José Francisco Razzano (1887–1960) was an

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an singer and composer. He joined singer

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...

on a duo until 1925 when Razzano left due to vocal cord problems. Since then, Razzano became Gardel's manager until 1933.

Biography

José Francisco Razzano born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...

, near

Plaza Independencia Plaza Independencia () is the most important city square in Montevideo, Uruguay, laid out in the 19th century in the area occupied by the Citadel of Montevideo. In its center is a monument to General José Gervasio Artigas, and below it, his m ...

, on February 25, 1887. When his father died two years later, his mother moved to

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

, establishing in Balvanera district. In 1903, he performed in the National Drama Company led by Adriana Cornaro as a singer. He also performed on ''Justicia Humana'' by Agustín Fontanella impersonating "Juancho" and singing

payada The ''payada'' is a folk music tradition native to Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brasil, and south Paraguay as part of the ''Gaucho'' culture and literature. In Chile it is called ''paya'' and performed by ''huasos''. It is a performance of impr ...

with Damián Méndez in ''Calandria'' written by Martiniano Leguizamón. He also formed part of gaucho centre ''Los Pampeanos''. Razzano's prominent fame resulted in the signing of his first contract with Argentine filial of

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...

in 1912. Razzano recorded 10 songs. ''La China Fiera'' (singing in a duo with Francisco Martino) was the first of them. A couple of years later, Razzano signed a new contract with local label "Era". He then joined other artists such as Francisco Martino,

and Raúl Salinas. The Razzano-Gardel duo signed a contract with

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

entrepreneur

Max Glücksmann Max Glücksmann, born (Mordechai David Glücksmann) (Czernowitz, Bukovina, Austrian Empire, March 8, 1875 - October 20, 1946, Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Argentine pioneer of the music and film industries. Biography Glücksmann was born in Cze ...

. At the beginning of their collaboration, both artists signed as authors of all the compositions, although some versions refuted this statement, because there were not authors societies that could confirm that. The popularity of the Gardel-Razzano duo was in crescendo, touring on Uruguay, Brazil, Chile and Spain until 1925 when Razzano left his singing career due to throat problems. In October, Gardel designated Razzano as administrator of his properties."José Razzano 'El Oriental'"
''El Litoral'', 7 Sep 2013

References

External links

on TodoTango.com 1887 births 1960 deaths Uruguayan composers Male composers 20th-century male musicians {{Uruguay-composer-stub