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 Defi ...

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 orches ...

, and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a 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, rhythm and blues or ...

. A native of Hato Mayor Province, he played professionally under the name Porfi Jiménez. 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 ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

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, abbreviated as 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 ...

, the capital city of Venezuela. He started to play with orchestras led by Rafael Minaya, Pedro José Belisario and

Chucho Sanoja Jesús ''Chucho'' Sanoja (September 23, 1926 – December 11, 1998), was a Venezuelan musician, pianist, composer, music director and arranger. Sanoja was survived by his grandson, Jesús Alfonso Sanoja Soulés, an audiovisual producer. In 1 ...

, 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 has ...

singers

Felipe Pirela Felipe Pirela (1941–1972) was a Venezuelan bolero singer. He was murdered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Discography Some of Pirela's albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or a ...

and

Blanca Rosa Gil Blanca Rosa Gil (born August 26, 1937 in Matanzas Perico, Cuba) is a famous Cuban Latin Bolero singer known as 'The Singing Dolly'. Singing career Blanca Rosa Gil's first album 'Shadows' was recorded in Venezuela in 1957. In the 1950s, 1960's an ...

. 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 Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

" label. He made several albums for them in the late 1960s and mid 1970s, and helped popularize the

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

rage. Jiménez enjoyed a huge success in the mid 1980s while recording for " Sonografica" label, with albums combining

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, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

, 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 in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n, Dominican and Venezuelan Hit Parade charts. Beside this, he conducted a 17-piece

Jazz orchestra 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 ...

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 an ...

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". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

Chico O'Farrill Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill (October 28, 1921 – June 27, 2001) was a Cuban composer, arranger, and conductor, best known for his work in the Latin idiom, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz or "Cubop", although he also composed traditional jazz pieces a ...

, among others. In January 2007 Jiménez was honored in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, for his long and storied career in Latin music. 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

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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Porfi 1928 births 2010 deaths Dominican Republic emigrants to Venezuela Dominican Republic musicians People from Caracas People from Hato Mayor Province Venezuelan bandleaders