Practilonga del Centro playlist, Jan 12, 2015

Carlos di Sarli
Jan 7, 1903 - Jan 12, 1960

It's great to be back from the traditional New Year's break at San Diego Tango Festival and to mingle again with the hometown tango crowd! Of course as it happens on Del Centro's Monday nights, the impromptu class at the beginning of the practilonga stretched for good 40 minutes, and I kept shifting valses and milongas down the list, and adding more Di Sarli tandas. For it's El Señor del Tango's birth month, and the 55th anniversary of his death, too. But more on Di Sarli later...
01. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "El jaguel" 1956 2:52
02. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Don Juan (El taita del barrio)" 1951 2:47
03. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Cara sucia" 1952 2:20
04. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Champagne tango" 1938 2:26
05. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "El flete" 1936 2:58
06. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La viruta" 1936 2:20
07. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Tristeza Marina" 1943 3:09
08. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Adiós te vas" 1943 2:30
09. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Otra vez carnaval (Noches de carnaval)" 1942 2:41
10. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "Lagrimas" 1939 2:50
11. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "A oscuras" 1941 2:48
12. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Se Va La Vida" 1936 2:39

Street cars started running in Bahia Blanca when Carlos was 3

OK, time to start Di Sarli's story now, since we reached Bahía Blanca, Carlos di Sarli's hometown and an unsurpassed tango masterpiece he composed in its honor. A town where he got an eye injury in a childhood accident in his father's gun shop, condemning Carlos di Sarli to wearing dark sunglasses for the rest of his life. A town from where he ran away to Argentina's North at 13, to play tangos in defiance of his father's wish for his son to become a classical pianist. A town where he assembled the first of his many tango orchestras, at the age of 16.
13. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Bahía Blanca" 1957 2:52
Di Sarli kept playing tangos for 42 years, changing music styles so much that one might think that the records were done by completely different orchestras - and in a sense they were very different, but always achieved superb balance of rhythm and melody, of unwavering beat and complexity. I realize that I couldn't even attempt to cover "all Di Sarli terrain" in this playlist. So far we've got more rhythmic 1950s instrumental remixes of very old tangos in the first tanda; a classic vocal of Rufino in the 2nd; and more flowery 1950s instrumentals, withDi Sarli's own compositions. By the end of the list, we won't even have touched super-rhythmic, Juan D'Arienzo-influenced late 30s; famous vocals of Podesta and Duran; and really dramatic vocal records from the 1950s; and not a single vals of Di Sarli's here. It's just impossible to exhaust all his masterpieces!
14. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Comme il faut" 1951 2:28
15. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Indio manso" 1958 2:53
16. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Lita Morales "Noches de invierno" 1937 2:47
17. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Angel Vargas"Sin Rumbo Fijo (vals)" 1938 2:18
18. Orquesta Tipica Victor, M. Pomar  "Temo" 1940 2:55
19. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Llorar por una mujer" 1941 2:47
20. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Marinero" 1943 3:10
21. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Como has cambiado pebeta" 1942 2:37
22. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "Milongon" 1952 2:29
23. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "Corralera" 1956 2:05
24. Quinteto Pirincho (Francisco Canaro) "Orillera (Milonga)"  2:27
25. Ángel D'Agostino - Instrumental "Café Domínguez (palabras de Julian Centeya)" 1955 2:56
26. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas  "Tres esquinas" 1941 3:05
27. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Ahora No Me Conocés" 1941 2:35
The last of the three valses is what conjured up this tanda for me. The other day, gliding down, mile after mile, from a Uinta ski tour, I couldn't get one line of a verse from my head, "sangrar mi corazón por ti!". At first just recited without a tune, eventually it grew into a whole musical phrase and I still couldn't get what it was. At last, the previous section of the music floated up in my memory, and then it was - aha, old vals, I know you!
28. Rodolfo Biagi - Instrumental "Lagrimas Y Sonrisas (vals)" 1941 2:41
29. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "El ultimo adios (vals)" 1940 2:09
30. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "Dejame Amarte Aunque Sea un Dia (vals)" 1939 2:55
31. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón Miguel Calo "Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón / Jamas Retornaras" 1996 2:31
32. Miguel Calo - Raul Beron  "Que te importa que te llore" 1942 2:44
33. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón  "Corazón no le hagas caso" 1942-09-29 3:00

