No dulcet tones here - today's video features 3 De Copas, the Argentine instrumental rock band founded on Christmas day, 1998, in Jesus Maria, Argentina. Band members are Ariel Vilche (lead guitar), Matías Londero (bass guitar) and Jordan Toro (drums). They made the decision early to forgo vocals, an unusual decision for a rock band - even more unusual for a trio - but it has served them well. Following the usual path of playing covers and being the opening act they have progressed to being the headline performers playing full concerts of their own material across much of Latin America. Their latest CD, Metiendo Púa, which you hear as you open their website shows a surprisingly full sound for such a small group.
Their version of Adios Nonino featured here was recorded at the Cineclub Municipal Hugo del Carril in Córdoba, Argentina in March of this year. Interestingly, the only other covers in the evening were a couple of Jimi Hendrix covers - somehow that seems appropriate.
You can read more about 3 De Copas in tbe blog, ensayo de orquesta.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tango Suite - Deciso
Today's video features two young guitarists from Qingdao, China: Wang Yameng and Su Meng. They are both award winning guitarists and both made a weekly long commute to Beijing to study under the famous Prof. Chen Zhi starting at the age of nine or ten. Additional biographical information on all three can be found on the Alma guitar site. They are playing the first movement, Deciso, of the three movement Tango Suite. This is a staple of the duo guitar community but few play it with the combined speed and accuracy exhibited in today's video.
The suite was written 1n 1984 for the young Brazilian brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad who impressed Piazzolla when he was introduced to their playing in Paris a year earlier. The Assad brothers recorded the full suite in a CD that every Piazzolla fan should own: Sérgio & Odair Assad Play Piazzolla. While there is not a video available of the Assad's playing the Deciso movement, you can listen to the Assad's playing it here. Just listening and comparing the last twenty seconds of the two versions is instructive. Professor Zhi's students play the ending with heat; the Assad brothers, with fire and smoke.
It is not possible to tell for sure but I think all three movements of Tango Suite played by Wang Yameng and Su Meng may exist on a Korean DVD available from Alma Guitars.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
The suite was written 1n 1984 for the young Brazilian brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad who impressed Piazzolla when he was introduced to their playing in Paris a year earlier. The Assad brothers recorded the full suite in a CD that every Piazzolla fan should own: Sérgio & Odair Assad Play Piazzolla. While there is not a video available of the Assad's playing the Deciso movement, you can listen to the Assad's playing it here. Just listening and comparing the last twenty seconds of the two versions is instructive. Professor Zhi's students play the ending with heat; the Assad brothers, with fire and smoke.
It is not possible to tell for sure but I think all three movements of Tango Suite played by Wang Yameng and Su Meng may exist on a Korean DVD available from Alma Guitars.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Forty Years Later - Amelita Baltar
There are forty years of history in today's video. The video was recorded August 31, 2009 at Luna Park in Buenos Aires. Almost forty years earlier (November, 1969), the same singer, Amelita Baltar, sang the same song, Balada para un loco, in the same location. The song was new - just created by Piazzolla and his chosen lyricist, Horacio Ferrer. Amelita Baltar was Piazzolla's new vocalist and new lover. The song was entered in a contest for best song at the First Latin America Festival of Song and Dance. Officially, it won second place but in a story well told in the Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, the crowd gave it first place. The song went on to become a worldwide popular hit at the time and today is the most popular song of the Piazzolla/Ferrer catalog and the 12th most frequently performed Piazzolla composition on YouTube. You can find an early version of it sung by Ms. Baltar on the CD, Itinerary of a Genius.
Today's video was taken at the Tango Festival y Mundial de Baile. There were 6,000 people in the audience when Ms. Baltar appeared. The story is best told in this quote from La Milonga Argentina magazine: "But the greatest ovation, which brought the crowd to its feet with tears in their eyes, was for Amelita Baltar, who went onstage overcome with emotion at the exact moment when the presenter, Fernando Bravo, was remembering how right there, forty years ago, she had performed the now well-known “Balada para un loco” for the first time. Little by little, phrase by phrase, the singer repeated those same lines written by Horacio Ferrer and with music by Astor Piazzolla." You can read the full article here.
