Alberto "Tito" Bespros: back to Russia with love

Latvian DJ Andres Vilks has a passion for old vinyl disks in need of digitizing. His recent find opened my eyes to an awesome page of history of the Dark Ages of Tango: the one and only Argentine Tango LP recorded in the USSR.

The dateline was 1968. The bandleader, Tito Bespros, and the conjunto name, Cuarteto Buenos Aires. The disk jacket informed us that the band has been formed in 1966, performed across the globe, and won an award at a folk music festival in Miami in 1967. On the Russian tour, it's been joined by a 37 years old vocalist, Siro San Roman (who left an amazing "Easter Egg" near the end of their "Media luz" ... don't miss it, especially if you understand Russian :) ). So who were these guys, whose only recordings survived on a dusty LP in an antique record shop in Riga? Their story wasn't to be found anywhere on the Internet, but with the help of Tito's grand nephew (a computer entrepreneur who named his startup after tango) and snippets from Julio Nudler's great tango history book, we were able to learn quite a few bits and pieces:

Tito Bespros (January 4, 1917 - April 29, 1983) was one of tango's several great "ruso" violinists, children of immigrants from the Russian Empire to Argentina. Tito's real name was Alberto Besprosvan. He was born in Buenos Aires exactly 100 years ago to a Jewish couple from Odessa, and he embarked on a tour to find his own Russian roots when the lights of tango in his hometown dimmed in the 1960s.
Alberto's parents were Jose Besprosvan and Esther Slavner. Alberto's sister remembered that their surname was changed to Besprosvan after immigration. Most likely it used to be Besprozvanny, a relatively well known Jewish surname with a curious meaning, literally "Unnamed", a living testament to Russian Jews' aversion to the government-imposed surname system. Until 1804, our ancestors used no surnames at all, but then the government decreed that family names must be assigned to make tax collection and military drafts easier. Not surprisingly, it took decades to finally ensure that all Jewish families got permanent surnames, consistently used in all documents and not changed on a whim every few years. Not surprisingly also, some of the newfangled surnames read "Neizvestny" (literally Unknown), or "Besprozvanny" (Unnamed), or even Nepomnyaschy (Unable to recall). (The Besprosvan family also remembers that among their original ancestor names was something like Dynin or Dinin, but my hunch is that it was Joseph's mother's name).
In Buenos Aires, Jose Besprosvan made living selling porcelain figurines, like the famous kitty, gato de porcelana, from "A media luz". Once they lived at Calle Ombu upstairs from a band owner; it was with this neighbor's band where little Tito (Alberto), still in his short pants, made his earliest violin gig. Tito's first major tango job has been with Orquesta Tipica Victor, then led by Adolfo Carabelli. Traveling to Chile with the band of Alberto de Caro, Tito Besprosvan met his future wife, a Jewish girl from Vienna who worked at a chocolate shop near the venue where they played. In 1940, he traveled all over South America with Juan Canaro's orchestra, and in 1942, went to Mexico. Tango's golden 1940s and early 1950s brought Alberto Besprosvan so many excellent opportunities with the major tango orchestras that the relatives half-seriously tell that there were no other tango musician whose violin is heard in more recordings than Besprosvan!

But the late 1950s drew the curtain on the exuberance of Tango's Golden Age. That's when Alberto Besprosvan had to strike on his own, convening his first band, a string ensemble, in 1958 to play in clubs such as Tabaris and Abdullah. They have seven or possibly even eight violins. Among the violinists were Julio "Toto" Grana, Simón Broitman, Bernardo Prusak, Francisco Oréfice. Osvaldo Celenza played bass, Osvaldo "Marinero" Montes, bandoneon, and Normando Lazara, piano. For a while, the ensemble secured a profitable venue, El Clubo Automovil, but they lost it after joining a strike. They key 4 players of the conjunto went on playing on a tourist boat based off Porto Alegre in Brasil. That's when Besprosvan, Montes, Lazara, and Celenza got themselves a name, "El Cuarteto Buenos Aires", highlighting their Argentine Tango provenance. They kept the name even when they were joined by the 5th member, Siro San Roman, for the global tours in 1967 and 1968, which brought Alberto Besprosvan back to his parents' old country. Did he get a chance to play in Odessa, I wonder?

Enjoy the tracks from the Soviet Union's one and only Argentine tango album on Google Drive!

