Héctor Facundo Vitale (born December 1, 1961,

Villa Adelina Villa Adelina is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is divided between the counties ('' partidos'') of San Isidro and Vicente López and forms part of the urban conurbation of Greater Buenos Aires. The town is named after Adelina ...

, Buenos Aires province), known as Lito Vitale, is an Argentine musician, composer and arranger.

Career

A talented

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

player, he was coached by his mother, renowned music teacher Esther Soto, since childhood. Together with fellow musicians from his neighbourhood he co-founded the MIA music

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

(MIA is the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

acronym of Independent Associated Musicians) when he was 13 years old. MIA became popular with progressive rock audiences in the late 1970s. The family atmosphere they projected and their suburban roots kept them aloof of the political turmoil of those times. Other than Vitale's, MIA launched many careers, including Lito's sister Liliana, singer Veronica Condomi (who would eventually marry Lito) and instrumentalists Juan del Barrio and Daniel Curto. Starting in 1980, Vitale launched a series of collaborations with several Argentine musicians. He performed and recorded with

Dino Saluzzi Timoteo "Dino" Saluzzi (born 20 May 1935) is an Argentinian bandoneon player. He is the son of Cayetano Saluzzi and the father of guitarist José Maria Saluzzi. Early life, family and education Timoteo "Dino" Saluzzi was born in Campo Santo, ...

and then with Bernardo Baraj ( sax) and

Lucho González Luis Óscar "Lucho" González (; born 19 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer, currently a manager. A versatile midfielder who was able to play in different positions but mainly in the centre, he was well known for his f ...

(

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

) in what became known as "the Trio". This formation adapted many classic

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

and folklore numbers, and became popular with college students, jazz audiences, and radio DJs. It was often compared to ECM acts such as the

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

quartet and the Keith Jarrett European quartet. In the 1990s, Vitale recorded several tango standards with

Juan Carlos Baglietto Juan Carlos Baglietto (; born June 14, 1956, in Rosario, Santa Fe) is an Argentine musician, singer and composer. He is one of the iconic figures of the musical movement called ''Trova Rosarina'', a famous generation of singers and composers ...

, and was awarded a Latin Grammy for their collaboration in 2000. Also during those years, Vitale recorded a more jazz-like project with Lucho González and flute player Rubén ''Mono'' Izarrualde. This formation performed in the 1998

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. Vitale has also composed soundtracks for several Argentine films. He was awarded the prestigious Argentine

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...

twice: as arranger in 1995, and as instrumentalist in 2005.

Partial discography

References

External links

*
Official site
* *
Biography at Rock.com.ar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitale, Lito 1961 births Living people Argentine musicians Latin Grammy Award winners