Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Tanda of the Week 36 / 2013 - More D'Arienzo valses!



1. Juan D'Arienzo / Roberto Lemos - "Desencanto" 1950
2. Juan D'Arienzo / Roberto Lemos - "No llores, madre" 1951
3. Juan D'Arienzo / Roberto Lemos - "Penumbras" 1951

-------- First of all I'd like to make an announcement: Due to changed policies on Facebook, the reach of my posts on Facebook has fallen drastically. This means that the post updates in the TOTW Facebook page will reach only a fraction of the people liking the page. So if you follow the blog mainly through Facebook, it is highly recommended that you click "Subscribe to posts" on the panel on the right side of this very page, to stay up-to-date with the new posts on the blog. Thank you! -------

http://open.spotify.com/user/anttiveikko/playlist/0rtSywuMlynfmbBYCeMl4T And now... To continue with the recent trend of vals tandas (and D'Arienzo) here's a tanda from another regular contributor to the blog, Dj Stefan Ok from Germany.

http://www.deezer.com/playlist/699387145"Following a strong D'Arienzo preference in these days i wanted to propose you some nice valses with Roberto Lemos for Tanda of the Week. It's like a wonder that D'Arienzo and Lemos were recording only 7 pieces but 3 [of them were] valses. Right enough for a nice tanda with typical 50s D'arienzo sound, slightly before the "El Puntazo"-climax in 1952, but with an unfamiliar singer. They have everything... power, melody, strong bandoneons, lovely violins and sparkling piano fill-ins!"

Thank you Stefan!

I'd like to add that "No llores madre" has been recorded twice by D'Arienzo. The first version is a great instrumental recording from 1936 and you can listen to it here: Spotify or Deezer

D'Arienzo, Juan - TOTW - Todo Tango tango.info - TangoTunes - iTunes Store




Monday, December 16, 2013

Tanda of the Week 35 / 2013 - Juan D'Arienzo instrumental valses 1935-1936


1. Juan D'Arienzo - "Pabellón de las rosas" 1935
2. Juan D'Arienzo - "Corazón de artista" 1936
3. Juan D'Arienzo - "Orillas del plata" 1935

http://open.spotify.com/user/anttiveikko/playlist/2JJLzvmdhsTlJYAkYvZqqgHere's a guest Dj tanda from one of TOTW's regulars, Chris from UK. Here's what he had to say: 

http://www.deezer.com/playlist/699327975"Tanda of the Week has three tandas of D'Arienzo vals, but given how great is D'Arienzo vals, I think it deserves at least one more :) So here is one from me. These never fail to bring a smile to dancers' faces. I last played this tanda at one of the finest milongas in the English Midlands - Geoff and Pauline's milonga in Stafford. You can see the complete set list here: http://bit.ly/1cmETuO ."

Thank you Chris!

To purchase these songs for yourself I recommend either TangoTunes or the above pictured De Pura Cepa compilation. To study D'Arienzos discography I recommend Tangoteca discography of D'Arienzo or D'Arienzo at www.tango.info.

D'Arienzo, Juan - TOTW - Todo Tango tango.info - TangoTunes - iTunes Store


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Tanda of the Week 34 / 2013 - Osvaldo Pugliese (valses)


1. Osvaldo Pugliese / Alberto Morán - "La noche que me esperes" 1952
2. Osvaldo Pugliese / Alberto Morán - "Ilusión marina" 1947
3. Osvaldo Pugliese / Alberto Morán - "Manos adoradas" 1952

http://open.spotify.com/user/anttiveikko/playlist/6rLzxqFkBgNQrlqdmH4ssZ
http://www.deezer.com/playlist/676431645Here's a tanda of some of the very few valses recorded by Osvaldo Pugliese. You don't hear these much in milongas and I believe I've had the pleasure of dancing to these songs a few times and I've personally played these probably once. Obviously these songs have too much of ________ for most of the dancers, but I'm sure there's the right milonga and the right moment out there somewhere to play these bombs of grande pasión.

PS. Don't forget the beautiful "Osvaldo Pugliese – Desde El Alma"... 


