Memorial Day Tango Festival in Denver, approaching 20 years of age and once on a brink of extinction, shows a good deal of resilience. The DJs were excellent, the floor, pretty good, and the size of the crowd, generally encouraging. Just like in the years past, my most beloved and must-dance "tango pilgrimage" venues were off-site, at Cheesman Park and at the Avalon Ballroom (I'm partial to old Merc too, but it wasn't happening this time - gotta wait till Tango on the Rocks). And just like in the years past, there was a shadow of tension between the festival organizers and the local orgs of the off-site events. But luckily, not as overt a tension as to damage the festive mood!
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| A visit to Denver without dancing at Cheesman? No way! (And it had the best music and the best company, one can count on it) |
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| New for 2017: the City Park Bandstand milonga. We couldn't resist stopping there too before driving to Boulder, and of course in the end I was scrambling to put the final touches on my DJ preparation... |
I'm not in a hurry to start playing recording music exactly at 6:30. Javier Sanchez is leading a bando jam in the hallway and it's a pretty cool thing to listen to. And I know that with Halina's excellent dinner served in the community kitchen, there won't be anybody on the floor for the next 15 or 20 minutes! Some minutes later I make a plan, to add a pre-tanda track or two, and to start playing it very quietly, creating a soft ambient tango sound in the dance hall but leaving the hallway quiet.It would be unfair if the bandoneonists totally lose track of time and miss dinner, wouldn't it?
001. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Loca" 1938 2:57
OK, here we go!
002. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama "Todo te nombra" 1939 3:07
003. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama "Tormenta" 1939 2:38
004. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama "Te quiero todavia" 1939 2:54
005. Alla Pugacheva "Million Scarlet Roses (cortina long)" 0:39
006. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Ataniche" 1936 2:32
007. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Yapeyu" 1951 2:26
008. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "El Internado" 1954 2:34
009. Alexey Kudryavtsev "The heart breaks cortina long 3" 0:33
As expected, by the 3rd tanda the floor gradually comes alive :) It should be noted that my assignment at the Avalon, as always, calls for a variety of non-classic music. And Alex Krebs's isn't a classic orchestra... but it sure can feel like one?
010. The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet "Ella Es Asi (feat. Enrique "El Peru" Chavez)" 2011 2:32
011. The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet "Negrito" 2011 1:53
012. The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet "Largas las Penas" 2011 3:02
013. Jennifer Gasoi "Happy happy me (cortina long)" 2012 0:36
Dreamy violin-themed alternative tanda built for its beautiful closing piece
014. Lhasa De Sela "La Cara de la Pared" 2005 4:23
015. Carlos Libedinsky "Vi Luz y Subí" 2004 3:17
016. Shigeru Umebayashi "In The Mood For Love" 2001 2:29
017. Lidiya Ruslanova "Valenki 5 (cortina)" 0:36
Intense, rhythmic pieces of Laurenz ... alas, I won't have time to play his more dramatic favorites this time.
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| Caged nightingale? Not at a milonga :( (Wikipedia image) |
018. Pedro Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "Vieja Amiga" 1938, 1938 3:11
019. Pedro Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "Amurado" 1940 2:30
020. Pedro Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "No me extrana" 2:44
021. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel cortina long" 0:38
Love the unusual texture of Lomuto's valses!
022. Francisco Lomuto - Jorge Omar "Damisela Encantadora" 1936 3:00
023. Francisco Lomuto - Instrumental "Noche de ronda (vals)" 1937 2:34
024. Francisco Lomuto - Fernando Díaz, Mercedes Simone "Lo que vieron mis ojos" 1933 2:22
025. Alla Pugacheva "Million Scarlet Roses (cortina long)" 0:39
Avalon's obligatory tanda of Polish and European tangos is a DJ's black eye this time :( To play Utesov's famous "Mystery", I removed its long intro and closing parts, but the remaining section fooled replay gain calculation by several decibels. But it was nothing compared to the problems with Savva's Nightingale. Taisa Savva had a unique skill of artistic whistling, and sometimes she even performed from an oversize golden bird cage, carried onto the scene by four men. But the low-bitrate record did an awful service to her higher-pitch whistle. Ouch. Note to self, never download a cool tune at the last moment!