Di Sarli's Sextet in 1929

The first of many BsAs Di Sarli orchestras, the amazing sextet which he convened at 24, much under influence of Osvaldo Fresedo's Old Guard. But this sound surpasses most of the best of the Old Guard classics. For me, the powerful, slightly archaic Sexteto Carlos di Sarli may be the most beloved period of his music. Then the hard times of the Great Depression came and di Sarli had to quit in 1931, for 6 long years. Oldtimers remember that his competitors fanned rumors that his dark glasses were a yeta, a jynx bringing bad luck to the listeners, and even some superstitious Argentines are afraid to utter his name to this day - for them, Di Sarli can only be mentioned as El Tuerto, the One-Eyed. The superstitions never made it easier for El Tuerto to win audiences!
34. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Inst  "Racing Club" 1930 2:34
35. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Inst  "Belen" 1929 2:44
36. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Inst  "Pobre yo" 1929 2:12
A foxy tanda in lieu of the milongas :) Mostly Russian-themed this time, the middle tune being a great remix of a Russian Silver Age classic which I already described in this blog.
37. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Se ve el tren"  3:11
38. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "No Te Apures Por Dios Postillon"  2:59
39. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Maruska" 1943 2:07
40. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida  "Mi noche triste" 1936 2:45
41. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Ojos negros que fascinan" 1935 2:51
42. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Invierno" 1937 3:26
43. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "No te apures, Carablanca" 1942 3:29
44. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "Manana zarpa un barco" 1942 3:22
45. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "Malena" 1942 2:57
Second Pirincho tanda for the night. Why didn't I add Di Sarli's valses, for good measure ;) ?
46. Quinteto Pirincho (Francisco Canaro) "Desde el alma (Vals)" 1952 3:01
47. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental  "Maria esther (vals)" 1943 2:31
48. Quinteto Pirincho (Francisco Canaro) "Vibraciones del alma (Vals)" 1956 2:53
49. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Mano Blanca" 1944 2:43
50. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Ninguna" 1942 2:59
51. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "No Vendrá" 1945 2:30
52. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "El Adios" 1938 3:09
53. Edgardo Donato - Romeo Gavioli y Lita Morales "Mi Serenata" 1940  3:02
54. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales y Romeo Gavioli "Sinfonía De Arrabal" 1940  3:07
Di Sarli's thick, full-bodied milongas are my absolute favorites
55. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La Mulateada" 1941 2:22
56. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Pena Mulata" 1941 2:27
57. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Cuando un viejo se enamora" 1942 2:14
I always preferred Biagi's "Todo te nombra" but I begin to appreciate Canaro-Fama's...
58. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama "Yo no se porque te quiero" 1934 3:10
59. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama "Todo te nombra" 1939 3:07
60. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama "Te quiero todavia" 1939 2:54
61. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Nieblas del riachuelo" 1937 2:25
62. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "No quiero verte llorar" 1937 2:42
63. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Sollosos" 1937 3:27
64. Alfredo De Angelis - Instrumental "Pavadita 1958"  2:53
65. Alfredo De Angelis - Instrumental "Felicia 1969"  2:48
66. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental  "El Tango Club" 1957 2:40
67. Osváldo Pugliese "Nochero Soy" 1943 3:32
68. Osváldo Pugliese "Rondando Tu Esquina" 1943 2:48
69. Osváldo Pugliese "Recuerdo" 1944 2:39
70. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La cumparsita" 1951 3:49
71. Carlos Libedinsky  "Otra Luna" 2006 3:43
(71 total)

Christmas Eve Milonga with QTANGO

Our community was truly blessed to host Erskine Maytorena and QTANGO for a series of workshops and live music gigs. I must say that Erskine elevated tango musicality teaching to such a qualitatively different level that every class may be a revelation even for such a dyed-in-the-wool tanguero as myself. One of the most amazing ingredients in the "workshop mix" is the direct assistance of live music. Whenever we were asked to distinguish overlayed staccato and legato themes, or to recognize the music cues used by the tango musicians to forewarn us about coming pauses or phrase endings, or to accelerate and decelerate in and out of contratiempo, Olga's violin and Natalia's piano were always there to offer a remixed tango with the right musical components. When we discussed the changes in music style over the tango eras and between the tango masters, the QTANGO musicians were always ready to conjure up the spirit and the sound of the Guardia Vieja or mature D'Arienzo, late-period Di Sarli or Pugliese. The secrets of the craft revealed, one after another, to enrich our appreciation of our tango musical heritage. It's just incredible... Hats off!

