If you are fortunate, perhaps once in your lifetime the door will be opened for you to an experience like the one in today's video. A tiny bar. Four customers. Two musicians until the bartender pulls out his violin and starts to play. It's hot and smokey but the music is so real, it will return in your dreams. It could be anywhere in the world but this one is quintessentially in Japan - perhaps not the most likely spot in the world to find a beautiful young woman playing the bandoneón (and playing it well) but that is part of the charm of the video.
Google translates the title on the video to something like Gorilla Orchestra Libertango 2010. I wish I knew more, but I don't.
There is a second video, perhaps even more evocative, of Por una cabeza. Please watch it also and enjoy the "yaaaahs".
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
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Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Libertango - Jazz Trio
Today's video is not a jazz trio playing Libertango as the title suggests, it is actually a trio of jazz performances - each different, each interesting.
The first is by the Joel Tortul Trio from Argentina. Tortul is very creative, driving pianist who backs off just enough once in a while to ease the tension. Supported by sidemen Diego Ferreyra on contrabass and Pablo Rodriguez on percussion, his jazz is on the hot side but retains a thread of tango. If you enjoy their music, the trio has a new CD, Punta Vivo and you can find more of their music on elsuricataful's YouTube channel.
The second is by the Eriko Hagiwara Quintet from Japan. Their jazz is far cooler than that of Tortul, almost mellow except for a few bursts of energy here and there to lift the crowd from their revery. That is Eriko Hagiwara, a master of syncopation, on the piano (she also does vocals but not on this video). She is a gifted jazz pianist. She is joined by Haruna Fukazawa on flute, Yohta Syohji on guitar, Mikami Yoshimi on bass and Kawano Naohiro on drums. I believe the performance is from an August 30, 2010 appearance at the Satin Doll in the Roppongi district of Tokyo but it would be welcomed at any jazz club anywhere in the world - these guys are good.
The third is by the Mala Junta Trio, regulars at the Harlem Jazz Club in Barcelona but found here busking in Parc Güell. The bass guitar player has some technical problems with his instrument but even without the bass in the early part of the video, it is clear that we have a third contrasting jazz style. These young musicians, all originally from Argentina, play swing jazz with a tinge of Gypsy in the swing. The musicians are Germán Prieto and Lucas Turquié on guitars and Roy Apartin on bass. Do a search for Mala Junta on YouTube and you will find some wonderful examples of this swing jazz trio. They have a CD on the way - I hope they get international distribution and don't just sell it in the park.
Do you want to pick a favorite?
If the videos don't appear below, click here for Tortul, here for Hagiwara and here for Mala Junta.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
The first is by the Joel Tortul Trio from Argentina. Tortul is very creative, driving pianist who backs off just enough once in a while to ease the tension. Supported by sidemen Diego Ferreyra on contrabass and Pablo Rodriguez on percussion, his jazz is on the hot side but retains a thread of tango. If you enjoy their music, the trio has a new CD, Punta Vivo and you can find more of their music on elsuricataful's YouTube channel.
The second is by the Eriko Hagiwara Quintet from Japan. Their jazz is far cooler than that of Tortul, almost mellow except for a few bursts of energy here and there to lift the crowd from their revery. That is Eriko Hagiwara, a master of syncopation, on the piano (she also does vocals but not on this video). She is a gifted jazz pianist. She is joined by Haruna Fukazawa on flute, Yohta Syohji on guitar, Mikami Yoshimi on bass and Kawano Naohiro on drums. I believe the performance is from an August 30, 2010 appearance at the Satin Doll in the Roppongi district of Tokyo but it would be welcomed at any jazz club anywhere in the world - these guys are good.
The third is by the Mala Junta Trio, regulars at the Harlem Jazz Club in Barcelona but found here busking in Parc Güell. The bass guitar player has some technical problems with his instrument but even without the bass in the early part of the video, it is clear that we have a third contrasting jazz style. These young musicians, all originally from Argentina, play swing jazz with a tinge of Gypsy in the swing. The musicians are Germán Prieto and Lucas Turquié on guitars and Roy Apartin on bass. Do a search for Mala Junta on YouTube and you will find some wonderful examples of this swing jazz trio. They have a CD on the way - I hope they get international distribution and don't just sell it in the park.
