Milonga Sin Nombre Homenaje a Edgardo Donato

April may be my favorite DJing month because it always gives me an opportunity to play lots of Edgardo Donato recordings. The famously absent-minded violinist with his silly-looking round eyeglasses and convention-bending songs lyrics, Donato was the original, and fierce, equal-opportunity employer, featuring blacks, gays, and, most horrifyingly for the night-club culture of his time, women in the leading roles. A darling of the underclass-y dockside establishment which bore an English name, "Ocean Dancing", Donato stuck around in the early 1930s even as the Great Depression and a neo-colonial trade deal with Britain destroyed the Argentine economy and forced all other famed tango orchestras from the dance halls of Buenos Aires. Defying hardship and naysayers, Edgardo Donato has become of one the forces behind the dramatic comeback of tango later in the 1930s.

The primal quality of Donato's music, bitter and sweet, grounded and flying away, always leaves me enchanted. The opening tanda features just one Donato song, from the Old Guard times when orchestra styles were so fluid and interchangeable that it's often easier to assemble a good tanda out of recordings of several groups:

001. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Belen" 1929 2:44

002. Edgardo Donato - Luis Diaz "Adelina" 1929 2:58

003. Orquesta Tipica Victor (dir. A. Carabelli)  "Coqueta" 1929 2:47

004. Soda Stereo  "Corazon elator"  0:28

Songs of tears and bluster ... a favorite Donato tanda with the voice of Horacio Lagos

005. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Lagrimas" 1939 2:50

006. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Soy Mendigo" 1939 2:32

007. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Me Voy A Baraja" 1936 2:25

008. Kisty Hawkshaw  "It's gonna be a fine night cortina long"  0:34

009. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La Mulateada" 1941 2:23

010. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Entre pitada y pitada" 1942 2:32

011. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Yo Soy De San Telmo" 1943 2:20

012. Mammas and the Papas  "California Dreaming cortina long"  0:40

Think ca. 1940 vintage Fresedo - and your mind is enveloped in receding waves of harp and the depth of voice of Ricardo Ruiz. The crowning achievement of this period is Buscandote, "Searching for You", a rare verse libre masterpiece of a tango song, written and composed by Lalo Scalise. As luck may have it, Jose Mario Otero just wrote about Scalise and posted a rare picture of the pianist, composer, and poet together with Osvaldo Fresedo and Ricardo Ruiz. Enjoy!

013. Osvaldo Fresedo - Ricardo Ruiz "Viejo farolito" 1939 2:28

014. Osvaldo Fresedo - Ricardo Ruiz "Y no puede ser" 1939 2:26

015. Osvaldo Fresedo - Ricardo Ruiz "Buscandote" 1941 2:49

016. Endless Boogie  "Trash Dog cortina" 2016 0:21

Donato's El Huracan, "The hurricane" is a ground-breaking, extremely rhythmical tango which planted the seeds of the soon-to-come Rhythmical Revolution of Tango of 1935. This opening song of this tanda features the voice of an Afro-Argentine star Felix Gutierrez ... while the closing songs comes with the voice of Lita Morales, the first ever female voice of the milonga. Do you see her on the right, listed as one of "Donato's boys"?

017. Edgardo Donato - Félix Gutiérrez "El Huracan" 1932 2:56

018. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Se Va La Vida" 1936 2:39

019. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales  "Chapaleando barro" 1939 2:21

020. Harry Roy  "South American Joe cortina 3"  0:21

We danced to "Con tu mirar" the previous weekend in Helena. What an underappreciated gem! Can't wait to play it in a tanda of my own design now:

021. Enrique Rodriguez - Roberto Flores "Fru Fru" 1939 2:57

022. Enrique Rodriguez - Ricardo Herrera, Fernando Reyes "Mecha" 1946 3:11

023. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Con tu mirar" 1941 2:13

024. Sandro de America  "Yo Te Amo cortina" 1968, 1968 0:23

The sweeter side of Donato:

025. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales - Romeo Gavio  "Mi Serenata" 1940 3:02

026. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "El Adios" 1938 3:09

027. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:12

028. Viktor Tsoy  "Kukushka cortina long 2"  0:37

029. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "Queja Indiana" 1939 2:24

030. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "Son Cosas del Bandoneon " 1939 2:44

031. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "Cielo!" 1939 2:31

032. Alexey Kudryavtsev  "The heart breaks cortina 2"  0:22

and the first milonga of the Donato tanda features a duet with a feminine voice of "Randona", the one they used before hiring the Goddess Lita. Randona was actually a guy, a violinist of the orchestra named Armando Julio Piovani

033. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y "Randona" "Sacale Punta" 1938 2:15

034. Edgardo Donato - Instrumental "El Torito" 1939 2:12

035. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "De Punta A Punta" 1939 2:20

036. Zhanna Aguzarova  "Miracle Land cortina"  0:31

037. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Solo compasion" 1941 2:58

038. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Ahora no me conoces" 1940 2:34

039. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Ninguna" 1942 2:57

040. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

041. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "La Trilla" 1940 2:21

042. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Nobleza De Arrabal" 1940 2:08

043. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Shusheta" 1940 2:22

044.  "Hagedel Sheli"  0:28

Edgardo Donato used to explain that he can't play many valses to the unsophisticated, but trouble-ready, audience of Ocean Dancing. Did he really fear anything with irreverent valses like these three?

045. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Quien Sera" 1941 2:14

046. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Con tus besos" 1938 2:20

047. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales, Romeo Gavioli  "La shunca" 1941 2:35

048. Alexey Kudryavtsev  "Joy in My Sky cortina long"  0:25

049. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama  "Tormenta" 1939 2:38

050. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama  "No me pregunten porque" 1939 2:51

051. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama  "Te quiero todavia" 1939 2:54

052. Leonid Bykov  "Smuglyanka cortina long"  0:33

The next tanda is consecrated to Donato's star feminine voice Lita Morales. The first song is composed specially for Lita by Donato's great female collaborator, "Maruja" Pacheco. The other two, about lovingly trusted one's own heart and faling in and out of love, are vintage Lita story...

053. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales, Romeo Gavioli Various Artists "Triqui trá" 1940 2:34

054. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales y Ravio Gavioli "Yo Te Amo" 1940 2:50

055. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Sinsabor" 1939 2:53

056. Stas Borsov  "Anyuta cortina" 2000 0:21

057. Otros Aires  "Los Vino" 2010 2:43

058. Otros Aires  "Perro Viejo" 2016 3:21

059. Otros Aires  "Un Baile De Beneficio" 2010 3:42

060.  "Katyusha"  0:33

When I'm adding a Troilo-Fiorentino tanda, it's almost always their harshly rhythmical - albeit richly layered - hits from about 1941. Let me try tonight, for a change, something more melancholic and mellow...

061. Aníbal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Malena" 1942 2:59

062. Aníbal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Pa' que seguir" 1942 2:35

063. Aníbal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Cada vez que me recuerdes" 1943 2:40

064. Carmen Piculeata  "Minor Blues" 2013 0:23

065. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podestá "Todo" 1943 2:38

066. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podestá "Recien" 1943 2:43

067. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podestá "Garua" 1943 3:11

068. Folk  "Shumel Kamysh "  0:23

069. Anibal Troilo - Alberto Marino y Floreal Ruiz "Palomita Blanca" 1944 3:13

070. Aníbal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz  "Llorarás llorarás" 1945 2:54

071. TAníbal Troilo - Edmundo Rivero y Floreal Ruiz "Lagrimitas De Mi Corazón" 1948 2:57

072. Soda Stereo  "Corazon elator"  0:28

073. Miguel Calo - Raul Beron  "Tristezas de la calle Corrient" 1942 2:46

074. Miguel Calo - Raul Beron  "Que te importa que te llore" 1942 2:44

075. Miguel Calo - Raul Beron  "Jamás Retornarás" 1942 2:28

076. Beatles The Beatles "All you Need is Love cortina" 0:19

077. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Cómo Se Pianta la Vida" 1940 2:23

078. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "Danza maligna" 1940 2:28

079. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Tabernero" 1941 2:33

080. Soda Stereo  "En la ciudad de furia"  0:24

081. The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet  "Ella Es Asi (feat. Enrique "El Peru" Chavez)" 2011 2:32

082. The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet  "Largas las Penas" 2011 3:02

083. The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet  "Negrito" 2011 1:53

084. Russian folk  "Murka"  0:20

085. Lucio Demare - Raul Beron  "Que solo estoy" 1943 3:04

086. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Alberto Carol "Bajo el Cono Azul" 1944 2:43

087. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Ortega Del Cerro "Una Vez" 1943 3:24

088. Russian Folk  "Kalinka-Malinka 2 (cortina)"  0:25

And the final, high-passion Donato tanda of this most excellent night

089. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Romeo Gavioli "Amando en silencio" 1941 2:51

090. Edgardo Donato - Romeo Gavioli "La Melodía Del Corazón" 1940 3:18

091. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:25

092. Folk  "Shumel Kamysh "  0:23

093. Hector Varela - Argentino Ledesma "Muchacha" 1956 3:19

094. Hector Varela - Argentino Ledesma "Que tarde que has venido" 1956 2:55

095. Hector Varela - Argentino Ledesma "Fueron tres años" 1956 3:26

096. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel" 1987 0:22

097. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Hasta siempre amor" 1958 2:57

098. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Sus Ojos Se Cerraron" 1956 2:47

099. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Queriendote" 1955 2:49

100. Zhanna Aguzarova  "Miracle Land cortina"  0:31

101. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumenrtal "Mi dolor" 1957 2:51

102. Alfredo De Angelis - Instrumenrtal  "Pavadita" 1958 2:53

103. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental  "Felicia" 1969 2:47

104. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La cumparsita" 1951 3:54

The final track is added on special request from Jose Luis Bonaldo, the mastermind of a rival tango club who typically insists that the Anglos will never get it ... but who may sometimes trust a Ruso to ply a few crazy tunes :)

105. Mariano Mores  "Tanguera" 1955 2:51

Milonga Sin Nombre "Homenaje a Edgadro Donato" April 2016

The milonga is dedicated to Edgardo Donato's orchestra which I really love (please check the milonga flyer!). 

I managed to put 6 full and 3 partial Donato's tandas in 4 hours of music. It feels great, but I also fear that I used too much dependable and unsurprising music for the rest of the night, and that I may be becoming too predictable.

001. Quinteto Don Pancho  - Instrumental "Champagne tango" 1938 2:30

002. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "El garron" 1938 2:27

003. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Loca" 1938 2:57

There is an all-new set of cortinas for the night, some lighthearted like this Vitas track, some fiery-passionate from Gogol Bordello, and one slow and sultry from Alla Pugacheva. And the intro section of "Anyuta", a silly and ephemeral Russian hit, just bursts with the raw energy of the 90's rock.

004. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

005. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Siete Palabras" 1945 2:44

006. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Marejada" 1941 2:32

007. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental  "Ensueños" 1943 2:44

008. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 3" 2012 0:19

The Donato selection begins with valses...

