Anibal Troilo born 11 July 1914

 

Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (July 11, 1914 – May 18, 1975 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine bandoneon player, composer, arranger and bandleader. He was nicknamed Pichuco and often known by that name. He played the bandoneón with such feeling that he became revered as the most expressive player of the instrument.

When he was ten years old, his mother bought him his first bandoneon which Troilo would use almost his entire career. His uncle and the radio provided him the only music lessons he had and “Pichuco” learned them very fast. At the age of 14 he formed a quintet; at 16 he was part of the renowned sextet of violinist Elvino Vardaro with Osvaldo Pugliese at the piano

Later he would play with some of the greats, Juan Maglio “Pacho”, Juan D’arenzo and Angel D’agostino…toward the end of his life, he would recall 1937 with nostalgia; that was the year that he put together his own orchestra and the year that, in a night club, he met a shy hat girl, Ida Calachi whom he would marry and who would become his beloved partner for the rest of his life.

The following year he made his first recording “Come Il Faut” by Eduardo Arolas but Troilo, a master of pauses, was also an accomplished composer of some immortal hits like  ”Toda Mi Vida”, “Barrio de Tango”, “Garua”, “Sur”, “Romance del Barrio”,“La Ultima Curda”, “Mari." At the age of 18 he appeared in his first film “Los Tres Berretines.” Others included the celebrated “Radio Bar” which premiered  in 1936 when he was part of the Elvino Vardaro orchestra. he had an acting roll in the movie “El Tango Vuelve A Paris” which premiered in 1948.

In Argentina his orquesta típica was among the most popular with social dancers during the golden age of tango (1940-1955), but he changed to a concert sound by the late 1950s. Troilo's orchestra is best known for its instrumentals and also recorded with many vocalists, such as Francisco Fiorentino, Alberto Marino, Floreal Ruiz, Roberto Goyeneche, Raul Beron, and Edmundo Rivero.

The rhythmic instrumentals and the recordings with vocalist Francisco Fiorentino from 1940-41 are the favourite recordings for social dancing in contemporary tango salons (milongas). The renowned bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla played in and arranged for his orquesta típica during the period 1939-1944.

 

                      Here's "A Mis Viejos" from above album. 

During the 1950s Troilo also helped lay the groundwork for the emergence of the "nuevo tango" sound popularized by Piazzola, and he recorded regularly for labels including Odeon, T.K and Victor until his death. He recorded a massive 485 sides!

"Quejas de bandoneon" was his signature piece. He always claimed that he would die playing it. On May 18, 1975, after finishing it in a Copes Show, he walked off-stage and collapsed, never to recover. He died of cerebral haemorrhage and cardiac arrest at the Hospital Italiano with Ida, his wife, at his side. (Info edited from various sources mainly Wikipedia)