Juan Polito

Juan Polito (11 July 1908 – 25 October 1981) was an Argentine pianist and orchestra conductor dedicated to the tango genre.

Professional career He was born in the Once neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, son of the musicians Saverio Polito and Isabel Romano, and brother of Antonio—who played piano, bandoneon, and guitar—Pedro, who was a bandoneonist, and Salvador, a violinist. Juan Polito entered the Fracassi Conservatory as a child to study cello but later switched to piano.

He left the institution in 1925 due to the death of his parents, and the following year he debuted as a pianist with the already established orchestra of Juan Maglio at Bar Domínguez. He stayed three years in that ensemble, which, besides the director, also included bandoneonists Rafael Rossi and Nicolás Primiani, violinists Elvino Vardaro and Emilio Puglisi, and the double bassist Francisco De Lorenzo.

D’Arienzo called Polito back, and on May 8, 1957, they recorded the tango Llegando a puerto, by Mario Demarco and Enrique Lary, featuring the voice of Mario Bustos in one of his best vocal performances, thus resuming their collaboration, which continued until Polito’s final retirement.