009. Edgardo Donato - Hugo Del Carril  "El vals de los recuerdos" 1935 2:18

010. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales, Romeo Gavioli  "La shunca" 1941 2:35

011. Edgardo Donato - Félix Gutiérrez "La Tapera" 1936 2:54

012. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 2"  2012 0:19

013. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Adiós, Arrabal" 1941 3:10

014. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Shusheta (El aristocrata)" 1945 2:50

015. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Caricias" 1945 2:44

016. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

... and continues with Donato's most-played tango composition

017. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "A Media Luz" 1941 2:31

018. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "Te busco" 1941 2:26

019. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Se Va La Vida" 1936 2:39

020. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 1" 2012 0:18

021. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La Mulateada" 1941 2:22

022. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Pena mulata" 1941 2:27

023. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Yo soy de San Telmo" 1943 2:16

024. Alla Pugacheva  "Winter Night (Svecha gorela) cortina"  0:19

025. Orquesta Típica Víctor "Fumando Espero" 1927 3:14

026. Orquesta Típica Víctor "Bajo el Cono Azul" 1944 2:43

027. Orquesta Tipica Victor "Una Vez" 1943 3:22

028. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

The sweet and romantic side of Donato's orchestra:

029. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "El Adios" 1938 3:09

030. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales, Romeo Gavio  "Mi Serenata" 1940 3:02

031. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales,  Horacio Lagos y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:12

032. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 3" 2012 0:19

This mixed vals tanda contains an old-fashoned gem of Donato's, from the time when he barely split with Zerrillo & still worked with Brunswick Records

033. Los Provincianos - Alberto Gomez  "Samaritana (vals)" 1932 2:58

034. Edgardo Donato - Luis Diaz "Amargura (vals)" 1931 2:30

035. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Carlos Lafuente  "Intima" 1940 2:28

036. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 2" 2012 0:19

and a step even further back in time, when the fellow Uruguayans, Donato and Zerrillo, led the orchestra together. Many records of that era have a quaint, slowly marching character, but these pieces are more dynamic and powerful. In the tanda, I combined them with a similarly energetic favorite piece of Firpo from the same epoch.

037. Edgardo Donato - Luis Diaz "Adelina" 1930 2:58

038. Edgardo Donato - Luis Diaz "Como Lo Quiso Dios" 1929 2:46

039. Roberto Firpo - Instrumental "Una Noche En La Milonga" 1929 2:56

040. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

041. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "En la buena y en la mala" 1940 2:26

042. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "llorar por una mujer" 1941 2:51

043. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Danza Maligna" 1940 2:27

044. Stas Borsov  "Anyuta cortina" 2000 0:21

a gradually accelerating milonga tanda of Donato's (luckily Brian, who might have objected to the changing tempo, isn't on the floor yet)

045. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Ella Es Así (Milonga)" 1938 2:35

046. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Randona  "Sácale punta" 1938 2:18

047. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales  "Repique del corazón" 1940 2:14

048. Alla Pugacheva  "Winter Night (Svecha gorela) cortina"  0:19

Haven't played Calo with Iriarte for a long time, and the title "April rain" sounds irresistible :)

049. Miguel Caló - Raúl Iriarte  "La vi llegar" 1944 3:24

050. Miguel Calo - Raul Iriarte  "Lluvia de abril" 1945 2:42

051. Miguel Caló - Raúl Iriarte  "Cada día te extraño más" 1943 2:35

052. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

053. Pedro Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "No me extrana" 1940 2:44

054. Pedro Láurenz - Juan Carlos Casas  "Vieja Amiga" 1938 3:12

055. Pedro Láurenz - Juan Carlos Casas  "Amurado" 1940 2:30

056. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 3" 2012 0:19

057. Alfredo de Angelis - Carlos Dante, Julio Martel  "Pobre flor" 1946  2:43

058. Alfredo de Angelis - Floreal Ruiz  "Mi novia de ayer" 1944 2:38

059. Alfredo de Angelis - Carlos Dante, Julio Martel  "Soñar y nada más" 1944 3:08

060. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 2" 2012 0:19

Another tanda of romantic and uplifting hits of Donato

061. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:25

062. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Romeo Gavioli "Amando En Silencio" 1940 2:51