Pugliese, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store
Morán, Alberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Tanda of the Week 33 / 2013 - Carlos Di Sarli (instrumentals)


1. Carlos Di Sarli - "Shusheta | El aristócrata" 1940 - TangoTunes
2. Carlos Di Sarli - "Nobleza de arrabal" 1940 - TangoTunes
3. Carlos Di Sarli - "Catamarca" 1940 - TangoTunes
4. Carlos Di Sarli - "Racing Club" 1940 - TangoTunes

http://open.spotify.com/user/anttiveikko/playlist/7ewWQwWJ8y0FdfjjoECRV3
http://www.deezer.com/playlist/637896915The orchestra of Carlos Di Sarli might be better known for the beautiful, melodic and more downtempo recordings of the 1950's, but in 1940 (in between D'Arienzo's rule of pre-1940 and Troilo's recordings from 1941) it was Di Sarli who was recording some of the most funkiest and rhythmical uptempo instrumentals... ever! I like to think that if Osvaldo Pugliese would have recorded already in 1940 it would've sounded pretty much like these songs. Just the bandoneon variaciones are missing.

To purchace these songs in high quality I would recommend the fresh release of Carlos Di Sarli - El Jaguar from TangoTunes.com.

Di Sarli, Carlos - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - TangoTunes - iTunes Store

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Thank you for your support! Bitcoin donations accepted.



You can now support the blog by donating Bitcoins! It is also possible to make a donation on PayPal.

The blog remains non-profit and the few donations on PayPal I have received in the over three years of running the blog have been helpful (and very much appreciated!) in covering the still relatively small expenses I have from domain name registrations, Spotify and Deezer membership payments etc.

Obviously the blog not only does it purpose in creating discussion about tango music and providing tandas to listen to worldwide, but also has been a good promotional tool for me as a Dj and has gained me recognition in the tango community. So I would like to thank all the followers for your interest and your enthusiasm and willingness to share the blog with your communities has been amazing! Also another form of showing the support has been the numerous guest Dj tandas I have received and I am very thankful for them as well. Tanda of the Week would not be what it is today with out your help!

I have worked as a professional freelance Dj and circus artist for almost 20 years and I'm still loving it. It is not the easiest way of life but it brings amazing experiences. What I do today would not be possible without the community support.

So one more time... thank you all! I hope to see you in a milonga near you soon!



Tanda of the Week 31 / 2013 - Osvaldo Pugliese y Roberto Chanel

Pugliese with Moran and Chanel.

1. Osvaldo Pugliese / Roberto Chanel - "Rondando tu esquina" 1945
2. Osvaldo Pugliese / Roberto Chanel - "La abandoné y no sabía" 1944
3. Osvaldo Pugliese / Roberto Chanel - "El día de tu ausencia" 1944
4. Osvaldo Pugliese / Roberto Chanel - "Corrientes y Esmeralda" 1944

http://open.spotify.com/user/anttiveikko/playlist/76DY0iGQahDQY3YfFUqoiBHere's some of my and many other's favorite Pugliese with the singer Roberto Chanel.

http://www.deezer.com/playlist/615138785"[Roberto Chanel] was an excellent singer, delicate, with a warm tenderness, a typical symbol of his period. However, he was not widely known save for tango people, collectors or, at the most, by those who lived at his time. For the connoisseurs, he was the best Pugliese's vocalist, neither the most popular nor the most renowned, but the one who best and with the highest finesse represented the maestro.


The first recording of the orchestra for the Odeon label was on July 15, 1943, the sides were: "El rodeo" (by Agustín Bardi) and "Farol" (by the Expósito brothers), the latter with Chanel as vocalist.
With Pugliese he recorded 31 tunes (three in duo with Alberto Morán), those which stand out are "Fuimos", "Consejo de oro", "El sueño del pibe"  and "Yo te bendigo".


The researcher Nélida Rouchetto described him this way: «With his nasal sound, his canyengue and his common man's diction he kept alive the popular roots that gave rise to the city music. It was Chanel who identified himself like an orchestra instrument, in the manner of a viola, as can be verified since his first recording».

