Tracing Russian roots of Argentine Tango

Does tango really have any Russian origins? In addition to the layers of Spanish, Italian, African etc. roots? I gave a talk about it in Russian, but I suspect that the English-speaking tango lovers might be interested too. The following is a brief summary of my presentation in Tyumen, Siberia, on October 19, 2018, followed by a "mini-longa" playlist.

Argentina, the nation of immigrants ... even its signature cultural heritage, the tango, is officially defined as a product of interaction and cross-fertilization of many cultures. Among the Europeans, Spain, Italy and France contributed the most. But "los rusos", the immigrants from the former Russian Empire (primarily Jewish), added quite a bit to the development of tango, too. Primarily through the poetry, through the sound of violin, and through the direct influences of Russian romance music.

The most influential of El Ruso poets was Luis Rubistein, a son of immigrant family from Ekaterinoslav.

Луис Рубистейн

Let's listen to his top songs - a beautifully nostalgic and at the same optimistic "Carnaval de mi barrio", subtitled "A street landscape in the style of tango"; a dark and hopeless tragedy of "Charlemos" where the final line is rumored to have meant "Forgive me for being Jewish" for the poet's circle; and "Samaritana", a vals of heartbreaking pain which finds a secret consolation.
(While we are talking about poetry, may I call your attention to the database of tango translations? )
01. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:25

02. Carlos Di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Charlemos" 1941 2:29

03. Los Provincianos (Ciriaco Ortiz) - Alberto Gomez  "Samaritana (vals)" 1932 2:58

Raul Kaplun orchestra

The 1940s are the high point of tango's Golden Age. It brought together the crazy rhythmic beat of the "D'Arienzo revolution" and the romantic lyricism of the violins. Especially the Jewish violins. Perhaps the most significant violin virtuoso of this period was Raul Kaplun, a son of immigrants from Kishinev. Together with the leader of their orchestra, Lucio Demare, Raul Kaplun led a veritable anti-D'Arienzo counterrevolution, fighting for the purity and tenderness of feelings of tango music and poetry. And their true manifesto is a beautiful tango composed by Kaplun, entitled exactly like this: "Una emocion", "A feeling".
04. Lucio Demare - Raúl Berón "Una Emocion" 1943 2:41
The historic video is almost 25 years old; the dancer is no one else but Saint Gavito, a tireless tango proselytizer of the 1990s who considered this song to be a symbolic representation of tango at large.

Simon Bajour is another must-mention tango violinist. Growing up in a town near Warsaw, Bajour fell in love with folksy, Balkan and Gypsy sounds of the violin he first heard on radio. After escaping to Argentina, he combined the paths of a classic violinist and a tango musician - and never forgot his folklore roots. Perhaps you were lucky to witness how, in some Hungarian or Serbian tavern, violinists try to outdo one another, and suddenly one of the violins breaks into cow's moo, another one responds by dog's barking, and the third counters with the dawn thrills of a nightingale? There are no nightingales in the Americas, and the Argentines may not even recognize the sound, but in Di Sarli's "El amanecer" ("The sunrise") Bajour's violins sings like a creekside nightingale back home.
05. Carlos Di Sarli - Instrumental "El Amanecer" 1951 2:29

Since we already mentioned the Roma tunes, I have to tell a few more words about the Gypsy  romances which influenced Russian music, and, by extension, tango in Argentina. I only mentioned one example in my lecture, and asked the tangueros to recognize more Roma motifs, so familiar to a Russian ear, later during the mini-milonga. The seminal role of the Gypsy choirs, especially the famed Count Orloff choir, in the development of Russian national romance is fairly well known in the old country. But it is a much wider regional phenomenon all across Eastern Europe. The folk music of all the ethnic groups living alongside with the Roma developed under the influence of Gypsy bands. One of my favorite examples is an American immigrant musician, Misha Tsiganoff, who is famous for his original Jewish klezmer compositions. So much so that many people believed that he was Jewish (but you can probably guess from the image his tombstone that it can't be further from the truth). Well, it turned out that Mishka had nearly two dozen artistic names, which all meant about the same "Mike the Gypsy" in various languages he sang in. If he recorded a song in Lithuanian, he used a Lithuanian name; for a Hungarian song, he was a Hungarian; same in Polish, Serbian, Romanian and so on! Another amazing story was a tale of a Maramuresh Roma musician who explained how they'd arrange the same piece differently for different ethnic and social groups, always making the song at home with their listeners. With a wink, he introduced the final arrangement as "a socialist realism creation for the Communist party bosses" :)
The Russian Gypsy romance below is instantly recognized by any Russian. You probably recognize it too...
06. Imperio Argentina  "Ojos Negros romanza rusa" 1934 3:39