You will find other videos of Ms. Baltar singing Balada para un loco on YouTube including my favorite. You will also find versions by many other singers but Amelita Baltar owns this song.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Today's video was taken at the Tango Festival y Mundial de Baile. There were 6,000 people in the audience when Ms. Baltar appeared. The story is best told in this quote from La Milonga Argentina magazine: "But the greatest ovation, which brought the crowd to its feet with tears in their eyes, was for Amelita Baltar, who went onstage overcome with emotion at the exact moment when the presenter, Fernando Bravo, was remembering how right there, forty years ago, she had performed the now well-known “Balada para un loco” for the first time. Little by little, phrase by phrase, the singer repeated those same lines written by Horacio Ferrer and with music by Astor Piazzolla." You can read the full article here.
You will find other videos of Ms. Baltar singing Balada para un loco on YouTube including my favorite. You will also find versions by many other singers but Amelita Baltar owns this song.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Look Ma - One Hand
Now if the flautist had played his half of the duet with one hand or the pianist had used his free right hand to eat a burrito, today's first video would be impressive.
The video captures a fragment of Concert d'aujourd'hui, the fourth section of Histoire du Tango. It is the section of the Histoire which represents nuevo tango and it is seldom played. This year on YouTube, there have been 58 performances of Bordel 1900, 75 of Cafe 1930, 53 of Nightclub 1960 and only 12 performances of Concert d'aujourd'hui. A remarkable difference certainly not driven by economics since a purchased or rented score to Histoire du tango contains all four. Why isn't it played more often? I have asked several of the groups who have posted the first three but not D'aujourd'hui. The answers deserve more academic study but a common thread is the thought that "our audience will not enjoy it." I think if you asked the performers, "Why do you believe the audience will not enjoy it?", the honest answer would be "because we don't understand it and don't enjoy playing it." Without exception, the people playing the Histoire are classically trained musicians. The first three of the Histoire can be successfully enjoyed using the usual toolbox of the classical musician. The fourth, D'aujourd'hui, cannot. It is "classical" Piazzolla nuevo tango and without an understanding of the tango roots and gestures in the music, it cannot be rendered in a way that is intelligible to those playing or listening.
There are, however, those classically trained musicians who take the trouble to study and understand the music of tango. One of those is Tim Ribchester, the pianist in today's second video - a very successful version of Concert D'aujourd'hui. The Histoire series was originally composed as a duet for flute and guitar. Talented young violinist, Caeli Smith, covers the flute part here and Ribchester performs his own arrangement of the guitar part on piano. The performances are technically without flaw but that is not the secret of success of this performance. Listen carefully to the piano half of the duet and pay attention to the flow and pattern of the accents in the rhythm. Listen to the way the accents on the violin interact with those on the piano. Piazzolla's tango is captured there and, I believe, that is the secret of success of this performance.
The Smith/Ribchester version is the most highly viewed performance of Concert d'aujourd'hui on YouTube. That is because it is the best - nothing else comes close.
If the video does not appear below, click here to view the one-handed performance and here to view the best performance.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
The video captures a fragment of Concert d'aujourd'hui, the fourth section of Histoire du Tango. It is the section of the Histoire which represents nuevo tango and it is seldom played. This year on YouTube, there have been 58 performances of Bordel 1900, 75 of Cafe 1930, 53 of Nightclub 1960 and only 12 performances of Concert d'aujourd'hui. A remarkable difference certainly not driven by economics since a purchased or rented score to Histoire du tango contains all four. Why isn't it played more often? I have asked several of the groups who have posted the first three but not D'aujourd'hui. The answers deserve more academic study but a common thread is the thought that "our audience will not enjoy it." I think if you asked the performers, "Why do you believe the audience will not enjoy it?", the honest answer would be "because we don't understand it and don't enjoy playing it." Without exception, the people playing the Histoire are classically trained musicians. The first three of the Histoire can be successfully enjoyed using the usual toolbox of the classical musician. The fourth, D'aujourd'hui, cannot. It is "classical" Piazzolla nuevo tango and without an understanding of the tango roots and gestures in the music, it cannot be rendered in a way that is intelligible to those playing or listening.
There are, however, those classically trained musicians who take the trouble to study and understand the music of tango. One of those is Tim Ribchester, the pianist in today's second video - a very successful version of Concert D'aujourd'hui. The Histoire series was originally composed as a duet for flute and guitar. Talented young violinist, Caeli Smith, covers the flute part here and Ribchester performs his own arrangement of the guitar part on piano. The performances are technically without flaw but that is not the secret of success of this performance. Listen carefully to the piano half of the duet and pay attention to the flow and pattern of the accents in the rhythm. Listen to the way the accents on the violin interact with those on the piano. Piazzolla's tango is captured there and, I believe, that is the secret of success of this performance.
