Atilio Stampone

Atilio Stampone (born July 1, 1926) is an Argentine pianist, composer and arranger prominent in the Tango genre.

He was born to Romana Zangone, from Calabria, and Antonio Stampone, a pasta maker from Napoli, in the middle-class San Cristóbal section of Buenos Aires. His older brother, Giuseppe, was by then, at age 14, a bandoneónist in an orquesta típica, and when the young Atilio underwent surgery for an acute appendicitis at age 10, Giuseppe bought his convalescing younger brother a piano. Shortly afterwards, Atilio Stampone joined his elder brother's tango ensemble.

Stampone joined bandleader Roberto Dimas in his Café Marzotto orchestra, a popular Corrientes Avenue act, in 1941, and Pedro Maffia's Tibidabo cabaret orchestra in 1942; impressed with his ability, Maffia personally sought permission for the young pianist's appearance in the risqué setting from his father, who agreed on condition that "you, Pedrito, personally see him to the tram for home as soon the show is over. Atilio is a good kid, and I don't want him living in a cabaret;" with that agreement, he divided his time between the orchestra and his studies at the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, a prestigious public college preparatory school. He later worked with Roberto Rufino and Alberto Cámara, and in 1945, met bandoneónist and avant-garde composer Ástor Piazzolla.

He joined Piazzolla in 1946, and following the group's dissolution in 1948, Stampone became a pupil of Vincenzo Scaramuzza, who helped perfect his technical skill as a pianist. Bandleader Mariano Mores hired Stampone as a soloist in two, 1949 musical comedy productions, El otro yo de Marcela and Bésame Petronita, and following these shows, he joined bandleader Juan Carlos Cobián.

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