After he split with Pugliese, he was member of the Florindo Sassone Orchestra with whom he recorded 16 tracks for the RCA-Victor company. Some of the numbers were: "Corrientes angosta" (by Ángel Gatti), "Ríe payaso" (by Virgilio Carmona and Emilio Falero) and "Flor de fango" (by Augusto Gentile and Pascual Contursi)."


Néstor Pinsón, TodoTango.com on Roberto Chanel

---------

I've always had a funny personal memory connected to the song "Rondando tu esquina" by Pugliese and Chanel; As some of you may know I work also as a circus artist and back in 2001 I was directing a show for the fire circus group I performed in at the time. A friend of mine was producing our show music and I told him to look for some tango samples for the music. He found some Pugliese in our local library and so one of the songs in our show was based on a sample loop of the beginning of "Rondando tu esquina" and everytime I hear the song played in a milonga it brings back memories of spinning fire on stage.

Pugliese, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store
Chanel, Roberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Tanda of the Week 30 / 2013 -
Orquesta Típica Victor / Alberto Carol


1. Orquesta Típica Víctor / Alberto Carol - "Anoche a las cuatro" 1944
2. Orquesta Típica Víctor / Alberto Carol - "Mi taza de café" 1944
3. Orquesta Típica Víctor / Alberto Carol - "Bajo el cono azul" 1944
4. Orquesta Típica Víctor / Alberto Carol - "Lo ví en tus ojos" 1944

http://open.spotify.com/user/anttiveikko/playlist/34UFj9pGWTJkULfPDvqZme
Here's another guest dj tanda from DJ Thomas Hildebrandt from Germany. I recently featured his tanda of Rodolfo Biagi with Hugo Duval (TOTW 19/2013). Here's what he had to say about the tanda of Orquesta Tipica Victor:

http://www.deezer.com/de/playlist/613767905
"Another non-rhythmic guest tanda from the guy who was nicknamed "El hijo de D’Arienzo" by one of his dance partners in Buenos Aires for his love for rhythmical music. I played this tanda recently in a small milonga in a cinema/café in Bamberg and found dancers reacting to it in a very intense fashion. This tanda may be viewed as low in energy, but when played at the right moment it can create a wonderfully tender and romantic atmosphere in which we can melt into its gloomy poetry as performed by the singer Alberto Carol. Otherwise unknown to the tango world, Carol left only a handful of recordings with the late Orquesta Típica Victor. The famous OTV, since 1943 lead by the pianist Mario Maurano, made some last recordings in 1944, mainly with Carol, before finally being dissolved. With the right amount of previous D’Arienzos (and his relatives) in your feet, these tracks let you slide into a melancholic mood towards the darker and dangerously narcotic ingredients of the night. I love it!"

"Lo ví en tus ojos" is often replaced by "Una Vez" which was sung by Ortega del Cerro. Both for the fact that most of us mortals don't have "Lo ví en tus ojos" in very good quality and also for the fact that this is possibly the only way to ever play "Una Vez" in a tanda. For more of Orquesta Tipica Victor check out the OTV tandas on TOTW and I would also recommend the Serie 78 RPM: Orquesta Típica Victor Vol.1 and Serie 78 RPM: Orquesta Típica Victor Vol.2 albums available on Spotify and the iTunes Store. Thank you Thomas for another tanda!

Orquesta Típica Víctor - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Tanda of the Week 29 / 2013 - Miguel Calo con Raúl Berón


Raúl Berón


1. Miguel Caló / Raúl Berón - "Jamás retornarás" 1942
2. Miguel Caló / Raúl Berón - "Trasnochando" 1942
3. Miguel Caló / Raúl Berón - "Corazón, no le hagas caso" 1942
4. Miguel Caló / Raúl Berón - "Qué te importa que te llore" 1942


Here's a second version of a Miguel Caló with Raúl Berón tanda that I had posted earlier. I find that this one captures better the story of losing someone you love with some of the most beautiful tangos ever recorded. I've replaced "Lejos de Buenos Aires" with "Trasnochando".  You can listen to the tanda on Spotify or Deezer, and the tanda is also available on a shirt of your choise at RedBubble.

