New Piazzolla Video from Movie "Quinteto"

A video fragment, apparently from the Mauricio Berú film short Quinteto, was posted on YouTube today by TangoVia. This organization must have a marvelous library of old Piazzolla footage and I certainly hope they continue to share it.

The video shows an early Quintet rehearsing a piece identified by a regular reader of this blog as Tango Diablo. The full piece is captured in the studio recording of the famed 1965 concert in New York's Philharmonic Hall: Concierto de Tango.

Any additional information about the video from blog readers would be appreciated.

If the video does not appear below, click here.



To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.

The Real Oblivion?

Today's video took me by complete surprise. Oblivion is the second or third most popular Piazzolla performance video (essentially tied with Adios nonino) and I have been known to dismiss it as "movie music." But, I am going to have to reconsider my views. Russian born Vladimir Sidorov has found a depth in this music that others have missed and listening to his version is almost a mystical or religious experience. Sidorov's instrument, the Bayan - a Russian chromatic accordion, represents perhaps the ultimate evolution of the accordion and in his hands (or in the hands of similarly talented Lidia Kaminska) offers as much expressionistic potential as the bandoneón in Piazzolla's hands.

Sidorov also offers a bravura performance of Libertango on YouTube which is worth watching but it is not an opinion changer. Several CD's of Sidorov performances are available.

If the video does not appear below, click here.



To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.

Jazz version: A Don Nicanor Paredes

Something unusual today: a jazz version of seldom heard Piazzolla piece, A don Nicanor Paredes, with lyrics by famed Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges. The work was written in 1965 and recorded that same year on the album, El Tango, with vocal by bass, Edmundo Rivero. The liner notes of that LP, written by Piazzolla, describe the piece as "composed on an 8-bar measure of Gregorian chant and resolving the melodic part without artificial modernism -- everything very simple, deeply felt and honest." The performance in today's video captures everything in that sentence.

A don Nicanor Paredes is played here in Copenhagen by a jazz trio led by trombonist, Erling Kroner, who also provides the vocal, along with Eva Malling on double bass, and Kurt Larsen on accordion. I enjoyed their easy flow through the piece and particularly admire the strong Gregorian foundation provided by bassist, Eva Malling. I think the jazz world will see more of this talented young musician.

If the video does not appear below, click here.



To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.

April Review of Piazzolla Videos

There were 490 videos of Piazzolla’s music posted on YouTube in the month of April, 2009 – down slightly from the 514 videos found in the previous month. 385 (79%) of the videos were performance videos featuring live performances. The others were videos which used Piazzolla’s music as a sound track for photo or video montages. I highlighted my journey through these many videos in this blog.

Forty-two percent of the performance videos were in the classical mode, 24% in Nuevo tango, 22% in pop and 12% in jazz.

Here are the most frequently performed pieces this month (Libertango was the most frequently played – 24% of the total; the others follow in order):

1. Libertango
2. Oblivion
3. Adios Nonino
4. Verano Porteño
5. Histoire du Tango - Cafe 1930
6. Otoño Porteño
7. La muerte del angel
8. Invierno Porteño
9. Concierto for bandoneon and orchestra
10. Histoire du Tango - Nightclub 1960

The top three on this list seem to be fairly stable month-to-month but the bottom seven change every month.

The performance videos came from 49 different countries. As might be expected, Argentina posted the most videos: 83. The top ten posting countries are listed in order here:

1. Argentina
2. Italy
3. France
4. USA
5. Russia
6. Spain
7. Germany
8. Ukraine
9. Netherlands
10. Romania

There were 7 videos posted which featured performances or interviews with Piazzolla. Two of these have not been posted before on YouTube although one is available on a commercial DVD.

Quality of performance varied from excellent to bizarre. My favorite performance of the month was the Camerata Porteña's version of Escualo. Although the instrumentation is a bit unusual, the sound is pure Nuevo Tango.

The choice for most bizarre this month was difficult. I have chosen a video which is more unusual than bizarre. It features a father/son duo playing saxophone and drums in a video titled Garden Piazzolla. It makes me wonder if Astor Piazzolla ever sat in the garden with his bandoneon while his grandson, Pipi, played drums.

I have put a table with links to all 490 videos as well as some more information on the videos on the April link in my Piazzolla Video Website.

Oblivion - Saxophone Quintet

There is no lack of musicians playing Piazzolla on saxophones. But it is rare to find musicians playing Piazzolla tastefully on saxophones. Today's videos is one of those rare exceptions. The quartet, Saxofollia, from Italy joined here by soprano sax player, Bence Szepesi from the Budapest Saxophone Quartet, provides a well blended and smooth version of Oblivion from the movie Enrico IV. The quartet members, Mario Giovannelli, Fabrizio Benevelli, Marco Ferri, and Alessandro Creola, bring a strong and varied background in jazz and classical music to the group. Note the limited use of vibrato and the total absence of "blatting" which is so easy to slip into on the saxophone. This is their only Piazolla piece on YouTube but I would like to hear more - their jazz/classical talents are well suited to Piazzolla music.

If the video does not appear below, click here.



To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.

Tango Suite by the Mystic Guitar Athlete

I suspect that as you watch today's video you will be witnessing the world's record for most notes played by a single performer in a single performance of a Piazzolla work. The Italian guitarist, Luca Calore (also know as Luca Tihai), describes himself as a "mystic guitar athlete". You will certainly understand the latter term as you watch him play. The initial term apparently comes from his experiences in India which culminated in the recording of the CD, The Bet, featuring Calore/Tihai on guitar (modified with 12 internal sympathetic strings) along with Indian musicians on sitar and tabla. You can find more of Calore/Tihai's Indian oriented music on his YouTube channel.

There is only a hint of India in today's video of an improvisation on Tango Suite but it is abundantly clear that Calore/Tihai is a unique guitar talent.

If the video does not appear below, click here.



To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.

Tango Suite on Marimbas

In 1984, Piazzolla wrote Tango Suite for two guitars. It was specifically written for the Assad brothers who recorded it in their album, Sergio and Odair Assad Play Piazzolla. The Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, quotes the Assad's as regarding the suite as "a landmark in the history of guitar duos" and indeed you will find any number of guitar duos who have recorded Tango Suite. You will also find a number of YouTube videos which feature Tango Suite being played on marimbas or vibraphones. Most (but not all) of these are based on a transcription done by Kevin Super, a professor of music at Liberty University. Today's videos are based on that arrangement and are performed by Thomas Wilson and Grace Welter as part of Wilson's Junior Recital at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. It is an exceptionally sensitive performance - note the well modulated dynamic and tempo variations - and an exceptionally well coordinated performance. Wilson and Welter stay in perfect synchronization and both appear to be playing the entire piece from memory - quite a feat.

I have included the videos for all three movements of the suite but if you only have time to view one, I recommend the second movement, played as a vibraphone - marimba duet which works exceptionally well.

If the videos do not appear below, click these: 1. Deciso; 2. Andante; 3. Allegro.







To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.