Juan Tizol was born in Puerto Rico in 1900. He came to the United States in 1920 with a South American orchestra. He joined Ellington in 1929 and stayed with him for the most part through 1961 (though he did have a few short periods with the Harry James orchestra Ellington was attracted to Tizol's use of the valve trombone, which enabled him to handle more intervals more easily than a slide. Tizol was never much of a soloist, but he was an excellent section man. He was also a gifted composer who penned such classics as "Caravan" and "Perdido." He also worked closely with Ellington on editing scores.