The Smith/Ribchester version is the most highly viewed performance of Concert d'aujourd'hui on YouTube. That is because it is the best - nothing else comes close.
If the video does not appear below, click here to view the one-handed performance and here to view the best performance.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tango Callejero - Pablo Zinger
I admit I did not recognize the tune. My ears are not golden like those of friend Pedro in NYC who can identify any Piazzolla tune after listening to a measure or two. I couldn't find Tango Callejero in my usual references and somehow missed the English version of the title that appears 10 seconds into the video. But, I am not embarrassed to ask. Both Pedro and Pablo Zinger responded to email notes with the title: Street Tango. Of course!
Pablo Zinger should know - he is not only the pianist in the video and the arranger of the piece, he was also there for the creation of Tango Apasionado (note: this is a link worthy of a click), the show for which this piece was composed. The Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, tells the story of Zinger answering the phone and hearing someone announce, "This is Astor Piazzolla" with Zinger's jocular response being, "And I am Christopher Columbus." Today, Zinger allows that what he actually said was "Don't f... with me, who is this?" But it was in fact Piazzolla, asking Zinger to be Musical Director for Tango Apasionado. He did fill that role and led the stage band for the production at the Westbeth Theater Center in NYC and also played the piano in Piazzolla's American Clavé recording,The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night which captures the music from Tango Apasionado.
Tango Callejero/Street Tango is performed in today's video by the trio of Zinger on piano, Jose Franch-Ballester on clarinet, and Young Song on cello. Much of Piazzolla's bandoneon part has been moved to the clarinet and Franch-Ballester does a remarkable job of bringing the emotion associated with the bandoneon to the clarinet. To my knowledge, this trio has not preserved their performances of Piazzolla works in a recording. They should and I hope they do - this is wonderful music.
Epilogue: Disagreements with the estate of Jorge Luis Borges over the use of his stories in Tango Apasionado have prevented it from becoming part of the world's stage repertoire. It is time for those disagreements to be revisited so this production can once again be enjoyed by all.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Pablo Zinger should know - he is not only the pianist in the video and the arranger of the piece, he was also there for the creation of Tango Apasionado (note: this is a link worthy of a click), the show for which this piece was composed. The Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, tells the story of Zinger answering the phone and hearing someone announce, "This is Astor Piazzolla" with Zinger's jocular response being, "And I am Christopher Columbus." Today, Zinger allows that what he actually said was "Don't f... with me, who is this?" But it was in fact Piazzolla, asking Zinger to be Musical Director for Tango Apasionado. He did fill that role and led the stage band for the production at the Westbeth Theater Center in NYC and also played the piano in Piazzolla's American Clavé recording,The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night which captures the music from Tango Apasionado.
Tango Callejero/Street Tango is performed in today's video by the trio of Zinger on piano, Jose Franch-Ballester on clarinet, and Young Song on cello. Much of Piazzolla's bandoneon part has been moved to the clarinet and Franch-Ballester does a remarkable job of bringing the emotion associated with the bandoneon to the clarinet. To my knowledge, this trio has not preserved their performances of Piazzolla works in a recording. They should and I hope they do - this is wonderful music.
Epilogue: Disagreements with the estate of Jorge Luis Borges over the use of his stories in Tango Apasionado have prevented it from becoming part of the world's stage repertoire. It is time for those disagreements to be revisited so this production can once again be enjoyed by all.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Café 1930 - Ramirez and Satorre
Don't be misled by the informality of the camera operation in today's video. You are going to see two of the finest young musicians in Argentina provide an extraordinarily sensitive performance of Café 1930 - the second of four movements in Piazzolla's Histoire du tango. The composition was written for flute and guitar but has been transcribed for many pairs of instruments. The bandoneón is sometimes substituted for either instrument. For example, Per Arne Glovigen plays bandoneón as a replacement for flute in this version of Bordel 1900. And in the famous Yo-Yo Ma CD, Soul of the Tango, the bandoneón replaces the guitar and Yo-Yo Ma's cello plays the flute part in Café 1930.
