Juan José Mosalini

A key figure in the development of modern tango music, Argentine bandoneonist Juan José Mosalini was born in José C. Paz, Buenos Aires, on November 29, 1943. One of his earliest musical influences was his grandfather, who played bandoneon and instilled a love of tango in him from a very young age. After picking up the instrument at the age of 8, he began performing professionally in his teenage years, playing alongside Astor Piazzolla, Osvaldo Rivero, Susana Rinaldi, and Horacio Salgán. During this time, Juan José Mosalini also formed the avant-garde tango ensemble Quinteto Guardia Nueva with fellow bandoneonist Daniel Binelli. In 1977, he left the country amidst a climate of political unrest after a military coup seized control of the government. Choosing Paris as his new base of operations, he participated in the recording of the trailblazing album Tango Rojo (1978) as part of the music collective Tiempo Argentino. Don Bandoneón, his studio debut, appeared in 1979. In the following years, Juan José Mosalini created the tango quartet Canyengues with Gustavo Beytelmann and Patrice Caratini, and also wrote the score for the 1985 films Double Face and Le Quatrième Pouvoir. Besides collaborating extensively with artists from other genres such as folk and jazz, he founded the first bandoneon course at Gennevilliers' Conservatory of Music, where he taught between 1989 and 2018. The tango legend passed away in the town of Taverny on May 27, 2022.

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