Juan Pablo Jofre (also known as J.P. Jofre) (born 1983) is an Argentinian musician, composer, and arranger. He plays the

bandoneon The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held be ...

Life

J.P. Jofre was raised in San Juan, Argentina. He attended San Juan's Escuela de Música. He primarily was a drummer, and also studied the

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

, bassoon, piano, singing and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

. He played in a heavy metal band. When he was seventeen, his uncle played a record for him by

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

and Jofre fell in love with the sound and style of the

. In 2002 or 2003, he relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

with his mother and brother. His brother, who is

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

, struggled to find decent education in Argentina, but succeeded in finding it in New York, hence the relocation. He lives and works in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

in New York City.

Career

Upon learning the bandoneon, he was overwhelmed by how complex the instrument was. He used a piano to figure out the keys played by the bandoneon buttons, and read books. He eventually took lessons from Daniel Binelli. Jofre also started studying in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He would take the bus for sixteen hours, twice a month, to take classes from Julio Pane. Jofre also composes his own music and has been called a "creative composer" by Paquito D'Rivera. His compositions range in genre and sound including jazz and pieces for string orchestras. In March, 2014, he debuted his Bandoneon Concerto with the Symphony Silicon Valley in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. He has performed on ''

Rosie Live ''Rosie Live'' is a variety show starring Rosie O'Donnell that aired November 26, 2008 live from New York's Little Shubert Theatre on NBC. It contained singing, dancing, comedy routines and specialty acts. However, poor critical response and ratin ...

''. In July 2017, he performed in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in the

Mill City Summer Opera Mill City Summer Opera is a non-profit performing arts organization that produces live opera in Minneapolis. It produces one opera per year, most of which have been staged in the non-traditional venue of the Ruins Courtyard of the Mill City Museum ...

production of

Ástor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...

's "tango operita" ''María de Buenos Aires''.

''Hard Tango''

His debut album, ''Hard Tango,'' was released in 2012. The album includes original compositions by Jofre, and is described as "classical-tango hybrid," by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. The album also features works by Astor Piazzolla,

Fernando Otero Fernando Otero (born 1 May 1972) is a Grammy-award-winning Argentine pianist, vocalist, and composer. His first contact with music was receiving vocal lessons from his mother Elsa Marval, an internationally acclaimed singer and actress. He start ...

Leo Brouwer Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) is a Cuban composer, conductor, and classical guitarist. He is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council. Family He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona y Casado. ...

, and ''

I Am the Walrus "I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film ''Magical Mystery Tour''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single "Hello, Goodbye" a ...

'' by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Discography

*''Hard Tango'', 2012, Round Star *''Be Like Water'', *''Manifesto'',

References

External links

"El bandoneón, mucho más que un instrumento para el argentino Juan Pablo Jofre"

"From Solemn To Sizzling With JP Jofre and the Hard Tango Chamber Band""J.P. Jofre"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jofre, Juan Pablo 1983 births Living people People from San Juan, Argentina Argentine tango musicians People from Harlem