Havana, Cuba
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cojimar, Touzet learned
classical piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
from the age of four, and went on to study at the Falcón Conservatory in Havana. By 1934, then 18 years old, Touzet's classical training had to end due to his parents' financial hardships. However, as his
jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...
skills were, by then, clearly apparent, he accepted a job performing and playing in Luis Rivera's jazz band. Soon thereafter, he would become the leader of a 16-piece jazz orchestra, playing
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 ...
shows at the Grand Casino in Havana. He also began writing his own compositions; one of his most famous songs, "No Te Importe Saber" ('You don't care to know'), was recorded with lyrics (by
Mitchell Parish
Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.
Biography
Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...
) as "Let Me Love You Tonight" by
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
,
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
and
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
, among others.
Touzet also continued his musical education, undertaking additional studies with Prof. César Pérez Sentenat,
Joaquín Nin
Joaquín Nin y Castellanos (29 September 1879 – 24 October 1949) was a Cuban pianist and composer. Nin was the father of Anaïs Nin.
Biography
He was son of the Catalan writer Joaquim Nin Tudó and Àngela Castellanos Perdomo, a Cuban from C ...
, and Italian composer
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (3 April 1895 – 16 March 1968) was an Italian composer, pianist and writer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In ...
. He was also a student of composer Hal Overtone in New York City and
musicologist
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
Frank Cooper in Miami.
In 1944, aged 28, his Cuban nightclub was destroyed in a
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
, which led to Touzet relocating to the United States, where he joined a band led by
Enric Madriguera
Enric R. Madriguera (17 February 1902 – 7 September 1973) was a violinist of Catalan people, Catalan origin who was playing concerts as a child before he studied at the Barcelona Conservatory (the Castilian Spanish, Castilian form of his name is ...
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
, where he met
Desi Arnaz
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in whi ...
and played with his band for a time. He also worked as pianist, songwriter and arranger with
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat (; ; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was an American musician and bandleader who was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. Originally from Girona, Spain, he
spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba, before arriving i ...
and
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...
.
After forming his own jazz orchestra in the mid-1950s, he successfully recorded eleven albums with producer
Gene Norman
Gene Norman (born January 30, 1922) was a nightclub owner, music promoter, record label owner, radio disc jockey, and television host. He purchased the The Crescendo in 1954 in West Hollywood where he booked jazz artists including Ella Fitzgeral ...
on his GNP Crescendo label over a nine-year period between 1955–1964, and performed regularly at Norman's
Crescendo
In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending ...
nightclub. One of his best-known arrangements of this period, "El Loco Cha Cha", provided R&B singer Richard Berry with the basis, or "riff", for his classic pop song "
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a Standard (music), stand ...
". Touzet remained a popular bandleader through the 1960s, incorporating ''pachangas'' and other new rhythms into his compositions, without losing touch with the ''boleros'' and cha-cha rhythms that first brought him fame.
Later years and family
In 1972, then aged 58, Touzet retired from performing live music and relocated to Miami, Florida, devoting his remaining years to composing for the piano, mainly in a style blending
Cuban folk music
Cuban folk music includes a variety of traditional folk music of Cuba, and has been influenced by the Spanish and the African culture as well as the remaining indigenous population of the Caribbean.
Classification of genres
During the 1960s, a ...
and jazz with classical sounds. His published compositions for piano include ''Cuarenta Danzas'', ''Cuatro Caprichos'', ''Ginasteriana'', ''Fantasía Española'', ''Cinco Danzas Exóticas'', ''Vals Arabesco'', ''Tres Miniaturas'', and the ''Sonata Romántica''.
Touzet was married to Isabel González (b. 1917, d. 1991), with whom he had two daughters, Olivia and Nilda Touzet-González. He also had three other daughters, singer Olga María Touzet-Guillot (with singer
Olga Guillot
Olga Guillot (October 9, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was a Cuban singer who was known as the "Queen of Bolero". She was a native of Santiago de Cuba.
Biography
Daughter of Catalan-Jewish immigrants who moved to Cuba, her father was a tailor and her ...
), Lisa Bahadoor, and Bonita Calderón. He later married Mercy Remos.
Touzet was given several special honors and awards for his musical contributions. In 2001, the mayor of Miami declared September 9 as "René Touzet Day." He died of heart complications in 2003.
In 2018, Touzet was inducted into the Latin American Songwriters Hall of Fame and posthumously given the "La Musa" ('the muse') award, which was accepted by his daughter, Olga María, who also gave a stirring musical performance in her father's honor at the awards ceremony.
Selected discography
RCA Victor records
*''Dinner in Havana'' (LPM-1016, 1954)
GNP Crescendo records
*''The Cha Cha Cha and the Mambo'' lso released as ''The Charm of the Cha Cha Cha''(GNP-14, 1955)
*''From Broadway to Havana'' (GNP-22, 1957)
*''Cha Cha Cha for Lovers'' (GNP-29, 1957)
*''Mr. Cha Cha Cha'' (GNP-36, 1958)
*''René Touzet and His Orchestra Play for Dancing at the Crescendo on the World Famous Sunset Strip'' (GNP-40, 1959)
*''Touzet Too Much!'' (GNP-49, 1960)
*''The Timeless Ones a la Touzet'' (GNP-52, 1961)
*''La Pachanga'' (GNP-57, 1961)
*''Pachanga Differente!'' (GNP-61, 1961)
*''Greatest Latin Hits!'' (GNP-74, 1962) compilation
*''Touzet Goes to the Movies'' (GNP-81, 1962)
*''Bossa Nova! Brazil to Hollywood'' (GNP-87, 1963)
*''The Best of René Touzet and His Orchestra'' (GNPS-2000, 1964) compilation
SEECO records
*''Beso de Fuego'' (7212 A, 19??)
*''Hijo Mio'' (7212 B, 19??)
*''No Puedo Ser Feliz'' (7728, 19??)
*''Pensando en Ti'' (7172 A, 19??)
*''Pretender'' (7293 A, 19??)
*''Punal en el Alma'' (7728, 19??)
*''Noche Azul'' (7729, 19??)
*''No Te Importe Saber'' (7729, 19??)
*''Te Quiero'' (7172 B, 19??)
*''Yo Volvere'' (7293 B, 19??)