Active until the end of his days, this morning Tino Contreras died at the age of 97, leaving behind a legacy of more than 50 records. A pioneer of jazz in Mexico, the musician born in Chihuahua on April 4, 1924, died of a heart attack accompanied by his family, Millennium reported.
Through social media, his partner Monna Conti reported “Family and friends: I am deeply saddened to inform you that today, September 9, at 00:30, the heart of our beloved teacher Tino Contreras stopped. Thanks for your understanding “.
Who was Tino Contreras?
An indefatigable musician who started playing as a child in his father’s orchestra, Tino did not think about tomorrow. Not even the pandemic managed to curb his desire to continue making music. Just yesterday on Facebook he declared. “Calm will come despite so much calamity. The opportunity to keep working is vital and be grateful to be present safe and sound.”
He first played drums as an eight-year-old boy with professional musicians playing dances in villages around Chihuahua, at the age of 17 in the early forties they formed the Orchestra “The Cadets of the Swing” with his older brother Efrén, who was the director and dominated the tenor and alto saxophones, playing for dances in the elegant halls of the city.
Two years later he became independent and moved to Ciudad Juárez, forming his first Orchestra as headline, “L’Orquestra de la Joventut”, introducing it to the programming of the thriving Radio Station “XEJ”, gaining popularity by presenting- in the best Nightclubs, dance halls and various programs on La Ràdio.
He first arrived in Mexico City in 1946, where he began his activities participating in the Caravans of Paco Miller who toured the country accompanying stars such as Pedro Infant, Tin Tan, Maria Victoria and others. In 1949 he joined the Luis Arcaraz Orchestra, with whom he made his first international tour in cities in South America and the Caribbean.
In 1954 he participated in the album Jazz in Mexico, considered the first recording of the genre in Mexico, and three years later decided to leave his work in orchestras to dedicate to his own groups and pursue a career that went take by the scenes of Mexico and several countries of the world. For posterity he recorded albums such as: Jazz a Ríguz, Flamenco jazz, Jazz ballet, Mass in jazz, Yúmare, Jazz Bicentennial and Palau de Belles Arts Live 1971.
With numerous concerts in Mexico and abroad, radio and television performances and some film appearances, Tino left a deep mark on jazz with a vigorous style ranging from traditional style to fusions with ancestral music, flamenco, mariachi. and other influences.
A musician who never thought about retiring, he gladly enjoyed the reissue of his album Fifth Sun by the British label Brownswood, where he later released The Night of the Gods. Such was the success of these records that he was invited to the London Line Festival, which he was unable to attend in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But the pandemic did not stop him and in April this year he celebrated his 97th birthday with an online concert as part of this festival, which was broadcast from the Frida Kahlo Museum.
There were many talks with the teacher, with the musician, with my friend Tino, always sprinkled with anecdotes and good humor. What have been your biggest accomplishments ?, I once asked. “Let me be on the planet for another 50 years to tell you! What are my achievements? I don’t know, because I don’t have time to think about it. I’m just finishing one thing and I’m already on the other. How can you say that you have reached a finite thing ?, if jazz is infinite and includes all states of mind … and anemics! “, he replied with a laugh.
And when asked what his legacy would be, he reflected for a moment, then replied, “I think you never leave. There is always the essence of a person left when he leaves a work. I have a lot on my mind when I go living in Turkey, where I met Ravi Shankar, who one day told me: ‘the work that all creative musicians do is for something spiritual, for something tangible and intangible’ “.