Monday, October 20, 2014

Milonga Sin Nombre "Homenaje a Miguel Caló y Donato Racciatti" playlist

It's great to be back home & to host another milonga in the beautiful Old North Church! 

This time, the special empanada flavor was banana - Maui lilikoi, and the special cortina flavor, the Hawaiian steel guitar of the late 20s - early 30s.

For bios of Miguel Caló y Donato Racciatti and my thoughts about their role in tango's history, please check the milonga flyer. And now, to the playlist:

01. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Marejada" 1941 2:32
02. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Don Juan" 1941 2:34
03. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "El recodo" 1941 2:20
04. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
05. Juan D'Arienzo - Héctor Mauré "Dime mi amor" 1941 2:40
06. Juan D'Arienzo - Alberto Echagüe  "Qué importa" 1939 2:10
07. Juan D'Arienzo - Alberto Echagüe  "Nada más" 1938 2:43
08. "Palolo - Charlie Wilson" 0:27
I love Biagi's valses, but among them ""Dejame Amarte Aunque Sea un Dia" holds a special place in my memory, reminding me of a rainy evening in Prague and a milonga in a beautiful Art Nouveau pavillion perched high on a hillside overlooking the city, amid vineyards
09. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás  "El ultimo adios (vals)" 1940 2:09
10. Rodolfo Biagi - Alberto Amor  "Paloma (vals)" 1945 2:29
11. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "Dejame Amarte Aunque Sea un Dia (vals)" 1939 2:55
12. "Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio" 0:23
Many orchestras played "Ninguna", but D'Agostino's is the dearest for me. There is strange personal touch there - as a genetic genealogist, I've got to know Ninguna's magnolia-skinned girl's real-life parallel. She was in her 70s then, and her birth name, 木蘭, a Chinese voice-over of Russian Юля (Yulya ~~ Julia), meant "magnolia flower", the name which also denoted the color of her skin she inherited from her mother. She was looking, in vain, for her untold past, for the families of the parents from the faraway Harbin she never knew after having been adopted by American missionaries, and I wondered if this song of the lady whose skin was like magnolia lit by moonlight, and of the gentle rain of tears of the eternity crying for the past which has gone forever, might give her any consolation.
13. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas"No Vendrá" 1945 2:30
14. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas  "A quién le puede importar?" 1945 3:11
15. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas  "Ninguna" 1942 2:57
16. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
Beautifully archaic sound of di Sarli's sextet!
17. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Racing Club" 1930 2:34
18. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "T.B.C." 1928 3:02
19. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Pobre yo" 1929 2:12
20. "Palolo - Charlie Wilson" 0:27
I picked this set of classic instrumental milongas for the first of my three Racciatti tandas for the night, to try to cover all genres. But in the end, after dancing to it, I wasn't super impressed. Better to rely on Racciatti's vocal recordings, especially the tangos he composed himself!
21. Donato Racciatti  "La Puñalada" 1:45
22. Donato Racciatti  "Silueta Porteña" 1:35
23. Donato Racciatti  "El Porteñito" 2:47
24."Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio" 0:23
Can there be a night of tango without Caló with the voice of Raúl Berón?
25. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón  "Al Compas Del Corazon" 1942 2:48
26. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón  "Que te importa que te llore" 1942 2:44
27. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "Jamas Retornaras" 1942 2:31
28. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
29. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "El encopao" 1942 2:34
30. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Como has cambiado pebeta" 1942 2:37
31. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Yo no se porque razon" 1942 2:43
32. "Palolo - Charlie Wilson" 0:27
Vals super-hits:
33. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón  "El vals soñador" 1942 3:32
34. Miguel Caló - Alberto Podestá  "Bajo un cielo de estrellas (vals)" 1941 2:37
35. Miguel Caló - Alberto Podestá  "Pedacito de cielo (vals)" 1942 2:21
36. "Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio" 0:23
"Hasta siempre amor" is definitely the highlight of this vintage Uruguayan tanda, but I really love all three:
37. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Queriéndote" 1955 2:49
38. Donato Racciatti - Felix Romero "Te burlas tristeza"  2:46
39. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Hasta siempre amor" 1958 2:57
40. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
This tanda of Caló's classics tangos includes one great track of his "reborn" Orchestra of Stars in the 1960s:
41. Miguel Caló - Alberto Podestá  "Yo soy el tango" 1941 2:46
42. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "La abandone y no sabia" 1944 2:50
43. Miguel Caló - Alberto Podestá  "Que falta que me haces" 1963 3:16
44. "Palolo - Charlie Wilson" 0:27
Aces of Candombe tanda v.2! (compare with the version from May) - here we have Caló's only milonga for the night, and to cap the tanda, another unsurpassed Uruguayan piece, Gavioli's "Tamboriles". I already mentioned Romeo Gavioli's short and tragic life on this blog when writing about an "erased page of tango history", the untold tale of Lita Morales. Romeo Gavioli is best remembered for his singing, alongside with Lita Morales and Horacio Lagos, for Edgardo Donato's orchestra. But Gavioli was also a talented violinist and composer. After Edgardo Donato's orchestra (which drew many talents from Uruguay to Buenos Aires) fell apart, Gavioli returned to Montevideo and, in 1943, organized his own orchestra, renowned for its candombes, full of Uruguayan spirit. 
45. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "El tucu-tun" 1943 2:34
46. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón  "Azabache" 1942 3:05
47. Romeo Gavioli "Tamboriles" 1956 2:56
48. "Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio" 0:23
Nina Miranda was the legendary voice which first launched Donato Racciatti's orchestra into fame. I recently wrote about her amazing life story here.
49. Donato Racciatti - Instrumental "La Viruta" 1972 2:30
50. Donato Racciatti - Nina Miranda "Tu corazón" 1960 2:32
51. Donato Racciatti - Nina Miranda "Gloria" 1952 2:47
52. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
Biagi's rhythmic goodness distilled.
53. Rodolfo Biagi - Jorge Ortiz "Humillación" 1941 2:42
54. Rodolfo Biagi - Teófilo Ibáñez "Gólgota" 1938 2:32
55. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "La chacarera" 1940 2:24
56. "Palolo - Charlie Wilson" 0:27
The name of Orquesta Típica Los Provincianos sounds like a snide kind of a reference to the world of Buenos Aires tango orchestras, in a classic Argentine divide between the provincials and the capital-city dwellers, the Provincianos vs. Porteños. Orquesta Típica Los Provincianos in the early 1930s was christened, and led, by Ciriaco Ortiz, a bandoneonist genius from the city of Córdoba, also famous for his sense of humor. The Provincianos left few records, but their valses are quite remarkable.
Orquesta Tipica Los Provincianos
57. Los Provincianos, Luis Diaz  "A Tu Memoria, Madrecita" 1934 2:45
58. Los Provincianos, Carlos Lafuente  "Un Placer (vals)" 1933 2:34
59. Los Provincianos, Alberto Gomez  "Samaritana (vals)" 1932 2:58
60."Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio" 0:23
61. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Siempre es carnaval" 1937 3:27
62. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "En la huella del dolor" 1934 2:48
63. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Vida mia" 1933 3:23
64. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
Less frequently played Caló favorites:
65. Miguel Caló - Jorge Ortiz  "Pa'que seguir" 1943 2:13
66. Miguel Caló - Jorge Ortiz  "De barro" 1943 3:10
67. Miguel Calo - Jorge Ortiz  "A las siete en el cafe" 1943 3:03
68. "Palolo - Charlie Wilson" 0:27
All-time fav milongas:
69. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Yo Soy De San Telmo" 1943 2:20
70. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Entre Pitada Y Pitada" 1942 2:33
71. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Pena Mulata" 1941 2:27
72. "Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio" 0:23
73. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "En la buena y en la mala" 1940 2:26
74. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Danza Maligna" 1940 2:37
75. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Llorar por una mujer" 1941 2:47
76. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
and we are getting into a dramatic homestretch of the final 3 crescendo tandas...
77. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podestá "Todo" 1943 2:37
78. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podestá "Garua" 1943 3:09
79. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podestá "Recien" 1943 2:43
80. "Na Pua O Hawaii - George Ku Trio" 0:22
The final track of the penultimate tanda was my recent surprise discovery. I already wrote about "Dark Eyes", the classic Russian Gypsy romance, and its influences in Russian and Argentine tango, and a little bit about composer Oscar Strok, the "King of Russian Tango", and Petr Leschenko, his most famous vocalist. Well, it turns that Strok-Leschenko's "Dark Eyes" actually made it all the way to Buenos Aires, where the orchestra of Florindo Sassone recorded a stunning interpretation of this 1920's Russian tango classic:
81. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental "Mi dolor" 1957 2:51
82. Alfredo De Angelis - Instrumental "Felicia 1969" 2:48
83. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Ojos Negros (Oscar Strok)" 1968 2:28
84. "Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio" 0:23
85. Osváldo Pugliese - Jorge Maciel "Remembranzas" 1956 3:41
86. Osváldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Rondando Tu Esquina" 1945 2:48
87. Osváldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel  "Farol" 1943 3:22
88. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "La cumparsita" 1951 3:49
89. Damour Vocal Band  "Sway"  3:49
(89 total)

