Enrique Villegas
Enrique "Mono" Villegas was an Argentine jazz pianist and composer.
Life and career
Born in Buenos Aires into an aristocratic family, Villegas studied piano under the guidance of the composer Alberto Williams. Trained in classical music, he soon abandoned this genre to embrace jazz. He held his first concert at the Teatro Odeón at 19 years old, and performed his first composition, Jazzeta, in 1941. After forming some ensambles and collaborating to several recordings, he recorded the first album under his name in 1952.In the mid-1950s he was put under contract by Columbia Records and moved to New York City; after two albums he decided to terminate the contract due to artistic disagreements with the label. He then toured extensively in Europe, United States and Latin America for eight years, before coming back in Buenos Aires where he formed two trio ensambles, first with Jorge López Ruiz and Eduardo Casalla, and then with Alfredo Remus and Néstor Astarita, and recorded several albums.
The first jazz pianist to perform at famed Teatro Colón, he died from complications due to a hip broken in a car accident.