Vicente Portolés, swing mediterráneo

Abstract

The story I aim to trace with this article is that of a musician, Vicente Portolés Tomás (1918-82), locally known, in the city of Castellón de la Plana (Valencian Community, Spain), but forgotten by dictionaries and from history in general. This is partly on account of the fact that they are generally orientated towards classical music. The figure of Portolés is the epitome of a way of understanding music that was very widespread in Spain between the 1940s and 1960s. Several musicians formed orchestras to enliven  festivities and social events in cities such as Castellón and in the towns of their province. In addition, they managed these groups, created the pieces they performed, and distributed and recorded music. During this period, Vicente Portolés composed about thirty jazz songs, to which we must add pasodobles, boleros, tangos and Latin rhythms. The sources consulted do not clarify how he was able to acquire the skills required by jazz music, so I intend to establish a detailed picture of influences from the experiences he had in his native city: cinema, radio, variety programmes and concert programmes of the Municipal Band, in which he played the trombone. The contact that Portolés, like other musicians, may have with the US 6th Fleet Marines during their visits to Castellón in the 1950s is of particular importance.