Aldemaro Romero

Venezuelan pianist and composer Aldemaro Romero earns wide recognition as the driving force behind onda nueva, or “new wave,” in his homeland, a movement that refreshed the traditional joropo by incorporating rhythms drawn from bossa nova. Born in Valencia on March 12, 1928, he began his musical education with his father, Rafael, a professional pianist; by age nine Romero had become a regular presence on Venezuelan radio, and at thirteen he moved to Caracas, where he performed with local orchestras and took nightclub gigs on the side. Following a 1949 tour of Cuba, he made his U.S. debut in New York City, then returned home to launch his own dance orchestra.

In 1955 RCA Victor signed him to record the hit album Dinner in Caracas, which became one of the best-selling releases in South American chart history and the first of the Dinner In… series; its orchestral reinterpretation of traditional Venezuelan folk melodies achieved international success and signaled a turning point in Latin American jazz. While under contract to RCA, Romero contributed arrangements and conducting work to artists ranging from Dean Martin to Jerry Lee Lewis to Stan Kenton, and in 1974 he collaborated with jazz guitar great Charlie Byrd on the cult favorite The New Wave. The Moscow Cinema Festival awarded him the Peace Prize of the Soviet Intellectuals in 1969 for his score to the epic film Simón Bolivar. A decade later he founded the Caracas Philharmonic Orchestra and served as its first conductor, later directing the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra during his career. After a lengthy digestive illness, Romero died in Caracas on September 15, 2007.