063. Edgardo Donato - Romeo Gavioli "La Melodía Del Corazón" 1940 3:18

064. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

065. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "El Cencerro" 1937 2:40

066. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Ataniche" 1936 2:31

067. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "El flete" 1936 2:58

068. Stas Borsov  "Anyuta cortina" 2000 0:21

069. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Mariano Balcarce  "Milonga De Los Fortines" 1937 2:52

070. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Carlos Lafuente "Cacareando" 1933 2:45

071. Emilio Pellejero - Enalmar De Maria "Mi Vieja Linda" 1941 2:26

072. Alla Pugacheva  "Winter Night (Svecha gorela) cortina"  0:19

The lone alternative tanda for the night - of course there will be assorted all tracks after the Cumparsita, too

073. Feist and Ben Gibbard  "Train Song"  3:03

074. Damour Vocal Band  "SWAY - Damour Vocal Band"  3:49

075. Fool's Garden  "Lemon tree" 1995 3:09

076. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

077. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Mi piba linda" 1943 2:51

078. Enrique Rodriguez - Instrumental "El morochito" 1941 2:34

079. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "Como Se Pianta La Vida" 1940 2:25

break for raffle and for a birthday vals - which kind of celebrates Donato's birthday, too

080. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Quien Sera - vals" 1941 2:15

081. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás  "El último adiós" 1940 2:09

082. Rodolfo Biagi - Alberto Amor  "Paloma" 1945 2:29

083. Rodolfo Biagi - Alberto Lago  "Amor y vals" 1942 2:48

084. Folk  "Shumel Kamysh "  0:23

085. Carlos di Sarli - Alberto Podestá  "No está" 1942 2:45

086. Carlos di Sarli - Alberto Podestá  "Volver a vernos" 1942 2:48

087. Carlos di Sarli - Alberto Podestá  "Tu el cielo y tu" 1944 2:59

088. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23

This Donato's tanda with the vocals of Lita Morales transitions from childish and funny to poignant and even bitter

089. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales y coro "Triqui trá" 1940 2:34

090. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales y Romeo Gavioli "Yo Te Amo" 1940 2:50

091. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales "Sinsabor" 1939 2:53

092. Stas Borsov  "Anyuta cortina" 2000 0:21

Aces of candombe, the closing track from one of Donato's scattered former band members, back in his native Uruguay

093. Canaro, Francisco - Carlos Roldan "La negrita candombé (Rumbita candombé)" 1943 2:36

094. Alberto Castillo  "El Gatito en el Tejado" 1957 2:37

095. Romeo Gavioli y su orquesta típica  "Tamboriles" 1956 2:56

096. Alla Pugacheva  "Winter Night (Svecha gorela) cortina"  0:19

097. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Sollosos" 1937 3:27

098. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Vida mia" 1933 3:23

099. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Nieblas del riachuelo" 1937 2:25

100. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel" 1987 0:22

101. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "No te apures, Carablanca" 1942 3:29

102. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda "Sorbos Amargos" 1942 3:22

103. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "Manana zarpa un barco" 1942 3:22

104. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 2" 2012, 2012 0:19

105. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental "El Tango Club" 1957 2:40

106. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental  "Felicia" 1969 2:47

107. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental "Mi dolor" 1957 2:51

108. Cuarteto Almagro "Cosmotango (cortina)" 2003 0:18

109. Osváldo Pugliese  "Recuerdo" 1944 2:39

110. Osváldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Farol" 1943 3:22

111. Osváldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Rondando Tu Esquina" 1945 2:49

112. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La cumparsita" 1951 3:49

113. 17 Hippies  "Marlène" 2005 3:54

114. Goran Bregovic "Maki Maki" 2009 3:33

115. Cream Margot "Krem-Margo-Poka-igraet-dzhaz"  3:16

116. Leonid Utesov  "S Odesskogo Kichmana" 1935 2:43

Let's celebrate Edgardo Donato

April is the birth month of Edgardo Donato!