Let's celebrate Miguel Caló and Donato Racciatti!

-A Milonga Sin Nombre flyer -

October is the birthday month of Tango orchestra leaders Miguel Caló and Donato Racciatti! 


Miguel Caló 

28 Oct 1907 – 24 May 1972

A bandoneonist and an orchestra director, Miguel Caló started his music career with Fresedo's orchestra at the age of 17, and convened his first tango orchestra in 1928. During the Golden Age, Caló's orchestra was blessed with the amazing voices of  Raúl Berón, Alberto Podestá and Raúl Iriarte, and spectacular piano play by Osmar Maderna and Miguel Nijensohn. The early 1940s were the undisputed pinnacle years of Caló's tango. Miguel Caló composed such signature tango pieces as  "Jamás retornarás" and "Qué te importa que te llore", both recorded in 1942. And in the Dark Age of tango during the 1960s, he reunited the talents who played and sang with him in the past into "Orquesta de las Estrellas"



Donato Racciatti

18 Oct 1918 - 27 May 2000

The most famous Uruguayan tango orchestra leader, composer, and bandoneon player, Donato Racciatti was an immigrant from Italy and a late comer to the tango world. His orchestra has been formed only in 1948, and sustained itself primarily by touring small-town Uruguay and Brazil. It burst to continental fame after 1953 with the voices of amazing female singers, Nina Miranda (singing in this picture, with Racciatti on bando to the right) and Olga Delgrossi. Their signature pieces,  "Tu corazón", "Queriéndote", and "Hasta siempre amor", were all composed by Racciatti himself. Uruguayan public remained highly appreciative of Donato Racciatti's talent through the years which were marked by the loss of tango culture in the nearby Argentina, and he played and inspired until his death at the age of 81.