Although I have been playing this one also as a version where "Lejos de Buenos Aires" replaces "Corazon, no le hagas caso". It is a matter of if I like to follow "Trasnochando" with a song that starts with a similar strong beat or with one that starts a lot smoother. But like I said lyrics wise I like "Corazon..." better. For me, this here is tango perfected and in these songs you have it all. Great danceability, amazing orchestra and singer, the melody, the rhytm, drama, passion and melancholy. It doesn't really get better than this. Overplaying these songs is impossible.

You can read the lyrics of the songs in the following links:

Calo, Miguel - TOTW - Todo Tango tango.info - iTunes Store
Berón, Raúl - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store 




Friday, October 4, 2013

Tanda of the Week 28 / 2013 - Fresedo vs. Fresedo




1. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Tigre viejo" 1934 - iTunes Store
2. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Arrabalero" 1939 - iTunes Store
3. Osvaldo Fresedo - "La mariposa" 1945 - iTunes Store
4. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Mariposita" 1941 - iTunes Store

Here's a more recent alternate version of a tanda of Fresedo instrumentals that I posted earlier this year. I feel that ending with "Mariposita" is more similar in style to the opening track "Tigre Viejo", while "Derecho viejo" is pushing the energy and rhytm more. I actually had "Divagando" (listen on Spotify) in the place of "La Mariposa" but since it wasn't available on Deezer I made this change for the blog.

 vs.

Tanda of the Week 05 / 2013 - Osvaldo Fresedo (instrumentals)

1. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Tigre viejo" 1934 - iTunes Store
2. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Arrabalero" 1939 - iTunes Store
3. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Poliya" 1939 - iTunes Store
4. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Derecho viejo" 1941 - iTunes Store

Anyway... here you can compare two different versions of a tanda with the same beginning but different ending. Both tandas have their place and use but can you say which one you prefer?


Fresedo, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

3rd International Festival of Tango de Salon in Łódź - Dj Antti Suniala


I had the pleasure and priviledge to play at the 3rd International Festival of Tango de Salon in Łódź Poland last sunday. The festival was organized beautifully, and the good venues, excellent selection of Dj's and warm atmosphere made sure that the dancers gave high praises for the festival and will be returning next year as well. I sure hope I can be a part of this amazing festival again in the future. The festival also featured great maestros like Sebastián Archával & Roxana Suárez and Javier Rodriguez & Noelia Barsi. I played the closing milonga of the festival, following top Dj's like Frank Seifart (Germany), Christoph Lanner (Austria) and Alexandra Kotelnitskaya (Ukraine). The style and quality of music was set very high and it was a welcome challenge and great pleasure to continue their work.

I managed to compile my set as a Dj Antti Suniala - Lodz Tango Salon Festival - Spotify playlist for the most part. I had to change a few songs that were not available on Spotify like D'Arienzo's "Olvidame (YouTube)" was changed to "Yunta brava", but overall the playlist is mostly true to what I played in Łódź that night. Also the Canaro milongas and Tanturi valses that I played were not available on Spotify so I made alternative tandas for those. The D'Arienzo instrumental tanda close to the end of the night got the dancers to really give it their all and they also applauded loudly the tanda afterwards. Instead of "Pampa" I played one of my D'Arienzo favorites "Por que razon" (Available on Tangotunes.com). But I won't go into more detail about the amazing missing songs... you will have to catch me at a milonga one day to hear them for yourself. The cortinas have been changed to protect the innocent.

I hope you enjoy the playlist and feel free to share it with your friends and community. Please "Like" my personal Dj profile on Facebook "Dj Antti Suniala". where I will be sharing more of playlists in the future as well as information and updates about my tourdates.

Ps. I will be moving to Barcelona in November until March/April and I'm interested in playing more milongas in Spain and southern France although I will still keep working internationally. Also now is a good time for bookings for next years festivals and events.