The guitarist in today's video is Adrian Ramirez who comes from Piazzolla's birthplace, Mar del Plata. Ramirez performance is simply perfect - articulate, flowing and emotive. No guitarist does it better. He is paired with Hugo Satorre on the bandoneón. Satorre is in high demand as a session bandoneónist and you will find him on many recordings. Still he has time to appear with the one of the hottest electro tango groups, Otros Aires, and tour the world as a member of the band for the show, Tango Fire. He is so busy, he has never established much of a web presence although you can find some biographical information on the website of Quatrotango. Satorre plays the flute part on the bandoneón quite straight with no ornamentation yet achieves a remarkable musicality. The bandoneón can be an expressive instrument with dynamics achieved through management of bellows pressure and the attack and note termination achieved both through finger movement and bellows action. The effect is similar to that achieved in the human voice with the lungs and tongue. Often this expressive capability is hidden by the drive in some players to play quickly or the drive to display complex harmonies. It is actually more difficult to play slowly and expressively and Satorre shows he is a master of this aspect of the bandoneón at a relatively early age.
I certainly hope that Ramirez and Satorre have also made videos of the other three movements of the Histoire du tango which they will share with us in the future.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
The guitarist in today's video is Adrian Ramirez who comes from Piazzolla's birthplace, Mar del Plata. Ramirez performance is simply perfect - articulate, flowing and emotive. No guitarist does it better. He is paired with Hugo Satorre on the bandoneón. Satorre is in high demand as a session bandoneónist and you will find him on many recordings. Still he has time to appear with the one of the hottest electro tango groups, Otros Aires, and tour the world as a member of the band for the show, Tango Fire. He is so busy, he has never established much of a web presence although you can find some biographical information on the website of Quatrotango. Satorre plays the flute part on the bandoneón quite straight with no ornamentation yet achieves a remarkable musicality. The bandoneón can be an expressive instrument with dynamics achieved through management of bellows pressure and the attack and note termination achieved both through finger movement and bellows action. The effect is similar to that achieved in the human voice with the lungs and tongue. Often this expressive capability is hidden by the drive in some players to play quickly or the drive to display complex harmonies. It is actually more difficult to play slowly and expressively and Satorre shows he is a master of this aspect of the bandoneón at a relatively early age.
I certainly hope that Ramirez and Satorre have also made videos of the other three movements of the Histoire du tango which they will share with us in the future.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Rodolfo Mederos - Adios Nonino
"Were Bach to be born again, he would surely be a bandoneon player." This statement, I believe, can be attributed to Rodolfo Mederos, one of the most revered and respected masters of the bandoneon alive today. As a very young bandoneon player, Mederos was "discovered" by Piazzolla. On Piazzolla's advice, Mederos abandoned the study of biology at the University of Córdoba and pursued a career in music. Piazzolla was clearly supportive: an octet that young Mederos had put together was invited to share the stage with Piazzolla's octet - an opening act, in today's parlance. According to the Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, when Mederos' bandoneon was once stolen, Piazzolla loaned him one of his and then refused its return or payment for it. In 1970, Piazzolla and three other bandoneonist, one of whom was Mederos, recorded Enrique Delfino's Recuerdos de bohemia. Some believe that performance represents the pinnacle of performance on the bandoneon and I would not disagree. That performance and four bandoneon solos by Piazzolla are available on the CD, Concierto para quinteto.
But Mederos was never a disciple of Piazzolla. He went his own way. He became a master of traditional tango, playing with Osvaldo Pugliese’s orchestra. He created his own revolutionary sound in the group Generación Cero with roots but not branches in tango. He continues today to compose, to arrange, to teach and to perform for audiences who treat him with the awe once reserved for Piazzolla. And in those performances, as captured in today's video, he often pays tribute to Piazzolla with a performance of Adios Nonino. As always, he plays Adios Nonino his way but the respect and honor he holds for Piazzolla is apparent.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
But Mederos was never a disciple of Piazzolla. He went his own way. He became a master of traditional tango, playing with Osvaldo Pugliese’s orchestra. He created his own revolutionary sound in the group Generación Cero with roots but not branches in tango. He continues today to compose, to arrange, to teach and to perform for audiences who treat him with the awe once reserved for Piazzolla. And in those performances, as captured in today's video, he often pays tribute to Piazzolla with a performance of Adios Nonino. As always, he plays Adios Nonino his way but the respect and honor he holds for Piazzolla is apparent.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
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