I recently attended a concert in San Francisco with the remarkable Argentine bandoneonista Ramiro Boero, who was accompanied by Sumi Lee on piano and Heyni Solera, also on bandoneon. Boero is much noted in Buenos Aires, where he has played with a number of famous tango groups, most particularly Sexteto Mayor, Color Tango, and the Orquesta El Arranque.
The trio was onstage, playing very admirably together, when Ramiro took a solo moment. Suddenly, it felt like a storm had entered the room…virtuoso bandoneon like I’d seldom heard. My favorite bandoneonista of all is the late Rubén Juarez, and as Ramiro made his way through his solo, I imagined that Juarez, famous for his fire-filled playing, must also have been listening. (Later, over coffee with Ramiro, Sumi, and Heyni, I told him of my being a fan of Juarez, and Ramiro nodded, happy with my choice. “Juarez? A genius,” he said.)
Ramiro’s control of his instrument becomes even more intriguing as one understands how complicated the bandoneon is. The arrangement of all those buttons on the keyboards is almost completely arbitrary. To just remember where each one is in relation to all the others must be a great intellectual challenge. And then, playing the instrument with the grace and force with which Ramiro approaches it seems close to impossible. But for this bandoneonista, that’s hardly the case.
Ramiro is a composer as well. In a 2018 interview with Guillermo Chulak, a columnist with the Folklore Club of Argentina, he says: “I always enjoyed writing music, ever since I was a student at conservatory. I did not take it seriously, though; rather I did it as a matter of personal satisfaction. Later, with various groups with whom I played, making music for others to interpret was something new. Not only my own compositions…I also did arrangements, which is like composing something original about the music of somebody else. Writing for different groups was what caused me to seriously study harmony, orchestration, and composition.”
For an example of this, enjoy a very contemplative portion of Ramiro’s composition “Suite Impulso,” performed a few years ago by him and the Sao Paulo Jazz Sonfónica of Brazil.
Ramiro is known for his teaching. Pianist Sumi Lee, who studied extensively with him in Buenos Aires, told me, “He is super-artistic. He pushes and pushes, and brings you to a very high level of play.”
An example of that can be found in a story Ramiro told me about a sixteen year-old, Luca, whose father had brought him to Ramiro for instruction. “He played for me, a few things, on his bandoneon. But he played very quietly. Shyly. Good tempo. Good understanding. But shy…very shy.”
Perhaps Ramiro had to lean forward to listen to what the boy was doing. But he was moved by what he heard. “Congratulations,” he said to the father. “You raised your son well.” He then commenced to give private lessons to the boy, and soon thought so well of his playing that he refused payment from the father. “Yes, I didn’t charge him. And Luca came for his many lessons on the bus, one hour coming and one hour going home.”
Finally, Luca was given a professional solo audition by a Buenos Aires group, which Ramiro attended. Others near him, listening to the boy play, noticed a change in Ramiro’s posture, in his very comportment. His arms were folded before him. He had leaned forward, lowering his head, and was weeping with admiration for what Luca was doing. “I could not help myself,” he says. “I believe more in my students than they may believe in themselves. That can be a problem. But what they do is always such hard work. Always. So, I keep believing.”
A look at Ramiro’s website will tell you much more about him. If you have the opportunity to see this fine musician in action, please buy the ticket and go to the concert. I predict you’ll be thrilled.
© Copyright 2022. Terence Clarke. All rights reserved.
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