** A Milonga sin Nombre flyer **

Edgardo Donato

(14 April 1897 - 15 February 1963)

It is a pleasure to celebrate one of the most talented and at the same time most under-appreciated orchestra leaders of the golden years of Argentine Tango.

"Edgardo Donato and his guys"
(one of whom is a girl. obviously)
From El Espejero's tangoblog

Edgardo Donato grew up and became a jazz violinist in Montevideo, Uruguay. He started composing tangos there in the early 1920s (the most famous of his compositions, the 1925 "A media luz", is among the most-played tangos ever). From the very beginning, Donato's tangos were touching racy themes, and their earliest lyrics were written by the master of urban slang, Afro-Argentine songwriter "El Negro Cele" Flores. The lyrics of "A media luz", a poetic premier of a fellow Uruguayan Carlos Lenzi, sang of an illicit drug den hiding in the shadow of the Obelisk. The Uruguayan origin of Donato, and his creativity reaching beyond the edges of "the decent society", meant that tango historians often discounted his talent and his influence.

Edgardo Donato convened his first tango orchestra in Montevideo only in the age of 30, in collaboration with a fellow Uruguayan violin player, 25 years old Roberto Zerrillo (who has just returned from a stint with the Parisian tango orchestras). Soon, Donato-Zerrillo orchestra took BoA, by storm (They also recorded under Brunswick label). After 1930 Edgardo formed his own, truly stellar band, with his brothers Ascanio and Osvaldo on cello and piano, and with black vocalist Luis Diaz, True to his reputation of not caring about societal "proprieties". Edgardo also employed women and gays, and commissioned lyrics to great female poets, Maria Luisa Carnelli and Maruja Pacheco. Through the Great Depression years, when most tango bands folded and the public all but stopped dancing, Donato kept the flames of tango going in roughneighborhood joints such as Ocean Dancing. His fiery rhythms and pauses presaged the "D'Arienzo revival" of 1936, and Edgardo's own

Edgardo Donato presents "the musical surprise of 1942"
in Ocean Dancing Club, Buenos Aires.
Alas, his orchestra is about to unravel...
From Tango Time Machine / Tango Decoder,
a blog on history and poetry of tango

violin solos were truly remarkable.

 Continuing to innovate, Edgardo Donato pioneered male-female vocal duets, first with the voice of "Randona” ( actually a feminine alter ego of violinist Armando Julio Piovani), then with amazing Lita Morales, making it a trio with her husband Horacio Lagos and Uruguayan Romeo Gavio. Donato's young accordionist Bertolin, playing a special lightweight "kid's accordion", added an unsurpassed effect.

Edgardo Donato (left) and his orchestra in 1939. Note
little Bertolin, from row, center.
From Tangos al bardo history blog

The success of the Uruguayans in Buenos Aires started to unravel in 1942, just when the culture of Argentine Tango music neared its zenith. First they lost Lita Morales, apparently pregnant and haunted by the rumor of infidelity involving fellow singer Gavio. She was essentially erased from the history of tango, and we still don't know even as much as her years of birth and death. Romeo Gavio returned to Uruguay and convened his own band, but eventually, unable to cope with depression, killed himself by driving off the pier into the waters of La Plata. Accordionist Bertolin quit the band, and tango, at about the same time, forming his own jazz outfit by the end of 1942. Maruja Pacheco left the world of tango for good, too. The remaining band must have been tainted by the scandal, and they weren't able to record again after summer 1942, but they still had some good gigs until the coup d'état of June 1943.

The new nationalist military government cracked down hard on the city slang (the famous "lunfardo") and immorality (purging any references to booze, sex, and fights from the public entertainment), relying on the previously unenforced "Language Purity" law. Post-1943 tangos turned increasingly romantic and melodic. Edgardo Donato tried to conform to the new trends by parting with his old compositions and old band members, and convening an all-new "Modern" tango ensemble (Orquesta Tipica Moderna). Most of his old musicians, and singer Horacio Lagos, joined another band led by Edgardo's brother Osvaldo Donato. Both outfits enjoyed some success on live music scene, but never produced recordings matching Donato's glory days. Their contribution into the development of musical culture of tango was largely forgotten. But Donato's tangos, valses, and milongas are still widely played around the world!

