José Hipólito Basso (30 January 1919 – 14 August 1993) was an Argentine

orchestra conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties o ...

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 ...

, and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Professional career

Born in

Pergamino Pergamino () is an Argentine city in the Buenos Aires Province, Province of Buenos Aires. It has a population of about 104,985 inhabitants as per the and is the administrative seat of its county, Pergamino Partido. Its UN/LOCODE is ARPGO. Histor ...

, Buenos Aires, he began his career in the orchestra of Emilio and José de Caro in 1936. Then, in 1937, he joined Francisco Grillo's group as a pianist. In 1938, he formed the musical group Gallardo, Ayala, Basso, and later played in the orchestras of Antonio Bonavena and

Anselmo Aieta Anselmo Alfredo Aieta (November 5, 1896 – September 25, 1964) was an Argentine bandoneon musician, composer and occasional actor. Professional career He joined Francisco Canaro's orchestra in 1919 and left it in 1923. Around that time, h ...

. In 1943, he joined

Aníbal Troilo Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician. Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular wit ...

's orchestra and was Pichuco's pianist until 1947, the year he began his career with his own orchestra. His first singers were the duo Ortega del Cerro and Ricardo Ruiz. In 1949, the singer Francisco Fiorentino joined, replacing Ortega del Cerro. That same year, he recorded for Odeon the songs ''Claveles blancos'', sung by Ricardo Ruiz, and ''El bulín de la calle Ayacucho'', with Fiorentino on vocals. Shortly afterward, Fiorentino and Ricardo Ruiz left the orchestra—the former to sing with Alberto Mancione's orchestra and Ruiz to join Ángel D'Agostino's. To replace them, he hired Jorge Durán and Oscar Ferrari. Also part of his orchestra were the singers

Rodolfo Galé Juan Dionisio Tobares Galletti, better known by his stage name Rodolfo Galé (26 December 1928 – 25 October 1972) was an Argentine tango singer. He stood out for his baritone-range voice, with a deep and powerful tone. Much of his career took p ...

Alfredo Belusi Alfredo Belusi (born Alfredo Belluschi, Los Quirquinchos, Santa Fe, 10 January 1925 - Buenos Aires, 1 January 2001) was an Argentine tango musician. His works at José Basso's and Osvaldo Pugliese's Orchestras were notable, including songs 'Bro ...

Héctor De Rosas Héctor De Rosas (2 October 1931 – 26 July 2015), whose real name was Héctor Ángel González Padilla, was an Argentine singer dedicated to the tango genre with a long career in his country. Early years His father, named Manuel, was a Spani ...

, Juan Carlos Godoy, Aníbal Jaulé, Eduardo Borda, Alicia Randal, and many more. In 1967, he went on a highly successful tour of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, returning in 1970 with singers

, Alicia Randal, and Carlos Rossi. In the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, he made appearances on Argentine television. In 1985, he received the

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 p ...

– Diploma of Merit in the category of Best

Orquesta Típica Orquesta típica, or simply a típica, is a Latin American term for a band which plays popular music. The details vary from country to country. The term tends to be used for groups of medium size (about 8 to 12 musicians) in some well-defined in ...

Conductor.

As a composer

Pepe Basso was the composer of the instrumental pieces ''Once y uno'', ''Pecachi'', ''Brazo de oro'', ''De diez siete'', and ''El pulga''; the waltzes ''Celeste lluvia'' and ''Nuestro vals''; and the milonga ''La camalela''. His interpretations of

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 fr ...

's tangos—'' Adiós Nonino'', ''Contratiempo'', ''Para lucirse'', and ''Prepárense''—are well remembered. He also composed ''Milonga para los orientales'' with

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basso, José 1919 births 1993 deaths Argentine conductors (music) Argentine tango musicians Argentine pianists Argentine composers