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Tanda of the Week 27 / 2013 - Osvaldo Fresedo 1950's
Dj Goran

 


1. Osvaldo Fresedo / Héctor Pacheco - "Pero yo sé" 1952
2. Osvaldo Fresedo / Héctor Pacheco - "Patotero sentimental" 1952
3. Osvaldo Fresedo / Armando Garrido - "Déjame soñar" 1950
4. Osvaldo Fresedo / Armando Garrido - "Paisaje"1951

This tanda comes from Dj Goran from Zagreb, Croatia. Here's what he had to say about the tanda:

"Fresedo's music is my current tango love. The romantic sounds, an unusual orchestra for tango (harp, vibraphone, even percussion), the end-of-an-old-Hollywood-movie feeling... it's something special. Discovering a new song by Fresedo always makes me happy. I usually play Ray, Ruiz and Mayel, sometimes Serpa. But this tanda, which by some people may be very borderline tango, is very dear to me. Very dreamy and romantic, this is ideal for a dimly lit milonga, near the end of the evening. I don't perceive the "energy" of a milonga as only rhythm as you can often hear people say. For me this is an intense, energy-packed tanda that will keep the dancers' senses fully occupied and still have them cuddle to the very end of the tanda. 

I sometimes play other songs in combinations with these, such as "Vamos, vamos zaino viejo" or some with Carlos Barrios, but these are my favourites from Fresedo's 50s. Especially "Pero yo se" and "Paisaje". Since those songs are not often played, I usualy start with "Pero yo se". "Patotero sentimental" is a familiar piece to most dancers, but I think "Pero yo se" is very recognisable lately (e.g. Chicho performed to it many times). Paisaje is something really unexpected. Many dancers asked me if it is some Christmas song because of the bells. 

I live and work in Zagreb, Croatia. Although I am a physicist, my 10 years of piano school are much more useful in tango. I don't have any regular event unfortunately, since this is a very small community but I did manage to visit quite a few places in the past 1.5 year of serious DJing. My DJing page with more info is here: https://www.facebook.com/tango.dj.goran"

Thank you Goran! A bit more information for those who like the opening track: The beautiful "Pero yo se" was composed and written by Azucena Maizani. She also recorded the song in 1928 and 1931 (listen on Spotify). Also D'Agostino recorded the song with Vargas (listen on Spotify). 

"Patotero Sentimental" is probably best known as the versions from Di Sarli with Rufino (listen on Spotify) and also Di Sarli with Pomar (listen on Spotify).


Fresedo, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Tanda of the Week 26 / 2013 - Francisco Lomuto 1929


1. Francisco Lomuto - "Media noche" 1929
2. Francisco Lomuto - "Mamita" 1929
3. Francisco Lomuto - "Serpentina doble" 1929
4. Francisco Lomuto - "Viejo amigo" 1929

A guest Dj tanda from the down under! Dj Patricia Petronio from Australia. This is her second contribution to the blog. The first one was a tanda of Jose García (TOTW 52/2012).Unfortunately the second song, "Mamita", was not available on Deezer so I replaced it with "Mi pibe" from 1929 (by suggestion of Patricia).

"Hi Antti,

Last year I saw a mention of Francisco  Lomuto’s recordings of the late twenties.  Michael Lavocah refers to this “very special period in the history of tango .. . the age of the sextets”.  This sparked my curiosity.  So, in May I headed over to the Buenos Aires Tango Club to pick up two Lomuto CDs “Perfume de mujer” (1927-28) and “Quejidos de tango” (1928-30). I was not disappointed! The RGS Tango Collection disc of Lomuto instrumentals also contains some gems from that era.  I love the growling, unhurried and grounded sound, with lovely melodic variations.

Anyway, here’s a tanda I put together from these discs.  1929 is my favourite year from this period.

Dj Patricia Petronio 
www.tangosalonadelaide.blogspot.com

Lomuto, Francisco - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Tanda of the Week now available on DEEZER !!!


Good news for the growing international fanbase of Tanda of the Week! I've been struggling with solutions to give the possibility of listening to the music and tandas posted on the blog in a legal manner respecting copyright issues. From now on I will be sharing the music not only on Spotify, which is currently limited to only 28 countries, but also on online music streaming service Deezer, which boasts online availability in over 182 countries!

I have already shifted the focus of tandas to feature music available on Spotify, and while the tango collection on Spotify is ever growing, sometimes limiting the selections to the available songs feels like compromising too much. So I will occasionally post tandas of harder to find music not available online, which will probably not please some of my followers, but on the other hand can be more useful for the DJ's and other hard core tango addicts.