Do you want to pick a favorite?
If the videos don't appear below, click here for Tortul, here for Hagiwara and here for Mala Junta.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Contrabajísimo - Sverre Indris Joner
The first rule in arranging music is "start with a good piece of music." I don't know what the other rules are but Sverre Indris Joner met the first rule and all of the others with his orchestral arrangement of Contrabajísimo which is featured in today's video. Contrabajísimo was composed in 1984, in honor of contrabassist, Héctor Console, a member of Piazzolla's second quintet. It is one of the longer, over eleven minutes long in the original, and more serious pieces composed by Piazzolla. Some would even say, it is the best piece composed by Piazzolla. The Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, reports that Contrabajísimo sounded from the cemetary's speakers as Piazzolla's coffin was taken to its final resting place at the Jardin de Paz, the only piece of his music so honored.
It must take some courage to attempt a symphonic arrangement of such an important piece. Joner's courage has been rewarded with what I believe is a masterpiece of arrangement which deserves a permanent place in the contrabass/symphonic repertoire. This is an audience pleaser and, judging from the faces of the performers, a musician pleaser too. There are four stars here: the bassist, Steinar Haugerud; the violinist, Atle Sponberg; the pianist (and arranger) Sverre Indris Joner; and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Rolf Gupta. Each deserves five stars for this performance.
Joner is a composer in addition to being an arranger and, clearly, a student of Piazzolla's music. You can find some of his music on the indris63 YouTube channel. Most of his Piazzolla work has been done in conjunction with the group Tango for 3 which includes Steinar Haugerud, the bassist in today's video. That groups first album is available as a download. But if you are looking for just one more of Joner's symphonic arrangements of Piazzolla, I suggest you view this video of Adios Nonino.
If today's video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
It must take some courage to attempt a symphonic arrangement of such an important piece. Joner's courage has been rewarded with what I believe is a masterpiece of arrangement which deserves a permanent place in the contrabass/symphonic repertoire. This is an audience pleaser and, judging from the faces of the performers, a musician pleaser too. There are four stars here: the bassist, Steinar Haugerud; the violinist, Atle Sponberg; the pianist (and arranger) Sverre Indris Joner; and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Rolf Gupta. Each deserves five stars for this performance.
Joner is a composer in addition to being an arranger and, clearly, a student of Piazzolla's music. You can find some of his music on the indris63 YouTube channel. Most of his Piazzolla work has been done in conjunction with the group Tango for 3 which includes Steinar Haugerud, the bassist in today's video. That groups first album is available as a download. But if you are looking for just one more of Joner's symphonic arrangements of Piazzolla, I suggest you view this video of Adios Nonino.
If today's video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Bordel 1900 - Randall Family Reunion
Most of the 350 or so performances shared in this blog have been polished performances in clubs or concert halls but a few have been on the street, or in a park or in a home. There is a refreshing reality to such performances that remind us that Piazzolla's music is not just for the musical elite. Some of my favorites feature Piazzolla in a simple family setting - ordinary people enjoying the music of our favorite composer in their own surroundings. Today's video falls in that category: we are at the Randall family reunion.
The music is Bordel 1900, the first movement of the Histoire du tango. The Histoire series was composed in 1985 and dedicated to the Belgian flute player, Marc Grauwels, who premiered them. Bordel 1900 is one of the most popular of the series and is consistently in the top ten most frequently performed Piazzolla compositions.It is played by a father, filmed by his daughter, enjoyed by his mother and a dozen or so other Randall family members and the family cat, Monster. The American flag waves outside the door. The comments are touching. The flute playing is quite good. The guitar accompaniment comes from the portable CD player probably playing this CD.
