Porfi Jiménez
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Porfirio Antonio Jiménez Núñez (February 16, 1928 – June 8, 2010) was a Dominican
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...
,
arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...
, and
bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...
. A native of
Hato Mayor Province Hato Mayor (, ''greater cattle-raising district'') is a Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province of the Dominican Republic. The province was split from El Seibo in 1984. Municipalities and municipal districts The province as of June 20, 2 ...
, he played professionally under the name Porfi Jiménez.


Background

Jiménez' father died when he was three years old, and his mother gave him a
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
when he turned eight. He began playing the instrument at school in 1940, turning himself into a professional musician two years later. Jiménez was 26 years old when he arrived in
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
, the capital city of Venezuela. He started to play with orchestras led by Rafael Minaya, Pedro José Belisario and Chucho Sanoja, as well as for the Billo's Caracas Boys. In the early 1960s, he became noted for his arrangements for
bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...
singers Felipe Pirela and Blanca Rosa Gil. He started his own Latin music dance band in 1963. With lead vocalists Kiko Mendive and Chico Salas, Jimenez' orchestra made its recording debut on the "
Velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...
" label. He made several albums for them in the late 1960s and mid 1970s, and helped popularize the salsa rage.


Career

Jiménez and his ensemble recorded their version of "
Pata Pata "Pata Pata" is an Afro-pop dance song popularized internationally by South African singer Miriam Makeba. "Pata Pata" is credited to Makeba and Jerry Ragovoy. Her most popular recording of "Pata Pata" was recorded and released in the United State ...
" which made it info the ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' Miami Hit Single Parade in April 1968. Jiménez enjoyed a huge success in the mid 1980s while recording for " Sonografica" label, with albums combining salsa,
cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...
, and his native Dominican merengue. Some of his most popular songs include ''La negra Celina'', ''Se hunde el barco'', ''Dolores'' and ''Culu Cucú'', which reached number one on the
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
n, Dominican and Venezuelan Hit Parade charts. Beside this, he conducted a 17-piece Jazz orchestra to promote the
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
tradition by featuring his own repertoire and selected works of
Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...
, Chico O'Farrill, among others.


Later years

In January 2007 Jiménez was honored in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
by the United Nations Orchestra, created by
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
, for his long and storied career in Latin music.


Death

Jiménez died in Caracas at the age of 82 on June 8, 2010.El-Nacional.com – Obituary


Discography

Esto es ritmo 1964 • Porfi y Su Conjunto Ritmico Únicamente tú 1964 • Felipe Pirela & Porfi Jiménez y Su Orquesta A bailar con Porfi 1966 Ron con coco 1966 Pata-pata con ¡Porfi! 1967 Y el negro ahi! 1967 Orquesta Porfi Jiménez: Canta Felipe Pirela 1967 • Felipe Pirela & Porfi Jiménez y Su Orquesta Casatshok Latin Soul 1968 Por fin Porfi 1968 Rate La machaca 1972 Así soy yo 1973 El rico sabor de Porfi Jiménez y Su Orquesta 1974 Cortando cabezas 1977 20 Años 1985 Porfi '85 1985 Bula bula 1988 Ululukukulala 1989 Parrandeando con la trigueña hermosa! 1990 • Porfi Jimenez y Su Orquesta Parrandeando Como siempre 1992 Porfi Jiménez – Saludos a Puerto Rico 1997


Sources

 * In
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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Porfi 1928 births 2010 deaths Dominican Republic emigrants to Venezuela 20th-century Dominican Republic musicians Musicians from Caracas People from Hato Mayor Province Venezuelan bandleaders