This recording wasn't issued on a single. It was a kind of Youtube of the 1930s - a short "talkie" movie clip, likely the first one in Spanish, starring this black-curled dark-eyed Argentine beauty. The classic Russian Gypsy romance have been arranged into tango by a Spanish German composer. I described the story of the international migrations of "Ojos Negros" in great detail on this blog. Of course, for us dancers, the most familiar recording is different:
07. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Ojos negros que fascinan" 1935 2:51

"Wilno Carnival" -
a rare edition of Florian Hermann's sheet music,
glorifying his hometown

The "Dark eyes" had a really long history in Russia before the song became tango; it started from Valse Hommage, a popular score by Florian Hermann, a mysterious XIX c. composer. Just a few weeks ago, in the famous Pashkov House in Moscow, in an ornate library hall overlooking the Kremlin, I touched the first music score editions of the 1880s which turned Hermann's waltz into a Gypsy romance. And then in the National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius, I was privileged to see more rare sheet music of Hermann, the now-forgotten native son of Vilnius, and to confirm, for the first time, the span of Hermann's life (1822-1892). Looking for "the real historical Florian Hermann" was quite a quest of mine; you can read more in my blog.
Back to the "Dark Eyes" now ... in the 1930s, the song morphed not only into Argentine tango but also to a top-rated Russian tango song ... with its own distant echo in Argentine, but much later in the 1960s.
08. Frank Fox - Piotr Leschenko "Chernye Glaza (Dark Eyes)" 1933 3:15

09. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Ojos Negros (Oscar Strok)" 1968 2:28

Another "migrant tango" even got the title of "Russian Gypsy", "Gitana rusa". It is directly based on a composition with Russian lysrics smuggled into Argentina through the port of Odessa. But why is it subtitled "European tango", rather than "Russian"?

This Russian Gypsy turns out to have a really tragic story. Its creator, Saul Zhadan, a fiddler from Uman, has been murdered along with the rest of town's Jews in mass executions in the fall 1941. Zhadan's son Demetrio emigrated to Argentina (one has to remember that the United States virtually closed its doors to Eastern European immigration after 1923, so refugees from the Soviet Union had to go to South America instead). The father sent his son a wedding present - a tango! Entitled "Your eyes", it was dedicated to the bride, "beautiful Celia". The groom didn't seem to appreciate it at first, especially because the song's travel by steamers was too slow and it arrived late for the wedding. But in 1941, sensing that his father was no longer alive, Demetrio decided to donate his music into the good hands of tango musicians. Only, no one knew what the map of Europe will look like after the war, will there be Russia ever again ... so the song was subtitled generically "European"
10. Ricardo Malerba - Orlando Medina "Gitana rusa" 1942 2:47

... And, at last, the tango of Argentina completes a full circle and returns to Russia to its roots! The year is 1968. We see the only LP of Argentine tango ever recorded in the USSR, titled just that: "Argentine Tango". It is Cuarteto Buenos Aires, directed by Tito Bespros. With the help of late Julio Nudler's excellent book on the Jewish personalities of tango, and interviews of the descendants of Bespros's family, I was able to piece together the story of this amazing fiddler, born to immigrants  from Odessa in 1917, who played with OTV, De Caro, Juan Canaro and great many Golden Age orchestras, before convening his own band at the age of 39. Many international gigs and awards followed, until the Argentines managed to secure an invitation to the Old Country. And the quartet's invited vocalist, Siro San Roman, even left an amazing "Easter egg" in their "A media luz", where, from behind the Argentine classic, "Mommy Odessa" herself peeks out with a wink :) The album is available for download courtesy of Andres Wilks)
11. Tito  "Tito Bespros - Siro San Roman - Media Luz"  2:32
The singer, age 84, was the only surviving member of the conjunto when Andres made his discovery of the 1968 album. When the word spread,  with the help of this blog, Argentine TV journalists found Siro San Roman at a nursing home and brought him to the station for an interview. For a few months then, the old romantic singer shone as the newly discovered celebrity of his retirement community! Alas, Soro San Roman passed away in August 2018, age 85...