Mr. Randall mentions that he recently played this piece in an audition for a position in a symphony. If he played as well there as he does for his mother here in this video, I suspect he got the job.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
The music is Bordel 1900, the first movement of the Histoire du tango. The Histoire series was composed in 1985 and dedicated to the Belgian flute player, Marc Grauwels, who premiered them. Bordel 1900 is one of the most popular of the series and is consistently in the top ten most frequently performed Piazzolla compositions.It is played by a father, filmed by his daughter, enjoyed by his mother and a dozen or so other Randall family members and the family cat, Monster. The American flag waves outside the door. The comments are touching. The flute playing is quite good. The guitar accompaniment comes from the portable CD player probably playing this CD.
Mr. Randall mentions that he recently played this piece in an audition for a position in a symphony. If he played as well there as he does for his mother here in this video, I suspect he got the job.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Adios Nonino - Sexteto Mayor
The performance of Adios Nonino by the Sexteto Mayor in today's featured video is from an August 1, 2010 broadcast on Crónica Televisión in Buenos Aires although the performance is clearly from a period before December, 2004 when lead bandoneónist in the video, José Libertella, died. The Sexteto Mayor held their first performance on April 29, 1973 at a tango bar called "La Casa de Gardel." The group was modeled on the 1924 sextet of Julio de Caro and used the instrumentation of that famous group: two bandoneóns, two violins, a piano and a contrabass. The initial group included José Libertella and Luis Stazo on bandoneón (both appear in this video), Reynaldo Nichele and Fernando Suárez Paz on violin, Armando Cupo on piano and Carlos Baillejos on contrabass. Based on the chronology found here, I believe, that the other musicians in the Sexteto at the time of this video were Mario Abramovich and Eduardo Walczak on violin, Oscar Palermo on piano and Osvaldo Aulicino on contrabass. That group was captured in 2002 by Guillermo Tello in a documentary film. The trailer for that film can be seen here.
For more than thirty years, Libertella and Stazo, defined the sound of the group: always instrumental - no vocals, and arrangements which honored the traditional tango but accepted the nuevo tango of Piazzolla. The group traveled the world in those thirty years and became well known as international ambassadors for the traditional tango. The group still exists today with violinists, Mario Abramovich and Eduardo Walczak, providing continuity to the current Sexteto Mayor. It seems likely that 2013 will bring a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Sexteto Mayor and I expect that Adios Nonino will be part of that celebration.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
For more than thirty years, Libertella and Stazo, defined the sound of the group: always instrumental - no vocals, and arrangements which honored the traditional tango but accepted the nuevo tango of Piazzolla. The group traveled the world in those thirty years and became well known as international ambassadors for the traditional tango. The group still exists today with violinists, Mario Abramovich and Eduardo Walczak, providing continuity to the current Sexteto Mayor. It seems likely that 2013 will bring a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Sexteto Mayor and I expect that Adios Nonino will be part of that celebration.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Adios Nonino - Leopoldo Federico
Born January 12, 1927, Leopoldo Federico is a living icon in the tango world. A composer, an orchestra leader and a world class bandoneónist. Piazzolla played his music and Federico played Piazzolla's music. We have an example today: Federico and the Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce play Adios Nonino in a May, 2009 concert at the Argentine National Library in Buenos Aires.
Based on the many comments in the Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, the two men genuinely admired each other. Their relationship goes all the way back to the 1946 Orquesta Tipica de Astor Piazzolla in which Federico played bandoneón beside Piazzolla. In 1953, when Buenos Aires (Opus 15) was premiered, Federico was one of two bandoneónists in the orchestra. That piece was to lead directly to Piazzolla's winning of the Sevitsky prize and his studies with Nadia Boulanger. In 1957, when Piazzolla formed the Buenos Aires Octet, Federico was a member and one of Federico's compositions, Neotango, was included in their recording, Octeto Buenos Aires. In 1970, Federico and his bandoneón were once again beside Piazzolla for the recording a bandoneón quartet playing Recuerdos de bohemia. This masterpiece of bandoneón performance can be found on the recording, Concierto para Quintet. In the last recorded interaction between the two men, at Piazzolla's introduction of his final Sextet in 1989, Federico was heard to whisper to a friend, "He continues to be the best of all of us." As time has thinned the ranks of those who played with Piazzolla, Leopoldo Federico now carries the mantle of "the best of all of us."
