Raul Jaurena

Raul Jaurena ranks among the leading bandoneonists worldwide while also working as a musical director, arranger, and composer. Although born in Uruguay and returning there often, he maintains his primary residence in New York City. For an extended period he acted as musical director for tango productions at the Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside, NY, where numerous works of his own received stagings. His recorded output stays modest in volume yet encompasses the Latin Grammy Award-winning album Te Amo Tango (2007). A shared performance with Astor Piazzolla at the Montreal Jazz Festival encouraged him to pursue the master's nuevo tango aesthetic.

Jaurena entered the world in Montevideo, Uruguay, where his father first showed him the bandoneon. By age eight he had entered his initial tango orchestra, and at fifteen he became part of the Donato Raciatti Orchestra. He earned honors upon graduating from the National Conservatory of Uruguay, after which tango ensembles carried his performances throughout South America and eventually across the globe.

In 1988 Jaurena relocated to the United States and settled in New York City, appearing at Lincoln Center and other local stages. His concert schedule has also taken him across Europe and throughout both North and South America. The full range of his performances, achievements, and distinctions proves too extensive to catalog completely, although his sustained association with the Thalia Spanish Theatre stands out for the many productions he mounted there across the years.

On record Jaurena served as producer and performer for the 1992 album The New Tango: New York-Buenos Aires Connection, and he handled production, arranging, composition, and performance for the New York Tango Trio's 1995 release Cabarute. He also contributed arrangements and performance to the Grammy-nominated 2001 album Tango Bar. His own 2006 solo album Te Amo Tango later received the 2007 Latin Grammy Award for Best Tango Album.