Juan Carlos Cáceres

Juan Carlos Cáceres (1936–2015) was an Argentine musician and visual artist who became a prominent figure in jazz and tango music. Born in Buenos Aires, where he was involved in the existentialist movement, Cáceres developed into an accomplished jazz trombonist by his mid-twenties while studying fine arts at university rather than pursuing formal music education. In May 1968, he relocated to Paris, where he engaged in diverse artistic pursuits including painting, teaching, and performing. In France, Cáceres became an expert in the music of the Río de la Plata region, particularly exploring the African roots of tango, milonga, candombe, and murga. His influential 1999 album “Tango Negro” presented his theory on African influences in tango music, marking a significant contribution to tango scholarship and aesthetics. A versatile musician, Cáceres performed as a trombonist, pianist, vocalist, and composer, collaborating with various artists and leading musical projects including París Gotán Trío and Tango Negro Trio. He is best known for pioneering “tango negro”—a fusion style that reconnected tango to its Afro-Argentine roots. He died in Paris at age 78.

Sources note: None detected. Sources consistently report birth date 1936-09-04 and death date 2015-04-05; Paris relocation in May 1968 confirmed.