Siberian Milonga playlist, September 24, 2017

Milonga in Tymen', Siberia, hosted by the amazing Anton and Darya Mayantzev, capped a day of tango classes, practica, yours truly presentation on tango history and poetry, and, finally, an inaugural milonga at a new downtown venue, restaurant and bar "Sedlo" (which is technically open until 2am, but was actually clamoring to close as we were playing the final tandas just short of midnight). The "Baires" tango club is very lovingly decorated with BsAs tango memorabilia; the grand orchestra names are etched into the walls, and the teachers are properly crazy about spreading the gospel of Argentine tango. The community isn’t big yet, but there is enough energy for a nice milonga already, and the ranks of aspiring, talented beginner tangueros are also amazing. The busiest and liveliest of the nearby Argentine tango communities may be 200 miles away in Chelyabinsk, but we actually had visitors from there joining the milonga!
(and for this playlist comments, I shall switch to Russian now)

Сердечная благодарность Антону и Дарье Маянцевым и танго-школе "Байрес" в г. Тюмень за организацию моего "сибирского десанта", за талант и замечательный неподдельный энтузиазм. Мне очень понравилось. Удачи и многих хороших танд вам, тюменские тангеро!
Photo credits - Мария Ершова, Вадим Чулков.

В тюменском ресторане "Седло" милонга проходит первый раз. Аудиосистема непроверенная. "Проверка звука, она же первая танда" начинается с музыки первого квинтета Канаро (который, как все, кого зовут Франциско, мог изображать из себя испанца и брать кличку "Панчо"). Но уже на второй песне пары выходят на танцпол, поэтому тут же добавляю четвертую запись к танде, чтобы не оставить наших первопроходцев без полноразмерной тандочки.
01. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "El garron" 1938 2:27
02. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Alma en pena" 1938 2:46
03. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Loca" 1938 2:57
04. Quinteto Don Pancho - Instrumental "Champagne tango" 1938 2:30
05. Майя Кристалинская  "А за окном" 0:16
06. Carlos .Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá  "Junto a tu corazón" 1942 3:00
07. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Lloran Las Campanas" 1944 2:58
08. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá  "Tu, el cielo y tu" 1944 2:59
09. Gogol Bordello  "Pala Tute cortina 2" 2012 0:19
10. Ánibal Troilo - Instrumental "Milongueanda En El Cuarenta" 1941 2:32
11. Ánibal Troilo - Instrumental "Cachirulo" 1941 2:37
12. Ánibal Troilo - Instrumental "Guapeando" 1941 2:50
13. Жанна Агузарова "Кошки"" 1987 0:21
Люблю ставить аргентинские записи, вдохновленные русской классикой, как вот этот вальс про реку "Вольгу", который "Мой костер в тумане". В стране иммигрантов и наши музыкальные мотивы и музыканты оставили классный отпечаток. Вообще "русос",  русскими в Байресе традиционно считают потомков евреев Украины и Бессарабии, просто потому, что народ в свое время приехал с российскими паспортами. Особенно много замечательных танго-скрипачей пошло из той волны эмиграции.
14. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "En el volga yo te espero" 1943 2:40
15. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "Mariquita no mires al puerto (vals)" 1945 3:01
16. Enrique Rodriguez - Roberto Flores  "Fru Fru" 1939 2:57
17. “Шумел камыш"  0:23
18. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Famá "Todo Te Nombra" 1939 3:01
19. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Famá "Tormenta" 1939 2:35
20. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Famá  “Te quiero todavia" 1939 2:54
21."Мурка"  0:20
Экспериментальная танда, которая не удалась. Запал на звук квартета Фирпо, особенно как под пальцами самого маэстро звенят, как хрусталем, клавиши фортепиано. К этому времени за его плечами были уже десятилетия славы и уход на пенсию, но жизнь сложилась так, что деньги пропали и "из отставки" ему снова пришлось вернуться "к прежней работе". Их вальсы я ставил достаточно часто, а тут попробовал танго, отверг самые медлительные записи, но оказался в результате с тандой очень быстрых, но не очень богатых на текстуру танго. Значит, будем думать...
22. Cuarteto Roberto Firpo - Instrumental 1940  "El choclo"  2:47
23. Cuarteto Roberto Firpo - Instrumental "Sabado Ingles" 1940 2:12
24. Cuarteto Roberto Firpo - Instrumental  "Don Enrique" 1937 2:45
(Перерыв на демо, добавляю по треку танго и милонги для наших учителей)

25. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Ciego" 1935 2:57
26.   "silence"  0:06
27. The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet  "Largas las Penas" 2011 3:02
28. The Beatles "All you Need is Love cortina" 2006 0:19
29. Pedro Láurenz - Juan Carlos Casas  "Vieja Amiga" 1938 3:11
30. Pedro Láurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "Amurado" 1940 2:26
31. Pedro Láurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "No me extrana" 1940  2:44
32.  "Катюша"  0:33
Еще одна экспериментальная для меня танда - инструментальный Тройло более поздних 40-х, сложная и прекрасная музыка. Сегодня уже были более стандартные инструментальные записи Тройло из его самого раннего периода, самые ритмические, но захотелось добавить еще одну танду попечальнее и позадумчивее. Мне понравилось.
33. Anibal Troilo - Instrumental  "Quejas de bandoneon" 1944 2:38
34. Anibal Troilo - Instrumental  "La Maleva" 1942 2:41
35. Anibal Troilo - Instrumental  "Chique (El elegante)" 1944 3:07
36. Алла Пугачева "Свеча горела" cortina  0:19
Филиберто - гениальный танго-композитор и, впоследствии, бессменный руководитель муниципального оркестра народной музыки Буэнос-Айреса - играл, конечно, и танго, хотя местные знатоки смотрели на это с сомнением, поскольку маэстро принципиально выступал за фьюжн всех народных стилей. Но вот вальсы Филиберто, это абсолютно стоит послушать.
37. Juan De Dios Filiberto "Tus Ojos Me Embelesan" 1935 2:55
38. Juan De Dios Filiberto "Pensando En Ti" 1935 2:50
39. Juan De Dios Filiberto "Palomita Blanca" 1959  2:35
40. Pink Floyd  "Goodbye Blue Sky cortina long 2"  0:29
41. Lucio Demare - Horacio Quintana  "Torrente" 1944 3:10
42. Lucio Demare - Horacio Quintana "Solamente ella" 1944 3:15
43. Lucio Demare - Horacio Quintana  "Igual que un bandoneon" 1945 3:02
44. De Mono  "Statki na niebie"  0:28
45. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Como Has Cambiado Pebeta" 1942 2:37
46. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "El encopao" 1942 2:34
47. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "Cómo Se Pianta la Vida" 1940 2:23
48. Витас "7-й элемент" cortina 2012 0:23
49. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Mariano Balcarce  "Milonga De Los Fortines" 1937  2:55
50. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Carlos Lafuente "Cacareando" 1933 2:45
51. Miguel Villasboas - Instrumental "La Milonga Que Hacia Falta" 1961  2:18