... and now on to a mini milonga where many of the songs from this story will sound ... along with a few which were just hinted  about ;)

13.  Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Cascabelito" 1941 2:32
14. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Patotero sentimental" 1942 2:34
15. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Charlemos" 1941 2:30
16. Viktor Tsoy  "Red-Yellow Days cortina long 3"  0:33
17. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Ataniche" 1936 2:32
18. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Union Civica" 1938 2:28
19. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Champagne Tango" 1938, 1938 2:25
20. Zhanna Aguzarova  "Old Hotel cortina long"  0:38
Can you spot a "Gypsy Romance" tune in the following tanda, too? ;)
21. Los Provincianos (Ciriaco Ortiz) - Alberto Gomez  "Samaritana (vals)" 1932 2:58
22. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "En el volga yo te espero" 1943 2:40
23. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales, Romeo Gavioli  "La shunca" 1941 2:35
24. Eruption  "One way ticket cortina slow"  0:18
25. Lucio Demare - Raúl Berón "Una emocion" 1943 2 :41
26. Lucio Demare - Raúl Berón "Que solo estoy" 1943 3:04
27. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Ortego del Cerro "Una vez" 1943 3:22
28. Viktor Tsoy  "Red-Yellow Days cortina long 3"  0:33
And in the next tanda, another Roma motif not mentionedin the lecture....
29. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "El Adios" 1938 3:09
30. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:09
31. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:23
32. Zhanna Aguzarova "Cats" 1987 0:21
33. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Famá "Milonga Sentimental" 1933 3:10
34. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Famá "Milonga Del 900" 1933 2:54
35. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Milonga criolla" 1936 3:01
36. Viktor Tsoy  "Good morning, last Hero cortina long" 1989, 1989 0:35
37. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Ojos Negros (Oscar Strok)" 1968 2:28
38. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Adios corazon (reverb)" 1968 2:16
39. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental  "Bar Exposicion" 1968 3:26
40. Zhanna Aguzarova  "Zvezda (The Star)" 1984 0:28
41. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Hasta siempre amor" 1958 2:57
42. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Queriendote" 1955 2:49
43. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Sus Ojos Se Cerraron" 19562:47
44. Vitas  "7, the element cortina" 2012 0:23
45. Rodolfo Biagi - Jorge Ortiz "Por Un Beso De Amor" 1940 2:46
46. Rodolfo Biagi - Alberto Amor  "Paloma (vals)" 1945 2:28
47. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás "Dejame Amarte Aunque Sea un Dia (vals)" 1939 2:55
48. Boney M  "Daddy Cool cortina"  0:21
49. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Ciego" 1935 2:57
50. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Nada Más" 1938 3:02
51. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida  "Ojos negros que fascinan" 1935 2:51
52. Sandro de America  "Yo Te Amo cortina" 1968, 1968 0:23
53. Osvaldo Pugliese - Jorge Maciel "Remembranza" 1956 3:41
54. Osvaldo Pugliese - Jorge Maciel "El pañuelito" 1959 2:42
55. Osvaldo Pugliese - Alberto Moran "Pasional" 1951 3:26
56. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental  "La cumparsita (Matos Rodriguez)" 1961 3:33

Milonga Sin Nombre "Celeste y Blanco" playlist, July 2018

I'm getting further and further behind with annotating playlists :( The days ahead of Mountain Milonga Retreat are just too frantic. But better late than never?

Painting by Jackie Molina
http://www.jackiemolina.com.ar/vistas_aereas.html

The July edition of Milonga Sin Nombre has  been named "Celeste y Blanco", "Light Blue and White", after the colors of the Argentine flag in commemoration of Argentina's Independence Day. It's our 50th Milonga Sin Nombre :O !

