Hugo Fattoruso

Hugo Fattoruso, a composer and arranger, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, has had a profound effect on music that has touched upon shores far and wide. Endeavors such as Los Shakers, Opa, Grupo Del Cuareim, Los Pusilanimes, Trio Fattoruso, and his solo works, are endeared by those fortunate to know of his talent. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, began his musical career as a prodigious and somewhat reluctant piano student at the age of four. By the time he was nine his father Antonio formed "El Trio Fattoruso" by drafting Hugo's younger brother Jorge on drums, with Hugo on accordion and Antonio on "inverted bucket bass" (using a broom as the neck, and a cord as the instrument's single string). This trio performed in street festivals, covering the variety of styles used in Uruguay's carnivals (boleros, murgas, tangos, etc.) and giving Hugo an education in the rich harmonic stuff of disparate musical styles. At the age of 16 Hugo moved to the upright bass and began his tenure as the under-aged member of The Hot Blowers, a swing band that toured throughout Latin America in the late 1950s. This period could be seen as a second important milestone in Hugo's harmonic education, hammering home the concepts of improvisation and musical interplay. By the early 1960s, rock 'n' roll began to shake the world's foundation, and Hugo set out to express himself in that medium by forming Los Shakers, where he and his brother shared song writing, singing and guitar responsibilities. Los Shakers, Hugo Fattoruso (guitar, voice), Jorge Osvaldo Fattoruso (guitar, voice), Roberto "Pelin" Capobianco (bass, voice), Carlos "Caio" Vila (drums, voice), were a huge success throughout Latin America, as they were able to mold the complexities of bossa's harmonies, Uruguay's urban song style, candombe rhythms and the backbeat of rock into a new and contagious form. By the late 1960s the influence of jazz, and of the Afro-Uruguayan rhythm of candombe, took Hugo to New York City, where he formed the group Opa. In Opa Hugo played keyboards and sang, while his brother played drums, and childhood friend Ringo Thielmann played bass. Opa's mixture of jazz, rock, Brazilian harmonies and rhythms, and Uruguay's African-flavored music (candombe) gave this band a distinctive voice, and garnered them recognition among musicians in the then growing "Latin jazz" scene. From that point on Hugo travelled the U.S. and worked with a variety of artists, ranging from Hermeto Pascoal to Ron Carter to The Dixie Dregs. Hugo spent several years living in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked with several prominent Brazilian artists including Milton Nascimento, Chico Buarque de Holanda, Djavan, Geraldo Azevedo, Nana Vasconcelos and Toninho Horta.