The Whole Music Experience

World Hector Del Curto   Eternal Piazzolla Green Parrot Records Since the moment a music librarian in Seattle introduced me to the tangos of bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla, I have admired and loved this music.   I have delved into several of Piazzolla’s recordings with his quintet and other ensembles, and I have heard tribute recordings from other musicians, both inside and outside of Argentina.   Similar to Franz Liszt and the American blues legend Robert Johnson, we wonder if Piazzolla also sold his soul to the devil in exchange for mastership of his instrument and genre.   Of course, I don’t mean this literally and I’m referring to the bursts of passion found in Piazzolla’s compositions. When I saw a listing for Argentine Hector Del Curto’s Eternal Piazzolla I decided to review the recording.   As usual, I was concerned at first about the musicians’ interpretation of Piazzolla’s repertoire, but in this case, there was no need for conce...

Las Chicas del Tango Featuring Horacio Ferrer Tango de Norte a Sur Arc Music On the album Tango de Norte a Sur, (Tango From North to South), the Finnish trio Las Chicas del Tango meld Finnish tango with new Argentine tango. Kukka-Maaria Ahonen (vocals), Johanna Juhola (accordion), and Milla Viljamaa (piano), collaborate with esteemed Argentine poet Horacio Ferrer who also performs on the album. Rounding out the text, the musicians feature the poetry of Bolivian songstress Siboné Oroza and the late Argentine feminist poet Alfonsina Storni (who lived during era when Argentine tango was just emerging). I read in a Finnish radio review that Las Chicas del Tango successfully wed Finno-Ugrian melancholy with the sadness of Argentine tango.  While this is not an exact quote, the musicians blur the lines between tango of South America and Finland, with Ahonen singing the text in Spanish. I imagine dancers could tango to these melodies, but tango songs (music with lyrics...

Dino Saluzzi, Anja Lechner, Felix Saluzzi Navidad de los Andes ECM Records I’ve heard two other of Argentine bandoneon player-composer Dino Saluzzi’s recordings and each time I felt captivated by the soulfulness of his compositions.   On Navidad de los Andes ( Christmas of the Andes ), cellist Anja Lechner and his brother reed player Felix Saluzzi come on board.   All these musicians have already collaborated with each other on previous recordings, but this is their debut as a trio on ECM.  And yes this is exciting news. I put my headphones on to listen deeply to this musical landscape and I felt rewarded with the subtle nuances of a bow gliding across strings, the click of the bandoneon keys, and breath flowing through reed instruments.   But the best way to describe the music here can be found in the liner notes where Leopoldo Castilla shares his reflections on the Saluzzi’s compositions.   “In this beautiful musical work the sound is born...

Liliana Barrios Èpica (El Viaje de Homero y Virgilio Expòsito) World Village Sierra Maestra Sonando Ya World Village My mother claims that she played all types of music to my siblings and me when we were babies. She mentions that she even played “highbrow music” and most likely she was referring to European classical, but she might have meant Argentine tangos and Cuban son, after all, my mother grew up in Panama and her first language is Spanish. However, my first language is not Spanish and it certainly isn’t the language of tango or son, but this music is probably floating in my DNA somewhere among those Spanish peasant genes. Certainly when I hear a bandoneon conversing with weeping strings passion and pathos bubble over in my bloodstream; my heartbeat quickens. It’s not fair to Argentine tango musicians, but when someone mentions tango my mind automatically thinks of Astor Piazzolla. Tango has its lineage of vocalists, bandoneon players and composers. Some ...

Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin Ampora Decca Records I have never been a fan of Lee Ritenour's work and I associated it with smooth jazz. However, on Lee Ritenour (guitar) and Dave Grusin (piano) classical crossover album, Ampora , I am actually quite pleased with the music. I would even call it sublime. Musical guests include the folk singer James Taylor singing an early music folk song Since First I Saw Your Face , solo violinist Joshua Bell on Gabriel Faure's Pavane, Op. 50 and Antonio Carlos Jobim's Olha Maria (Ampora) , soprano Renee Fleming also on the pavane and George Frideric Handel's Duetto: Scherzano Sul Tuo Volto , which she performs with classical trumpeter Chris Botti. The recording starts off with nuevo tango that recalls the late Astor Piazzolla and continues with a suite of Latin American dances. This is followed by a pavane, then English folk songs, a Brazilian piece, Ravel's Ma Mere L'Oye (Mother Goose Suite) and ends with baroque music. ...