QTANGO trio at the North Church

 I DJ'd during QTANGO's final night in Salt Lake, on Xmas Eve in the old North Church. Just two small stretches of recorded music before and after live music, and greatly (and happily) overshadowed by QTANGO's play.
01. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Recuerdos De Paris" 1937 3:12
02. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida  "Nada mas" 1938 3:00
03. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida  "Invierno" 1937 3:26
04. Alexander Dolsky  "At last, rainy September! (cortina 1)" 1979 0:15
05. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "No te apures, Carablanca" 1942 3:29
06. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "Sorbos amargos" 1942 3:22
07. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "Manana zarpa un barco" 1942 3:22
08. Eldar Ryazanov - Andrey Petrov "Nature doesn't have bad weather" (cortina) 0:24
09. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "En el volga yo te espero" 1943 2:40
10. Enrique Rodriguez - Instrumental  "Siempre fiel (vals)" 1938 3:38
11. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "Mariquita no mires al puerto (vals)" 1945 3:01
12. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25

Erskine Maytorena is, of course, first and foremost a vocalist, an opera singer before he took up bandoneon and tango teaching and reverse-engineering the best tango danceable music in the nation. So you wouldn't be surprised that he repeatedly pointed my attention to the talented tango vocalists of the past, whom I hardly ever featured in my playlists before. Argentino Ledesma sang mostly for Varela's orchestra, but he also recorded very few songs with Di Sarli, including this totally breathtaking "Fumando espero", one of those virtually unmatcheable tracks. Here I combined it with two other Di Sarli singers, united by the period and by the mood, quite seamlessly for my humble taste ... yet I got an impression that for Erskine, my transitions from a singer to a singer sounded totally abrupt and jarring, that he perceived too great a difference in their voices, talents, and manners of singing! Life to learn...
"Verdemar" is of course hard to match both musically and I guess emotionally too, it's so overflowing with sadness ... I wrote about its mystery before on rio Wang's blog.
13. Carlos di Sarli - Argentino Ledesma  "Fumando espero" 1956 4:02
14. Carlos di Sarli - Jorge Durán  "No me pregunten por qué" 1956 3:29
15. Carlos di Sarli - Oscar Serpa  "Verdemar" 1955 3:01
Now it's time for live music! El gente is truly electrified. Familiar QTANGO hits such as Ultima copa de bebida, vocal Gran muneca, best-ever Milonga triste, and some new super-hits, the most memorable of which is probably wonderfully lyrical instrumental Chiquilín de Bachín, Astor Piazzolla's vals lento which has become so un-Piazzolla danceable in Q's arrangement :) Love!
16. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Niebla del Riachuelo" 1937 2:25
17. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Sollozos"  3:28
18. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Recuerdo de bohemia" 1935 2:36
19. Sofia Rotaru  "Autumn Melody"  0:30
20. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Queriéndote" 1955 2:49
21. Donato Racciatti  "Tu corazón - Nina Miranda" 2:32
22. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Hasta siempre amor" 1958 2:57
23. Canaro - Hugo del Carril  "Marcha Peronista cortina"  0:16
people are palpably tired before the holidays and overflowing with live music's energy, and I find that a milonga tanda is simply a no go. Transitioning to a more dramatic tanda with Mario Pomar, another Di Sarli singer we discussed with Erskine the night before, and for a quicker-than-planned wrap up of the night.
24. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Milonga criolla" 1936 3:05
25. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
26. Carlos di Sarli - Mario Pomar  "Tormenta" 1954 3:38
27. Carlos di Sarli - Mario Pomar  "Patotero sentimental" 1953 3:02
28. Carlos di Sarli - Mario Pomar  "Duelo criollo" 1952 2:30
29. Lidiya Ruslanova  "Valenki 1 (cortina)"  0:24
30. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La torcacita" 1971 2:31
31. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Zorro gris" 1973 2:03
32. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Este Es El Rey" 1973 3:10
33.  "Lady Be Good - Sol Hoopii Trio"  0:23
34. Alfredo De Angelis  - Instrumental "Felicia" 1969 2:48
35. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental "Pavadita" 1958 2:55
36. Osvaldo Pugliese - Instrumental  "Recuerdo" 1944 2:54
37. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Corrientes Y Esmeralda" 1944 2:49
38. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Rondando Tu Esquina" 1945 2:49
39. Pedro Láurenz - Pedro Maffia - Instrumental  "La cumparsita" 1926 3:01
(39 total)