001. QTango Erskine Maytorena Qtango "Milonga Triste" 2011 4:17

002. Hugo Diaz   "Hugo Diaz   Milonga Para Una Armonica" 1973 4:25

003. Paco Mendoza & DJ Vadim  "Los Ejes De Mi Carreta" 2013 3:23

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

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

006. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Alma en pena" 1938 2:46

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

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

009. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón  "Jamás Retornarás" 1942 2:28

010. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón  "Cuatro compases" 1942 2:43

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

012. Kansas  "Dust in the wind cortina"  0:23

We are also celebrating Troilo's birthday, aka Argentine National Day of the Bandoneon, on July 11th. The most famous of the bandoneonists who conducted tango orchestras, Anibal Troilo, the complex, musicians' musician, wasn't really my favorite for a very long time. But I always loved his valses!

013. Anibal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz "Flor De Lino" 1947 2:49

014. Anibal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz "Romance De Barrio" 1947 2:36

015. Anibal Troilo - Alberto Marino y Floreal Ruiz "Palomita Blanca" 1944 3:20

016. Zhanna Aguzarova  "Old Hotel cortina long"  0:38

We are also celebrating Enrique Cadicamo's birthday on July 15th. One of tango's greatest poets wrote lyrics for over 1,000 songs, and lived to the age of 99, always in the glow of ladies' attention."Nostalgias", in the tanda below, is one of Cadicamo's most beloved verses. "Missing the sound of her crazy laughter, and the fire of her breath on my lips ... The anguish of the loss..."

017. Francisco Lomuto - Jorge Omar  "A la gran muñeca" 1936 3:01

018. Francisco Lomuto - Jorge Omar "La melodia de nuestro adios" 1938 2:20

019. Francisco Lomuto - Jorge Omar "Nostalgias" 1936 3:05

020. Gilda  "Noches Vacias cortina"  0:22

The earliest, intensely rhythmical recordings of Troilo's orchestra are more accessible, yet they already carry the seeds of the future complexity

021. Ánibal Troilo - Instrumental "Milongueanda En El Cuarenta" 1941 2:32

022. Ánibal Troilo - Instrumental "Cachirulo" 1941 2:37

023. Ánibal Troilo - Instrumental "Guapeando" 1941 2:50

024. ZZ Top  "Sharp Dressed Man cortina"  0:25

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

026. Miguel Villasboas - Instrumental "La Milonga Que Hacia Falta" 1961 2:18

027. Julio de Caro - Hector Farrel "Saca chispas" 1938 2:30

028. Soda Stereo  "Profugos"  0:33

029. Miguel Calo - Alberto Podesta  "Si tu quisieras" 1943 2:44

030. Miguel Calo - Alberto Podesta  "Yo soy el tango" 1941 2:46

031. Miguel Calo - Jorge Ortiz  "A Las 7 En La Cafe " 1943 3:05

032. Zhanna Aguzarova "Cats" 1987 0:21

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

040. Los Iracundos  "Puerto Montt rock" 1971, 1971 0:27

041. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Recuerdos De Paris" 1937 3:12

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

043. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Solo una novia" 1935 3:23

044. Carlitos Rolan  "Cuarteto2"  0:19

"The fat man" Troilo

The voice of Fiorentino made a perfect fusion with the sound of Troilo's orchestra and set the high standard for the tango's magnificient 40s. This was the singer who became a true equal with the orchestra's musicians in making the dancers' bodies move.

045. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Te aconsejo que me olvides" 1941 2:58

046. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "El Bulin de La Calle Ayacucho" 1941 2:29

047. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Toda mi vida" 1941 2:56

048. Zhanna Aguzarova "Cats" 1987 0:21

049. Francisco Canaro - Instrumental "Milonga de mis amores" 1937 3:03

050. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama "La milonga de Buenos Aires" 1939 2:50

051. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Milonga criolla" 1936 3:05

052. Carlitos Rolan  "Cuarteto1"  0:28

Barely a year after the first Troilo's recordings were cut, he is already transitioning from the upbeat rhythmic pieces to the music of sorrow, darkness, and beautiful complexity

053. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Malena" 1942 2:59

054. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Pa' que seguir" 1942 2:35

055. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Cada vez que me recuerdes" 1943 2:40

056. Rodrigo  "Cuarteto"  0:29

J

Garcia's "foxes" were proud to wear gray

ose Garcia, a violinist, band leader and composer, has been born on July 22, 1910. His orchestra has been immortalized as "gray foxes", "Zorro grices", in what started as a wardrobe accident. They bought cheap suits for their first gigs, and got the nickname of "grays" after the color of these costumes. But Jose made this nickname work to his advantage, by linking it with the title of a classic, beloved tango, "Zorro gris". The "Zorro grices" were an excellent orchestra, but their repertoire is almost always upstaged by Carlos Di Sarli, who recorded the same titles, including Garcia's most famous composition, "Esta noche de Luna", "This moonlit night". So for me, tonight is the first attempt to play a whole tanda of Jose Garcia's orchestra!

057. Jose Garcia - Alfredo Rojas "Junto A Tu Corazón" 1942 3:04

058. Jose Garcia - Alfredo Rojas "Que no sepan las estrellas" 1945 2:45

059. Jose Garcia - Alfredo Rojas "Esta Noche De Luna"1942 3:20

060. Carlitos Rolan  "Cuarteto2"  0:19

Ciriaco Ortiz, with hs bando and his famous smile

We are close to the birth date of a great bandoneonist and bandleader (and a sharp-tongued witty humorist) Ciriaco Ortiz (Aug 5 1905 - July 9, 1970) who, in the early 1930s, blazed the trail later followed by Troilo. Born in Cordoba, Ortiz famously dubbed his band "Los Provincianos", "The Provincials". But there is a July-specific reason to play the Provincianos tanda: the final vals is the composition of Luis Rubistein (born July 8, 1908), one of the many great "Russians" of the Argentine tango.

061. Los Provincianos (Ciriaco Ortiz) - Carlos Lafuente "Un placer" 1933 2:34

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

063. Los Provincianos (Ciriaco Ortiz) - Alberto Gomez  "Samaritana (vals)" 1932 2:58

064. Soda Stereo  "Corazon elator"  0:28

"Tres esquinas", "Three corners" is another signature verse of Enrique Cadicamo, named after a neighborhood which is just as rundown and dangerous in today's Buenos Aires as it was back in the days ... "I come from this humble barrio, and I am this sentimental tango. There, we sip our mate under the shade of the trellis..."

065. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Tres esquinas" 1941 3:05

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

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

068. Los Iracundos  "Puerto Montt rock" 1971 0:27

And the beautifully sentimental  "Niebla del riachuelo", "Mist of the creek" (which isn't just any creek, but is a part of the seaport of Buenos Aires), is also a verse of Cadicamo's

069. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Niebla del riachuelo" 1937 2:25

070. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Sollozos" 1937 3:27

071. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Recuerdos De Bohemia" 1935 2:36

072. Bravo - Zhanna Aguzarova  "Space Rock-n-Roll" 1993 0:12

073. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La Mulateada" 1941 2:22

074. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino  "Cuando un viejo se enamora" 1942 2:14

075. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Pena Mulata" 1941 2:27

(a break for the performance marking the 9th of July Independence Day of Argentina sends me scrambling for the perfect tango about this day, "Nueve de Julio", "The ninth of July". A little mix-up here ... D'Arienzo recorded this most excellent and most rhythmic tune more than ones, and I make a mistake pairing his 1960s masterpiece with his much earlier recordings. Should have made the whole tanda out of 1960s and 1970s tracks!)

076. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Nueve de Julio" 1966 2:54

077. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Jueves" 1937 2:33

078. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Gallo Ciego" 1937 2:59

079. Carlitos Rolan  "Cuarteto2"  0:19

"Pa Que Bailen Los Muchachos", another classic lyrics by Enrique Cadicamo, in a brooding and suspenseful tanda of Troilo's later recordings

080. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Pa Que Bailen Los Muchachos" 1942 2:49