I have noticed that not all the songs available on Spotify are available on Deezer (yet?) and therefore, although availability on both services would be ideal, I will prioritize the availability on Spotify and will either offer an alternative tanda on Deezer or unfortunately nothing at all.

You can search with the label "Deezer" to find all the Tandas of the Week available on Deezer so far. Updating the tandas posted in nearly three years takes ages so please be patient.

I am constantly looking for ways and ideas of how to improve the blog, so please send me any suggestions or feedback you have. I would appreciate it. And while on the topic I would like to thank Heikki Valkonen for the original suggestion of expanding to using Deezer.

Thank you and see you on the dance floor!

- DJ Antti Suniala


Tanda of the Week 25 / 2013 - Edgardo Donato


1. Edgardo Donato / Horacio Lagos - "A oscuras" 1941
2. Edgardo Donato / Horacio Lagos - "Fué mi salvación" 1940
3. Edgardo Donato / Horacio Lagos - "Mis pesares" 1941
4. Edgardo Donato / Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales - "Sinsabor" 1939

Here's a tanda from orchestra of Edgardo Donato including one of their biggest hits regarding milongas of today: "Sinsabor". Ofcourse Donato is more recognized for composing one of the biggest hits in tango ever "A Media Luz", which is said to be one of the tangos with most recordings in the world in the history of the genre. Donato was born in Buenos Aires but raised in Monte Video, Uruguay, where he had his career as a musician, composer and orchestra leader.

"In 1927 he put together an orchestra under the label Donato-Zerrillo, lined-up by Héctor María Artola, Juan Turturiello and Héctor Gentile, on bandoneons; on violins, the two leaders and Armando Julio Piovani (who sang as well), on piano Osvaldo Donato, his other brother Ascanio on cello and A. Bancalá on double bass.

They made their debut in Montevideo on July 14, 1927, where they were heard by the impressario of the Select Lavalle cinema theater of Buenos Aires -a scenery for the best groups- and he hired them to play for a season. They were there until 1930, under the name of Orquesta Típica criolla Donato-Zerrillo and the advertisement announced them as "The 9 tango aces, the most striking native tango orchestra ever heard".

The singer Luis Díaz joined the orchestra as refrain singer, and they finally recorded for the Brunswick label. This vocalist appeared on twenty of the fifty numbers released. In 1930, after a brief tour with the female singer Azucena Maizani, the team disbanded."

"The new orchestra, already with only one leader, started to record for Brunswick and played at different cinemas and theaters; also, on LS9 Radio La voz del aire, where they were announced as "Los ocho ases del tango porteño, Edgardo Donato y su formidable típica criolla". For the Brunswick label he recorded over 130 numbers; on December 9, 1932 he switched to Victor and recorded "El Huracán", with his new vocalist Félix Gutiérrez. He worked with this recording company until the end, apart from a brief stay in the Pampa label, releasing over four hundred recordings."




The orchestra of Edgardo Donato was one of those which were included in the movie "Tango", from 1933, the first talkie with complete soundtrack in the history of Argentine cinema."

- read the full article about Edgardo Donato at Todotango.com by Oscar Zucchi

Donato, Edgardo - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store
Lagos, Horacio - TOTW - tango.info

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Tanda of the Week 24 / 2013 - Alfredo Gobbi


1. Alfredo J. Gobbi - "Independiente Club" 1948
2. Alfredo J. Gobbi - "La catrera" 1951
3. Alfredo J. Gobbi - "Racing Club" 1949
4. Alfredo J. Gobbi - "La viruta" 1947

This tanda is from Alfredo Gobbi, one of the most highly regarded musicians and orchestra leaders in tango. I have previously released a tanda from Gobbi with the singer Jorge Maciel (TOTW 21/2012). TodoTango.com has an excellent article about Gobbi, which was originally published in the magazine Tango y Lunfardo (Nº 73, Chivilcoy, 31 March 1992). The author Luis Adolfo Sierra writes:

"The multiple facets of Alfredo Gobbi's personality -composer, violinist, arranger and orchestra leader- granted him a well-deserved and indisputable recognition among the most qualified and important music interpreters of tango. Because Alfredo Gobbi –"the romantic violin of tango"- not only bore the responsibility of an inherited prestigious artistic name. He brought the very personal creation of a tango style. So he established a different way of feeling and expressing tango. He brought in his original esthetic conceptions, of evident innovative character, reminiscences of an old time, framed in the exact balance of the evolutionist values, that allowed him to crystallize one of the most colorful, deep, dense and authentic expressions of the instrumental tango. It has been accurately said that "in the modern musical clothing of Alfredo Gobbi, the last example of tango with long hair was dying down". That was his tango. The unmistakable tango of Alfredo Gobbi, of academic musical structure and outskirts-born deep sensitivity."