Practica del Centro playlist, April 27, 2015

April is Edgardo Donato's birthday month and couldn't resist celebrating it by surreptitiously playing lots of tandas of my favorite orchestra: 5 sets in 3 hours (early masterpieces of Donato-Zerrillo, two mature period tango tandas - one more dynamic / semi-bitter and one more romantic / sweet, plus two tandas of somewhat less commonly played valses and milongas). As usually the practica started from adding set after set of "class-appropriate" music but this time I did it in a separate player window and must have not saved the final list ... I'm pretty much sure that I played some of the more moderately paced instrumental D'Arienzos, and more Di Sarli's too.

01. Osvaldo Fresedo - Instrumental  "Poliya" 1939 2:31

02. Osvaldo Fresedo - Instrumental  "El Once (A divertirse)" 1945 2:43

03. Osvaldo Fresedo - Instrumental  "Derecho viejo" 1941 2:31

04. Osvaldo Fresedo - Instrumental  "Pimienta" 1939 2:52

05. Osvaldo Fresedo - Instrumental  "Arrabalero" 1939 2:32

06. Carlos Di Sarli Alberto Podesta "Junto a tu corazon"  3:00

07. Carlos Di Sarli Alberto Podesta "Tu!...El cielo y tu!"  2:59

08. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "El Choclo"

09. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Champagne tango" 1938 2:30

10. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Loca" 1938 2:57

11. Edgardo Donato - Hugo Del Carril  "El vals de los recuerdos" 1935 2:18

12. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Romeo Gavioli, Lita Morales  "Estrellita mía" 1940 2:36

13. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales, Romeo Gavioli  "Noches correntinas" 1939 2:18

14. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Adiós Arrabal" 3:10

15. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "El Yacaré" 3:09

16. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "Me voy a Baraja" 1936 2:30

17. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "Te busco" 1941 2:26

18. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "Soy mendigo" 1939 2:34

19. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La Mulateada" 1941 2:22

20. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Entre Pitada Y Pitada" 1942 2:33

21. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Zorzal" 1941 2:40

22. Ricardo Malerba - Orlando Medina "Embrujamiento" 1943 2:52

23. Ricardo Malerba - Antonio Maida "Encuentro" 1944 2:20

24. Ricardo Malerba - Orlando Medina "Gitana Rusa" 1942 2:47

"Una Vez" delivers considerably stronger drive then the OTV pieces from the same period I matched it with, and in the end I thought that it worked well - the final piece of a tanda with a punch. But an alternative option would have been to tap into the earlier "versions" of OTV...

25. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Alberto Carol "Bajo el Cono Azul" 1944 2:43

26. Orquesta Típica Víctor "Senda de Abrojos" 1943 2:18

27. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Ortega Del Cerro "Una Vez" 1943 3:22

28. Los Provincianos - Alberto Gomez "Samaritana (vals)" 1932 2:58

29. Los Provincianos - Luis Diaz "A Tu Memoria, Madrecita (vals)" 1934 2:45

30. Orquesta Típica Víctor (dir. Federico Scorticati) - Carlos Lafuente  "Intima" 1940 2:28

"The 9 Aces of Tango", from Michael Krugman's blog

Edgardo Donato, who grew up and became a violinist in Montevideo, Uruguay, has already laid claim to tango fame in the early 1920s with his compositions (the most famous of which, the 1925 "A media luz", is among the most-played tangos ever). But he convened his first tango orchestra  in Montevideo only in the age of 30, in collaboration with a fellow Uruguayan violin player, 25 years old Roberto Zerrillo (who has just returned from a stint with the Parisian tango orchestras). Soon, Donato-Zerrillo orchestra took BsAs by storm! (They also recorded under Brunswick label). "Se va la vida" is their most famous composition together, and Edgardo Donato kept re-recording it. Still I love the 1928 original the most! The lyrics, a carpe-diem kind of a sage advice to a girl to live her life without fears or regrets, in a juicy lunfardo slang, were written by "Luis Mario Castro", a nom-de-plume of a female poet, María Luisa Carnelli (so few women wrote tango lyrics ... and even those who did may have been compelled to hide behind male identities!)  