026. Jerzy Petersburski - Mieczysław Fogg "To ostatnia niedziela" 1936 3:59
027. Leonid Utesov "Taina (Mystery) (milonga cut)" 1937 2:31
028. Ferdinand Krish - Taisa Savva "Nightingale Tango" 1940 3:13
029. Alexey Kudryavtsev "The heart breaks cortina long 4" 0:35
030. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "T.B.C." 1928 3:02
031. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Belen" 1929 2:44
032. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Pobre yo" 1929 2:12
033. Leonid Utesov "S Odesskogo Kichmana" 1935 0:44
Time for a milonga? With a twist.
034. Eendo "Eshgh e Aasemaani" 2011 3:31
035. Goran Bregovic "Maki Maki" 2009 3:33
036. Kevin Johansen "Sur O No Sur" 2002 4:53
037. Jennifer Gasoi "Happy happy me (cortina long)" 2012 0:36
038. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Nieblas del riachuelo" 1937 2:25
039. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Sollosos" 1937 3:27
040. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "No quiero verte llorar" 1937 2:42
041. The Blues Brothers "Theme From Rawhide (overlay cortina)" 1980 0:27
"Sweet" Fresedos are followed by some of the most bitter Donatos. Great memories of this tanda!
042. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Se Va La Vida" 1936 2:39
043. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Lagrimas" 1939 2:50
044. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Me voy a Baraja" 1936 2:30
045. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel cortina long" 0:38
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| Andréane Bossé, Las Piernas, 2 weeks earlier |
046. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "En el volga yo te espero" 1943 2:40
047. Enrique Rodriguez - Roberto Flores "Las Espigadoras (vals)" 1938 2:47
048. Enrique Rodriguez - Roberto Flores "Los Piconeros (vals)" 1939 2:47
049. Alla Pugacheva "Million Scarlet Roses (cortina long)" 0:39
050. announcements and a birthday vals request
051. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Quien Sera - vals" 1941 2:15
052. "silence30s"
053. announcing the community "waterfall" dance. This is the traditional Canaro, but slightly later years than the usual. I owe the inspiration to DJ Andréane Bossé of Montreal's Las Piernas. The strong, grounded drive of "Infamia" is something. Perhaps a version of this tanda will sound at a milonga near you soon.
054. Francisco Canaro - Eduardo Adrian "Amando en silencio" 1942 2:54
055. Francisco Canaro - Eduardo Adrian "Decile que vuelva" 1941 2:31
056. Francisco Canaro - Eduardo Adrian "Infamia" 1941 3:00
... and a chacarera ... no, make it two!
057. Juan Maglio Pacho, Jorge Cafrune "Characera loca de Ledesma" 0:26
058. "silence30s"
059. Varios "Chacarera del Rancho" 2:21
060. "silence30s"
061. Various lbum ar "Chacarera del violin" 2:12
062. Jennifer Gasoi "Happy happy me (cortina long)" 2012 0:36
D'Arienzo's to re-initiate the milonga flow after all the specials and breaks
063. Juan D'Arienzo - Alberto Echagüe "Indiferencia" 1938 2:31
064. Juan D'Arienzo - Alberto Echagüe "Ansiedad" 1938 2:38
065. Juan D'Arienzo - Alberto Echagüe "Que dios te ayude" 1939 2:28
066. Alexey Kudryavtsev "The heart breaks cortina long 4" 0:35
I am not a natural for Troilo, even though I appreciate his contrasts of fast and slow... and my first intuition would be to play a tanda of his uptempo pieces (or a vals tanda). But it's time to diversify. So I put together a more lyrical tanda for this night, and it feels good.
067. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Pa Que Bailen Los Muchachos" 1942 2:49
068. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Sosiego En La Noche" 1943 3:05
069. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "No Le Digas Que La Quiero" 1941 2:51
070. Leonid Utesov "S Odesskogo Kichmana" 1935 0:44
071. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La mulateada" 1941 2:21
072. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Pena mulata" 1941 2:27
073. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Zorzal" 2:40
074. Victor Tsoy "Gruppa Krovi (cortina)" 0:36
An alternative tanda of unhurried guitars...
