Enrique Villegas

The playing of Argentinian pianist Enrique Villegas was unique, exciting and continuously interesting, with a special character of its own founded on his classical training and jazz inclinations.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1913, and after classical studies which led to concert appearances, he began his professional career in 1930 in the band of Eduardo Armani playing at the Alvear Palace and by 1935 was on radio broadcasts called El Mundo. By 1941 he was well into jazz and did a series of jazz oriented performances in several venues in Buenos Aires as the Casino and the Bop Club

Villegas moved to the United States in 1955, when he was already well-known in his country, with the intention of establishing himself in North America as a Jazz pianist. His nightclub debut at the Cafe Bohemia was an instant success, and his performances were acclaimed by both critics and public. His career was already on its way, but two years after his arrival in New York, he drastically decided, due to artistic discrepancies with his record label, to return to Buenos Aires.

Upon his return to Argentina, he recorded "Al Gran Pueblo Argentino, Pianos!" which was recorded live from a concert at the Teatro Astral en 1964, with bassist Jorge López Ruiz, and drummer Eduardo Casalla. He was quite active and recorded prolifically from then into the late '70's . Some are 1967's "Tributo A Monk," on the Trova label, "Ara Tokatlian meets Enrique Villegas," from '75, and "Tributo A Jerome Kern," in 1977.

The set “Complete New York Sessions, 1955-1957”(Fresh Sounds) contains the two historic trio albums Villegas recorded during his stint in New York City, where he is accompanied by Milt Hinton on bass, and Cozy Cole on drums.

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