince Mendoza, Russ Ferrante, Alan Pasqua, and Aaron Serfaty. He also completed his Master's Degree there in 2022, where he was a recipient of a $10,000 Presser Foundation Grant. Now, he receives frequent mentorship from Dan Rosenboom, acclaimed LA studio player and avante-garde improvisor.
Ethan has participated in many selective national and international jazz programs, including Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center in 2023. He was also a finalist in the National Trumpet Competition in 2020 (but never competed in the finals due to COVID). He's performed professionally with well-known jazz musicians such as Remy LeBoeuf, John Beasley, Louis Cole, Terri Lyne Carrington, and many more.
Ethan works as a busy freelance musician in Los Angeles, playing jazz gigs, weddings, brass band gigs, recording sessions, salsa gigs, and everything in between. From August 2023 until November of 2024, he also worked full-time as lead of tonebase trumpet, an online educational platform featuring courses from the world's greatest trumpeters. He still leads live streams and coaching sessions on occasion.
To date, Ethan has released one full-length jazz/classical album, The Planets, in 2021, and two self-produced EPs: Storytime in 2022 and Do What You Love in 2024. As a composer, Ethan’s newest work is titled Progress, a one-hour critique of technological progress for chamber ensemble, prepared guitar, and two vocalists, which premiered at Fried Music in Alhambra in February 2025.
Ethan is currently studying with Ryan Carniaux at Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, Germany.
