Adolfo Guzmán
| Adolfo Guzmán | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Adolfo José Guzmán González |
| Born |
May 13, 1920 La Habana, Cuba |
| Died | July 30, 1976 (aged 56) La Habana, Cuba |
| Genres | Canción, filin, big band, jazz, tango, waltz, marches |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, conductor, arranger, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1937–1976 |
| Labels | Panart, EGREM |
| Associated acts | Orquesta Riverside, Esther Borja, Los Modernistas |
Adolfo Guzmán (May 13, 1920 – July 30, 1976) was a Cuban pianist, music director, arranger and composer. During his 40-year-long career he directed several important Cuban ensembles, including Orquesta Riverside and Los Modernistas, as well as prominent radio and cabaret orchestras.
Born in Santos Suárez, Havana on May 13, 1920 to María González and Eladio Guzmán (their eighth child), Adolfo José Guzmán González learned piano at a young age; he made his first composition, "Marina", a waltz, at age 14. He was 18 when he wrote his first notable composition, "Recuerdos del ayer", also a waltz. He studied piano with Alberto Falcón, and harmony, instrumentation and composition with Bernardo Moncada. After finishing his studies in January 1936, he joined singer Floro Acosta forming the Dúo Ideal; they played together for a few months until Acosta moved to Venezuela He also played with the Hermanos Justiniani. His early career was linked to tango, a genre which he would cultivate for a few years. In 1938, he became the pianist for Los románticos gauchos, which featured Peruvian-born singer Ricardo Dantés, who Guzmán accompanied at the CMW Cadena Roja radio station. Around this time he started writing many of his most famous compositions such as "Recuerdos del ayer", "Melancolía" and "Luna del Congo". He devoted much of his time to the musicalization of poems.
After touring Cuba in 1939, Guzmán joined RHC-Cadena Azul in 1941 as the pianist for Argentine tango singer Alberto Gómez. In 1943 he became the musical director for Radio Mil Diez, where he met important music directors such as Antonio Arcaño and Enrique González Mántici, who where notable influences. He conducted a tango orchestra with which he toured extensively, and in 1944 he accompanied Gómez on a tour around the Dominican Republic (he would tour the country again in 1948). That year he also toured with Libertad Lamarque. Between 1943 and 1946 he directed orchestras at the Zombie Club, Cabaret Montmatre, Habana Casino, Teatro América, Teatro Fausto, Teatro Nacional and Teatro Campoamor. He was the first music director of the Teatro Warner Radiocentro, founded on December 23, 1947.
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