Piazolla Tango Hour

This fine Astor Piazzolla album came on the heels of the tango innovator's universally praised Tango: Zero Hour from 1986. Back again for this outing are Quinteto Nueva Tango members like pianist Pablo Zinger and violinist Fernando Suarez Paz, with guest spots being filled by bassist Andy Gonzalez and Latin jazz alto sax star Paquito d'Rivera. Piazzolla, of course, is in top form throughout, tossing off a wealth of passionate and complex bandoneon solos. Producer Kip Hanrahan also returns from the Zero Hour sessions, providing another spacious-sounding backdrop for the proceedings. Unlike Zero Hour, though, Rough Dancer has more of whimsical feel, with the often perilous shifts in tempo and mood of the earlier record being handled in smoother fashion here…

Inspired by a general love of the tango, and more specifically the tango of Astor Piazzolla, on the part of Yo-Yo Ma, the Soul of the Tango album is a masterful work of the nuevo tango, played by Ma's cello and many of Piazzolla's former associates. Piazzolla's old guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad even showed up to work on a pair of tracks arranged by Sergio: the Tango Suite (consisting of Andante and Allegro). The sheer beauty of one of Piazzolla's tangos is generally enough to warrant the purchase of an album involving them. An album such as this one, where all of the songs (save one: Tango Remembrances, where Ma plays along with outtakes from Piazzolla's recording of The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night album) are compositions by Piazzolla is even better. Add to this the masterful playing of Ma, and the surprising facility in which the cello fits into the tango, and you've got what could become a classic album, if only it weren't on the classical label from Sony.

The albums of the Buenos Aires / Paris series are a point of reference within the creative scene of electronic tango in Buenos Aires. Thanks to extensive research, Buenos Aires / Paris Troisième Voyage (the third volume of the saga) returns to present the most popular artists of this genre, with new tracks off of their most recent albums, material that has yet to be released and exclusive remixes. As we all know, electronic tango has developped into one of the new music styles of this century.

Tango, Tango Nuevo and Cuban music mixed together by the quintett Las Sombras, enriched with German short stories from the Tango Cafe. “A delicious mélange of tango, jazz, classical and world music…You will enjoy it!” - Hugh Bebes. The artists write: “Our music tells what we heard. Typewriter, snapper, cajon provide the pulse, kalimba, mandolin and cymbal invite on a journey to countries far away. We have followed the tango, we are still on our way, and it may take some time until we are home again.”

Following the notable impact of Volume 1, PMB returns from the challenge of researching and putting together a masterpiece to give us Buenos Aires - Paris 2, another fascinating compilation of the most outstanding songs and performers of the genre, which has positioned itself in the global market for electronic music as one of the most original new sounds of the 21ST century. In Buenos Aires - Paris we find artists that transcend the globe including Tanghotic, Carlos Libedinsky & Narcotango, Tanghetto, Otros Aires, Federico Aubele (who released his discs through Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, the record label belonging to the always influential Thievery Corporation), as well as the addition of two Argentine standouts, Jaime Torres and the talented Amelita Baltar (the voice of various musical pieces composed by Astor Piazzolla), who present us with Frio Intenso, a song that is just as new as it is musically innovative.

Electronic tango is causing an authentic revolution in the global music scene. Popular throughout the world, these discs are a must buy for the thousands of tourists who travel through Buenos Aires and other corners of the country where local aficionados are rediscovering their beloved music with a whole new sound. For those who have not yet visited Argentina, it is the latest in exotic electronic music and its status as ''hard to find'' makes it all the more desirable. The electronic tango rage has moved a number of artists to undertake new productions of true artistic value. In the midst of all this hype, Buenos Aires/Paris is the most important album of the genre, the defining double disc anthology with material from top musicians who have provided their best known tracks…

Passion. Music. Emotion. Dance… Tango. Never before has a dance been so closely identified with the concept of the Tango. They say it takes two to Tango and this is very true within the sounds of Otros Aires' The New Sound of Tango - Modem Tango for the 21st Century. The music is a perfect blend of the classic sounds meets the new modern textures. Otros Aires blend modem ambient rhythms mixed with the classic sultry sounds of Argentine Tango. You can play this record at a party, at home alone, while drinking coffee on Sunday morning or when you and your lover are about to Tango!