If the video does not appear below, click here. Spanish speakers may enjoy Federico's comments at the end of the video.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Based on the many comments in the Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, the two men genuinely admired each other. Their relationship goes all the way back to the 1946 Orquesta Tipica de Astor Piazzolla in which Federico played bandoneón beside Piazzolla. In 1953, when Buenos Aires (Opus 15) was premiered, Federico was one of two bandoneónists in the orchestra. That piece was to lead directly to Piazzolla's winning of the Sevitsky prize and his studies with Nadia Boulanger. In 1957, when Piazzolla formed the Buenos Aires Octet, Federico was a member and one of Federico's compositions, Neotango, was included in their recording, Octeto Buenos Aires. In 1970, Federico and his bandoneón were once again beside Piazzolla for the recording a bandoneón quartet playing Recuerdos de bohemia. This masterpiece of bandoneón performance can be found on the recording, Concierto para Quintet. In the last recorded interaction between the two men, at Piazzolla's introduction of his final Sextet in 1989, Federico was heard to whisper to a friend, "He continues to be the best of all of us." As time has thinned the ranks of those who played with Piazzolla, Leopoldo Federico now carries the mantle of "the best of all of us."
If the video does not appear below, click here. Spanish speakers may enjoy Federico's comments at the end of the video.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Moderato Tangabile - Astor Piazzolla
Piazzolla, in person, plays Moderato tangabile in today's featured video. The performance was captured in 1979 in an Italian television program series, "Una valigia tutta blu." 1979 was a busy year for Piazzolla. It was his first full year with the second quintet and they toured extensively but as reported in the Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, "In July, he flew to Europe for a couple of weeks to record television appearances in Rome, Naples and Paris." This video is no doubt from the Naples appearance.
Una valigia tutta blu (literally, "A suitcase all blue") was a short-lived, summer series, originating in Naples, on the Rai 1 channel. It was hosted by the fading Italian film star, Walter Chiari, and featured song writers of the day. Prior to the appearance of this Piazzolla video, it was perhaps best remembered for the appearance of the 1979 version of Lady Gaga, Patty Pravo, and if you watch this video from the show, you may understand why.
Piazzolla's choice of Moderato Tangabile for the show is curious. It is from the recording, Persecuta, which was discussed here in a recent posting. He never recorded it again, nor to my knowledge, did he ever perform it again. It is essentially a bandoneón solo in this video. It is difficult to tell if there is a live band accompanying him or if he is playing to a recording of the piece. I believe it is the latter - the fingering goes curiously in and out of sync with the audio. It seems probable that Piazzolla played along with the track directly from Persecuta but what the television audience hears is actually just the track from the recording.
I believe this is the first appearance of this video on YouTube and for that I am grateful to "TheJourney64", whoever he or she is.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Note: Tangabile is a musical descriptor created by Piazzolla. A play on the term cantabile, which means singable or songlike.
Una valigia tutta blu (literally, "A suitcase all blue") was a short-lived, summer series, originating in Naples, on the Rai 1 channel. It was hosted by the fading Italian film star, Walter Chiari, and featured song writers of the day. Prior to the appearance of this Piazzolla video, it was perhaps best remembered for the appearance of the 1979 version of Lady Gaga, Patty Pravo, and if you watch this video from the show, you may understand why.
Piazzolla's choice of Moderato Tangabile for the show is curious. It is from the recording, Persecuta, which was discussed here in a recent posting. He never recorded it again, nor to my knowledge, did he ever perform it again. It is essentially a bandoneón solo in this video. It is difficult to tell if there is a live band accompanying him or if he is playing to a recording of the piece. I believe it is the latter - the fingering goes curiously in and out of sync with the audio. It seems probable that Piazzolla played along with the track directly from Persecuta but what the television audience hears is actually just the track from the recording.
I believe this is the first appearance of this video on YouTube and for that I am grateful to "TheJourney64", whoever he or she is.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Note: Tangabile is a musical descriptor created by Piazzolla. A play on the term cantabile, which means singable or songlike.
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