Sierra continues to describe Gobbi's style: "His far-reaching contribution to the style of the genre, has "something" so much his own, and at the same time so difficult to define, "something" of De Caro´s school, "something" of Di Sarli (that is not either the fusion of two tendencies so different), "something" of the tango of always. Of Alfredo Gobbi´s tango, that in the expressive language of jazz would be called "swing", and which has no verbal equivalent among us."

"In each version of Alfredo Gobbi's orchestra we can always find a renewed motive of interest, because of its rich gamut of rhythmic and harmonic resources. Either in his notable refurbishing of old and everlasting pieces -"El incendio", "Chuzas", "Nueve puntos", "La viruta", "Pelele", "La catrera"- always treated with careful respect of their original contents, or in the performance of his own and musically evolved tangos, "Orlando Goñi", "El andariego", "Camandulaje" (which contrarily to what could be thought of, he composed on the piano and not on the violin)-, the esthetic values that prevail in Alfredo Gobbi's way of interpreting are evidenced."


While Gobbi is probably better known for songs like the above mentioned "Orlando Goñi" and "El andariego" I tried to have the dancer's best interest in mind when creating this tanda and chose to go more with Gobbi's arrangements of classics instead of his own compositions.  For listening I have nothing but the upmost respect for these compositions, but for dancing I find them a bit too repetitious.

I hope you enjoy the tanda!

Gobbi, Alfredo - TOTW - Todo Tangotango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 23 / 2013 - Ricardo Pedevilla

Ricardo Pedevilla, Daniel Alvarez & Nicolás Pepe 1935

1. Ricardo Pedevilla / Mario D'Elía - "Vida mía" 1951
2. Ricardo Pedevilla / Oscar Serpa - "Y mientes todavia" 1950
3. Ricardo Pedevilla / Mario D'Elía - "Y siempre pasa igual" 1951
4. Ricardo Pedevilla / Mario D'Elía - "Tus palabras y la noche" 1951

Here's a quality tanda from a more unknown orchesta, Ricardo Pedevilla. I've published earlier one Pedevilla tanda on Tanda of the Week (TOTW 30/2011)  but unfortunately the only Pedevilla song available on Spotify is the "El amanacer". Therefore I will leave it up to the readers of my blog to hunt down these hard to find songs (and especially for the DJ's it will be worth the trouble). However "El amanecer" will give you a clear example of the high quality orchestra that Ricardo Pedevilla had and I'm sure his Di Sarliesque style will please a lot of tango enthusiasts. Just last night I played my above mentioned instrumental tanda from Ricardo Pedevilla in a milonga in Berlin and got good feedback and also questions about the orchestra.

This tanda was sent to us by Gio Il Fuz from Italy. Here's what he said about himself and the tanda:

"I’m an Italian TJ, DJing from 2008, resident in La Maquina Tanguera’s Milonga in Forte dei Marmi (Tuscany) (www.lamaquinatanguera.it) and guest in some Milongas and Festivals.

I send you a Tanda, that I’ve just played in Milonga at Florence last week: good dancers enjoyed and asked me infos about this not so known versions…

This tanda is my second contribution to TOTW (The first one was a Lomuto vals tanda (TOTW 17/2012). It’s a Tanda of Orquesta Ricardo Pedevilla, with Mario D’Elia and Oscar Serpa singers. This tanda born from my research of Tus Palabras y la noche Pedevilla’s version, that I heard some weeks ago during a Tango Stage. In my research, I find also a very stylish and sweet version of Vida Mia…Curiosity killed the cat, but make also a good Tango DJ.

Hasta pronto!
Gio Il Fuz -. https://www.facebook.com/ilfuz"