081. Anibal Troilo - Instrumental  "La Maleva" 1942 2:41

082. Anibal Troilo - Instrumental  "Chique (El elegante)" 1944 3:07

083. ?Alla Pugacheva "Million Scarlet Roses" 1982 0:19

084. Enrique Rodriguez - El "Chato" Flores "Los Piconeros (Vals)" 1939 2:47

085. Enrique Rodriguez - El "Chato" Flores "Las espigadoras" 1938 2:47

086. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "En el volga yo te espero" 1943 2:40

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

If Luis Rubistein first proved his mettle with Samaritana, then "Carnaval de mi barrio" (subtitled "A street painting in the tempo of tango") was one of the highest points of his later career

088. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales y Romeo Gavio  "Mi Serenata" 1940 3:01

089. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:09

090. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:30

091. Oleg Berg  "We will rock you chicken dance"  0:23

The super-grounded modern classics join in the penultimate tanda

092. Analíá Goldberg y Sexteto Ojos De Tango "El Adios" 2011 3:13

093. Fervor de Buenos Aires  "E.G.B." 2007 2:26

094. Fervor de Buenos Aires  "Quien Sos" 2007 3:08

095. Alla Pugacheva  "Etot mir"  0:33

096. Osvaldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Gallo ciego" 1959 3:33

097. Osvaldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Malandraca" 1949 2:52

098. Osvaldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Nochero soy" 1956 3:33

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

100.   "silence30s (clean)"  0:31

101. Cream Margot  "Krem Margo - Poka Igraet Dzhaz danceable cortina cut"  1:41

Milonga Sin Nombre de Luna Llena, July 2017

To my great consternation, I can't figure out what was played for the first tanda :) it must have been from a different interface, because my saved list begins with a cortina which followed.

004. Viktor Tsoy  "Red-Yellow Days cortina long 3"  0:33

Since it is a full Moon night, there are many Moon-themed tangos in the list. And the very first one already offers a foray into history. "Esta noche de luna", "This moonlit night", has been composed by José García of the Grey Foxes of Tango. I played his eponymous tango composition, "Zorro Gris", on many occasions and by different orchestras, but I don't think I ever played Garcia's own recordings. The "problem" is that many of the Garcia's hits were also played and recorded by other superb orchestras such as Di Sarli's, and Garcia's "Grey Foxes" always get the short straw.... Todotango reports that José García had much stronger fan base in Colombia & Chile than at home. Anyway - let's celebrate this July "birthday boy" born July 22, 1908! In the image of his orchestra, in their trademark gray suits, José García is the violinist in the center.

005. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Esta noche de luna" 1943 3:11

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

007. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino"Tristeza Marina" 1943 3:05

008. Soda Stereo  "Corazon elator"  0:28

009. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Independencia" 1953 2:31

010. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "El Flete" 1936 2:56

011. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "La Payanca" 1936 2:32

012. Leonid Utesov  "Road to Berlin (fast)"  0:30

013. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Silueta Porteña" 1936 3:01

014. Francisco Canaro - Instrumental "Milonga De Antaño" 1937 2:54

015. Francisco Canaro - Instrumental "La Milonga De Mis Tiempos" 1938 3:17

016. Kult  "dziewczyna o perlowych wlosach"  0:30

Another Di Sarli tanda, another dramatic Moon song

017. Carlos di Sarli - Jorge Durán "Hoy Al Recordarla" 1945 3:08

018. Carlos di Sarli - Jorge Durán  "Tus labios me dirán" 1945 2:19

019. Carlos di Sarli - Jorge Durán "Vieja Luna" 1945 2:52

020. Folk  "Shumel Kamysh "  0:23

021. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "A oscuras" 1941 2:48

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

Luis Rubistein (1908-1954)

Luis Rubistein, born July 8 1908, authored both the music and the lyrics of Donato's super-hit, a sweet, gently funny, and softly melancholic hymn to an Italo-Argentine neighborhood, "Carnaval de mi barrio". Rubistein was born Moises Rubinstein to a family of recent Russian Jewish immigrants. A cobbler's son, he never even completed grade school, having been kicked out of 3rd grade after a conflict with teacher over ... the little bright kid's writing poems in class! Luis's father died early and he became a father figure to his younger brothers, who also went on to become tango poets and composers under pen names Oscar Rubens and Elias Randal.
Writing tango lyrics brought Luis Rubistein early fame when Carlos Gardel performed his "Tarde gris" in 1930, but Luis was also also a successful music journalist, and even sang with D'Arienzo, despite being a stutterer in everyday speech.By the age of 25, Rubistein started composing tangos as well, reaching spectacular success with "Carnival de mi barrio", subtitled "Street painting in the tempo of tango".

023. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:25
024. Stas Borsov  "Anyuta cortina" 2000 0:21

July 11th marks the birth date of Anibal Troilo, one of the most influential tango musicians. I showcased Troilo's life and music before, especially when we were marking Anibal Troilo centennial in 2014. With Argentine National Day of Tango already "taken" by Carlos Gardel and Julio de Caro's common birthday, the grateful nation has opted, in 2005, to make Troilo's birthday, July 11th, the National Day of Bandoneon! In the imaginary Bandoneon Player hall of fame, with such incredible talents as Pedro Maffia, Pedro Laurenz, Ciriaco Ortiz, and Astor Piazzolla, Troilo stands out both as a longtime orchestra leader and as a political survivor, who continued appearing on TV and publishing records well into LP age, even as tango entered its Dark Ages. As a result, to the generation before the Rebirth of Tango in the 1990s, Anibal Troilo epitomized the old and continuing glory of the genre. In my most humble opinion, this glory was partly tainted and not fully deserved, but then, I always rooted for the underdogs and the fallen! Anyway - we will celebrate tonight with vals and tango tandas, and these shall be from the Golden Forties, rather than from latter, darker era. 

025. Anibal Troilo - Alberto Marino y Floreal Ruiz "Palomita blanca (Vals)" 1944 3:20

026. Anibal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz "Flor De Lino" 1947 2:49

027. Anibal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz "Romance De Barrio" 1947 2:35

The 1941 "Charlemos" was the highest point of Luis Rubistein's career as a composer and songwriter. In just over the year, Luis Rubistein's main business in live radio broadcasting will be destroyed by military censorship after a coup, and he will never recover. An incredible song, a tale of a desperate call to a made-up telephone number, with a teary apology in its closing line, which, as a tango historian Julio Nudler reconstructs, may have really sounded "Soy Judio ... Perdóneme ...". Forgive my sadness, for I am Jewish. This was the year of the Holocaust ghettos and deportation, soon to flare up with millions shot dead in the killing fields of Eastern Europe. And Rubistein was always eager to open Argentina to the Jewish themes. Who knows?

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

029. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Cascabelito" 1941 2:32

030. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Patotero sentimental" 1942 2:34

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

Anibal Troilo teamed up with "Fiore" (Francisco Fiorentino) right from the opening night in "Marabu" in 1937, but they didn't start mass recording until 4 years later. And their earliest 1941 hits are the dearest to my heart among Troilo's nearly 500 records spanning over 3 decades. The union of a vocal with the orchestra is so seamlessly perfect! No wonder many in Argentina are willing to credit Troilo with single-handedly inventing the "cantor de orquesta" style of tango!

032. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Toda mi vida" 1941 2:56

033. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Pajaro Ciego" 1941 3:00

034. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Te Aconsejo Que Me Olvides" 1941 2:59

035. Lyube  "Atas cortina"  0:35

Some of Canaro's stellar quintet's final recordings, a testament of a director who already published a memoir of his 50 (!) years in tango, who lost his health and good graces of the politicians, but wouldn't think of retirement!

036. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "El firulete" 1958 2:29

037. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "Orillera" 1960 2:24

038. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "La cara de la luna" 1959 2:29

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

040. Haris Alexiou  "To Tango Tis Nefelis" 1998 4:07

041. Mecano  "Hijo De La Luna"  4:29

042. Shigeru Umebayashi "Yumeji's Theme - extended vers" 2001 3:06

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

Biagi debuted in "Marabu" as well, soon after Troilo, in September 1938. These are his earliest, fiery tracks, and we will have time for another for another tanda of the later, darker masterpieces...

044. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás  "La chacarera" 1940 2:24

045. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás  "Queja indiana" 1939 2:24

046. Rodolfo Biagi - Andrés Falgás  "Cielo" 1939 2:32

047. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Angel Vargas "Sin Rumbo Fijo" 1938  2:18

048. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Mario Pomar  "Temo" 1940 2:55

049. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Lita Morales "Noches de invierno" 1937 2:47

050. Lidiya Ruslanova  "Valenki 4 (cortina)"  0:24

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

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

053. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:09

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

055. Juan D'Arienzo - Hector Maure  "Cicatrices" 1942 2:21

056. Juan D'Arienzo - Hector Maure  "Ya Lo Ves " 1941 2:38

057. Juan D'Arienzo - Hector Maure  "El olivo (El olvido)" 1941 2:51

058. Lidiya Ruslanova  "Valenki 1 (cortina)"  0:24

059. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La mulateada" 1941 2:21

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

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

062. Russian Folk  "Gypsy Girl (cortina)"  0:22

063. Ángel D'Agostino  (palabras de Julian Centeya) "Café Domínguez" 1955 2:56

Enrique Cadicamo (1900-1999)

We also celebrate birthday of a great tango poet Enrique Cadicamo on July 15th. He lived to the age of 99, published many books and wrote over 1,000 tango songs - so many that even Gardel managed to sing over 20 of them! A bohemian and a womanizer of his younger years, Cadicamo settled down in his later life, even marrying in his 60s, and quitting smoking ... at 86.
No milonga would ever be complete without a Cadicamo song, but "Tres esquinas" is one of the most acclaimed of them, a nostalgic memory of the poor immigrant neighborhood, with its three street corners on a side of railroad tracks. The rails are gone, but the barrio is said to remain dirt poor and full of immigrants, not a tourist spot by any means...

064. Angel D'Agostino - Angel Vargas "Tres esquinas" 1941 3:05

065. Angel D'Agostino - Angel Vargas "Ahora No Me Conocés" 1941 2:35

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

067. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Recuerdos De Paris" 1937 3:12

068. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Ciego" 1935 2:57

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

070.  "Shalom lach eretz nehederet" 1977 0:31

071. Pedro Láurenz - Alberto Podestá  "Paisaje" 1943 2:53

072. Pedro Láurenz - Carlos Bermudez y Jorge Linares "Mendocina" 1944 2:32

073. Pedro Láurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "Mascarita" 1940 2:53

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

075. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Bar Exposicion" 2000 3:26

076. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Adios corazon" 1968 2:16

077. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Ojos Negros (Oscar Strok)" 1968 2:28

078. Pause for announcements and raffle

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

080. Miguel Calo - Raul Beron  "Tristezas de la calle Corrientes" 1942 2:46

081. Miguel Calo - Raul Beron  "Un crimen" 1942 3:00

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

083. AR Rahman  "Ringa Ringa cortina long 3"  0:29

084. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Sacale Punta" 1935 2:17

085. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "De punta a punta (milonga)" 1939 2:21

086. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "La Milonga Que Faltaba" 1938 2:29

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

088. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Yo no se llorar" 1933 2:36

089. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "No quiero verte llorar" 1937 2:42

090. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Recuerdo de bohemia" 1935 2:36

091. Folk  "Shumel Kamysh "  0:23

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

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

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

097. Stas Borsov  "Anyuta cortina" 2000, 2000 0:21

098. Enrique Rodriguez - El "Chato" Flores "Las Espigadoras (Vals)" 1938 2:47

099. Enrique Rodriguez - El "Chato" Flores "Los Piconeros (Vals)" 1939 2:47

100. Enrique Rodriguez - El "Chato" Flores  "Salud, Dinero Y Amor" 1939 2:41

101. Zhanna Aguzarova  "Old Hotel cortina long"  0:38

102. Rodolfo Biagi - Hugo Duval  "Solamente Dios y yo" 1958 2:30

103. Rodolfo Biagi - Hugo Duval  "Alguien" 1956 3:14

105. Rodolfo Biagi - Hugo Duval  "Esperame en el cielo" 1958 2:52

106. Victor Tsoy  "Spokoynaya Noch' (cortina)"  0:49

107. Osvaldo Pugliese - Intrumental "La Yumba" 1952 2:51

108. Osvaldo Pugliese - Intrumental "Pata Ancha" 1957 3:19

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

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