075. Jem "Come On Closer" 2004 3:47
I only played the following Ukrainian/Russian track at one hometown venue before, where the organizer likes it. Its lyrics are crudely antiwar, which may no longer be popular in that part of the world. I don't know, I just couldn't help noticing a perplexed look or two from the public. But I would be very hesitant to ban a song from a milonga because of its lyrics .... believe me, there are so many questionable letras in old tangos! What do you think?
076. 5Nizza "Soldat" 2003 3:13
077. Damien Rice "Volcano" 2003 3:21
078. Jennifer Gasoi "Happy happy me (cortina long)" 2012 0:36
079. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Como Has Cambiado Pebeta" 1942 2:37
080. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Tabernero" 1941 2:33
081. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Llorar Por Una Mujer" 1941 2:47
082. "silence30s"
Javier Sanchez plays a wonderful composition ... alas, limiting it to just this one piece.
083. Leonid Utesov "Road to Berlin (slow)" 0:27
084. Rodolfo Biagi - Andres Falgas "El Ultimo Adios" 1939 2:09
085. Rodolfo Biagi - Andres Falgas "Déjame amarte aunque sea un día" 1939 2:55
086. Rodolfo Biagi - Jorge Ortiz "Por Un Beso De Amor" 1940 2:44
30+ second cortinas seem to be too long for the night, so I start replacing them with shorter ones.
087. Lidiya Ruslanova "Valenki 4 (cortina)" 0:24
I already played a tanda of the more classic 1935-1937 Fresedos with their bel canto of Roberto Ray. There is a distinctly different vibe in Fresedo records of about 1940, with their cascading harp. It reaches a pinnacle in "Buscandote", and it's always an interesting challenge to build a tanda leading up to it. Here I stay with Ricardo Ruiz's vocals, but perhaps instrumentals like "Arrabalero", or very late Roberto Ray records like "Vuelves", would fit even better?
088. Osvaldo Fresedo - Ricardo Ruiz "Y no puede ser" 1939 2:28
089. Osvaldo Fresedo - Ricardo Ruiz "Plegaria" 1940 2:24
090. Osvaldo Fresedo - Ricardo Ruiz "Buscándote" 1941 2:49
091. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel" 1987 0:22
092. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda "Sorbos amargos" 1942 3:22
093. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda "Manana zarpa un barco" 1942 3:22
094. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda "No te apures, Carablanca" 1942 3:29
095. Anzhelika Varum "Autumn Jazz" 0:20
When the milonga's end is in sight at the beautiful Avalon, I can't ever resist this type of a non-traditional tanda with its overpowering late-night drama. This night's selection starts a bit softer and a bit closer to the classics, with a 1960's ensemble of such titans of the dusk of the Golden Era as Pedro Laurenz, Horacio Salgan, Leopoldo Federico. Then it snowballs on to the most recent decade of BsAs tango music!
096. Nuevo Quinteto Real "Ensuenos" 1966 3:10
097. Orquesta Tipica Fervor de Buenos Aires "Quien Sos" 2005 3:08
098. Analíá Goldberg y Sexteto Ojos De Tango "El Adiós" 2011 3:13
099. Alexey Kudryavtsev "The heart breaks cortina long 3" 0:33
100. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales - Romeo Gavio "Mi Serenata" 1940 3:01
101. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales, Horacio Lagos y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:07
102. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:25
103. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel" 1987 0:22
104. Osváldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Farol" 1943 3:22
105. Osváldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Malandraca" 1949 2:52
106. Osváldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Gallo ciego" 1959 3:33
107. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "La cumparsita" 1951 3:49
for those who can't stop, and for cleanup and furniture moving, a few more minutes of music with a bonus Cumparsita "estilo rumba"
108. Goran Bregovic "To Nie Ptak" 1999 4:41
109. Goran Bregovic "This Is A Film (feat. Iggy Pop)" 2003 4:18
110. Harry Roy "La cumparsita" 1938 2:58
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