31. Orquesta Donato-Zerrillo - Luis Diaz "Adelina" 1929 2:58

32. Orquesta Donato-Zerrillo - Luis Diaz "Como Lo Quiso Dios" 1929 2:46

33. Orquesta Donato-Zerrillo - Luis Diaz "Se va la vida" 1928 2:55

A DJ's misstep here, with selecting sets solely by memory without listening. I wanted to add a dramatic set after a slow / primal energetic Guardia Vieja tanda, and I picked Canaros recorded nearly a decade later - only to be surprised how similar they felt and how little contrast was there between the two otherwise excellent tandas...

34. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Yo tambien sone" 1936 3:09

35. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Mi noche triste" 1936 2:45

36. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Condena (S.O.S.)" 1937 2:39

"Randona" is an interesting side story in Donato's orchestra, a female voice in a duet with a male voice which they first tried in a pioneering innovation in 1934, before employing Lita's voice for an even greater effect in duets and trios (compare the opening and the closing milongas of the following tanda). Only Randona wasn't a woman - the voice belonged to Armando Julio Piovani, a violinist of the orchestra, one of the original "9 Aces" above. 

37. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Randona "Sácale punta" 1938 2:18

38. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "La mimada" 1939 2:25

39. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales "Repique del corazón" 1940 2:14

A birthday vals for Brian!

40. Francisco Canaro - Charlo "Yo no se que me han hecho tus ojos" 1931 3:11

More rhythmic Tanturi's than my usual selections, but since I am not playing Biagi, or Enrique Rodriguez, tonight, it makes a natural choice!

41. Ricardo Tanturi - Alberto Castillo "La vida es corta" 1941 2:25

42. Ricardo Tanturi - Alberto Castillo "Así Se Baila El Tango" 1942  2:34

43. Ricardo Tanturi - Alberto Castillo "Recuerdo Malevo" 1941 2:33

44. Pedro Laurenz - Hector Farrel  "Abandono" 1937 2:32

45. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podesta "Recien" 1943 2:43

46. Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podesta "Garua" 1943 3:09

47. Aníbal Troilo - Instrumental  "Un placer" 1942 2:19

48. Aníbal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz  "Romance de barrio" 1947 2:36

49. Aníbal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz, Alberto Marino  "Palomita blanca" 1944 3:21

50. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda  "Manana zarpa un barco" 1942 3:22

51. Lucio Demare - Horacio Quintan  "Torrente" 1944 3:10

52. Lucio Demare - Horacio Quintan  "Solamente ella" 1944 3:15

53. Lucio Demare - Horacio Quintan  "Igual que un bandoneon" 1945 3:02

54. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Charlemos" 1941 2:30

55. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Tristeza Marina" 1943 3:09

56. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Adiós te vas" 1943 2:30

57. Edgardo Donato - Romeo Gavioli "La Melodía Del Corazón" 1940 3:18

58. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales, Romeo Gavioli  "Mi Serenata" 1940 3:02

59. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Romeo Gavioli, Lita Morales "Sinfonía De Arrabal" 1940 3:07

60. Osvaldo Pugliese - Jorge Maciel  "Remembranza" 1956 3:41

61. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel  "Rondando tu esquina" 1945 2:48

62. Osvaldo Pugliese "Recuerdo" 1944 2:39

63. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La cumparsita" 1951 3:49

64. Goran Bregovic  "Maki Maki" 2009 3:33

(64 total)