Бросив в плейлист аргентинскую кортину, я на секунду задумался, а не ошибкой ли были мои (в основном) ретро-российские кортины в Тюмени? Пошло ли под настроение, или лучше было бы взять заставки "подальше от дома", поэкзотичнее? Но была не была, будем продолжать в том же ключе.
52. Sandro de America  "Yo Te Amo cortina" 1968 0:23
53. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "Que te importa que te llore" 1942 2:44
“Jamas retornaras” - еще одно аргентинское классическое танго, в котором можно услышать ретро-российские мотивы. Одна из двух фраз, из которых построена эта композиция, близка к "уличному танго" моего детства, "Сиреневому Туману". Даже слова очень похожи. Но тут, я уверен, связь скорее обратная. "Сиреневый туман" известен с поздних военных лет и вполне мог быть навеян мелодией из Аргентины. Правда, уже в послесоветские годы, когда эта песня снова стала популярной, за копирайт судились потомки двух предполагаемых авторов, и под суду как бы доказали, что эта песня якобы создана еще в 1937 году, но только оставалась совершенно неизвестной. Но на самом деле остались сильные сомнения, та ли была песня, или другая с похожим названием, но совсем не танго, или вообще ничего не было.  Суд судом, а я остаюсь в убеждении, что в данном случае не аргентинцы взяли эту мелодию у русских, а наоборот.
54. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "Jamas Retornaras" 1942 2:31
55. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "Tristezas De La Calle Corrientes" 1942 2:46
56.Алла Пугачева "Миллион алых роз" (кортина) 1982 0:19
57. Edgardo Donato -  Horacio Lagos  "El Adios" 1938 3:09
58. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:07
59. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos y Lita Morales "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" 1939 2:25
60. Жанна Агузарова "Старый Отель" 1987 0:22
61. Francisco Lomuto - Jorge Omar  "Damisela encantadora (vals)" 1936 2:58
62. Francisco Lomuto - Instrumental  "Noche de ronda (vals)" 1937 2:34
63. Francisco Lomuto - Fernando Diaz y Mercedes Simone "Lo que vieron mis ojos" 1933 2:22
64. Леонид Утесов. "Дорога на Берлин" (медл.)  0:27
65. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray  "Isla de Capri" 1935 3:16
66. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Canto de amor" 1934 3:25
67. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Sollosos" 1937 3:27
68. Alexey Kudryavtsev  "The heart breaks cortina 2"  0:22
69. Rodolfo Biagi - Hugo Duval  "Solamente Dios y yo" 1958 2:30
70. Rodolfo Biagi - Hugo Duval  "Alguien" 1956 3:14
71. Rodolfo Biagi - Hugo Duval  "Esperame en el cielo" 1958 2:52
Перерыв для вальса именинницы ... эээ, подождите, днерожденного Д'Арьенцо. Теперь припоминаю, что уже слышал, что вальс для дня рождения - не универсальная традиция, и в некоторых регионах это танго, и тут запрос был на ритмическую, уверенную запись.
72. Aníbal Troilo - Floreal Ruiz, Edmundo Rivero  "Lagrimitas de mi corazón" 1948 2:59
73.   "silence30s"  0:31
74. Juan D'Arienzo - Hector Maure  "El olivo (El olvido)" 1941 2:51
75. Любэ "Батька Махно cortina 1"  0:18
Конечно, после перерыва, да уже по позднему времени, нам для пульса энергии не обойтись без еще Д’Арьенцо, притом самого крутого замеса
76. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Zorro Gris" 1973 2:08
77. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Bar Exposicion" 1973 2:33
78. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Este Es El Rey" 1971 3:10
Конечно, я не планировал ставить танду милонг в последний час милонги, но из-за шоу учителей мне уже пришлось пропустить шанс поставить одну из танд милонг, когда ей по правилам было бы нормальное место. А жадность, она штука сильная )) Как же можно прожить без милонг? Так что добавляем сюда:
79. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "La mulateada" 1941 2:21
80. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Pena mulata" 1941 2:27
81. Carlos di Sarli - Roberto Rufino "Zorzal" 1941 2:39
82. Любэ "Атас cortina"  0:35
83. Soha  "Mil Pasos" 2008 4:07
84. Alacran  "Reflejo De Luna" 2010 3:44
85. "Fool car"  3:09
86. Цыганская народная. "Осенняя роса"cortina 0:30
Лучшее наследие танго Уругвая:
87. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Hasta siempre amor" 1958 2:57
88. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Queriendote" 1955 2:49
89. Donato Racciatti - Olga Delgrossi "Sus Ojos Se Cerraron" 1956 2:47
90. Лидия Русланова. “Валенки 1 (cortina)"  0:24
91. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental "Mi dolor" 1957 2:51
92. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental "Pavadita" 1958 2:53
93. Alfredo de Angelis - Instrumental  "Felicia" 1969 2:47
94. Леонид Утесов. "С Одесского кичмана" (cortina) 1935 0:22
95. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Rondando Tu Esquina" 1944 2:48
96. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Corrientes Y Esmeralda" 1944 2:49
97. Osvaldo Pugliese - Jorge Maciel  "Remembranza" 1956 3:41
98. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La cumparsita" 1951 3:49
…. и уже на прощанье, специальный трек о Сибири )) Ремикс "русской баллады" Гарделя.
99. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "Sonia" 1959 3:36

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

Tango Volunteers Appreciation night playlist, 8/11/17

Just weeks after the grand annual Mountain Milonga Retreat and its crazy roaming afterparty, we are ready to celebrate our wonderful volunteers with a special free milonga. Hats off to you, selfless tangueros! Your dedication makes Argentine tango shine bright, even in the wild mountains and forbidding deserts of Utah!

Grand Asado crew at Mountain Milonga Retreat 2017.
What a miracle of a volunteer team work!

001. Ricardo Tanturi - Instrumental  "Una noche de garufa" 1941 2:32

002. Ricardo Tanturi - Instrumental  "Comparsa criolla" 1941 2:51

003. Ricardo Tanturi - Instrumental  "Argañaraz" 1940 2:21

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

005. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Envidia" 1936 3:18

006. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida"Invierno" 1937 3:25

007. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida"Alma del bandoneon" 1935 2:46

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

Wild flowers ...

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

010. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "Catamarca" 1940 2:23

011. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental "La trilla" 1940 2:21

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

... and wild mushrooms!
Sopa de hongos, anyone?

013. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Joaquina" 1935 3:01

014. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "El Internado" 1938 2:31

015. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Ataniche" 1936 2:32

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

017. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Mariano Balcarce  "Milonga De Los Fortines" 1937 2:55

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

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

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

021. Carlos di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Lloran Las Campanas" 1944 2:58

022. Carlos di Sarli - Alberto Podestá  "Nido gaucho" 1942 3:22

023. Carlos di Sarli - Alberto Podestá  "Nada" 1944 2:45

024. Alla Pugacheva "Million Scarlet Roses" 1982 0:19

025. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Como Has Cambiado Pebeta" 1942 2:37

026. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "El encopao" 1942 2:34

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

028. Zhanna Aguzarova "Cats" 1987 0:21

029. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales  "Mañana sera la mia" 1941 2:52

030. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Con Tus Besos (vals)" 1938 2:23

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

032. Maya Kristalinskaya  "Nezhnost (Tenderness)"  0:17

033. Miguel Caló - Raúl Iriarte  "La vI llegar" 1944 3:24

034. Miguel Caló - Raúl Iriarte  "Cada dia te extrano mas" 1943 2:33

035. Miguel Caló - Raúl Iriarte  "La noche que te fuiste" 1945 2:47

036. Russian Folk  "Kalinka-Malinka 1 (cortina)"  0:25

037. Anibal Troilo - Francisco Fiorentino "Malena" 1942 3:01

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

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

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

Some of the best contemporary milongas!

041. Otros Aires "Los Vino"  2:41

042. Otros Aires "Rotos En El Raval"  3:53

043. Otros Aires "Milonga Sentimental"  3:57

044. Anzhelika Varum  "Autumn Jazz"  0:20

These are very different orchestra compositions despite one title, but all stellar

045. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Ángel Vargas "Adios Buenos Aires" 1938 2:36

046. Orquesta Típica Víctor - Ernesto Famá "Carillon de La Merced" 1931 3:16

047. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Ortega Del Cerro "Una Vez" 1943 3:22

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

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

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

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

052. Folk  "Shumel Kamysh "  0:23

053. Francisco Lomuto - Jorge Omar  "Damisela encantadora (vals)" 1936 2:58

054. Francisco Lomuto - Instrumental  "Noche de ronda (vals)" 1937 2:34

055. Francisco Lomuto - Fernando Diaz  "Lo que vieron mis ojos" 1933 2:22

056. Maya Kristalinskaya  "Nezhnost (Tenderness)"  0:17

057. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "Que te importa que te llore" 1942 2:44

058. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "Jamas Retornaras" 1996 2:31

059. Miguel Caló - Raúl Berón "Tristezas De La Calle Corrientes"  2:46

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

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

062. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales y Romeo Gavio "Sinfonia de Arrabal" 1940 3:07

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

064. Zhanna Aguzarova "Cats" 1987 0:21

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

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

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

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

069. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Alas Rotás" 1938 2:32

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

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

072. Anzhelika Varum  "Autumn Jazz"  0:20

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

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

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

076. Alla Pugacheva "Million Scarlet Roses" 1982 0:19

077. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Lita Morales "Noches de invierno" 1937 2:47

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

079. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Mario Pomar  "Temo" 1940 2:55

080. Zhanna Aguzarova "Cats" 1987 0:21

081. Fool's Garden "Lemon Tree" 1999 3:11

082. Jason Mraz  "I'm Yours" 2008 4:20

083. Damour Vocal Band  "SWAY - danceable cut"  1:39

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

085. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Yo No Sé Llorar" 1933 2:36

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

087. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Angustia" 1938 2:39

088. Alla Pugacheva "Million Scarlet Roses" 1982 0:19

089. Hector Varela - Rodolfo Lesica "Y todavia te quiero" 1956 3:06

090. Hector Varela - Rodolfo Lesica "El destino la llevo" 1959 3:01

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

092. Anzhelika Varum  "Autumn Jazz"  0:20

093. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Corrientes y Esmeralda" 1944 2:46

094. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel  "Farol" 1943 3:22

095. Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Rondando Tu Esquina" 1945 2:49

096. Russian folk  "Murka"  0:20

097. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Bar Exposicion" 1973 2:33

098. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Zorro gris" 1973 2:03

099. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "Este Es El Rey" 1971 3:10

100. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental "La Cumparsita" 1955 3:44

Bedford Milonga Weekend, June 25 2017

I'm over 2 months behind with posting playlists and of course it kind of defeats one of the main purposes of doing it (which is to let your guests remember what they danced to while the memory is still fresh). But I have an excuse, a big one. With Mountain Milonga organizing duties, I had to let a lot of other things go, and then the things piled up. Anyway better late than never :)

Bedford Wyo tango weekend was very informal and very fun. Per our host's request I played a part-alternative open-ended list, throwing more fuel into the fire as necessary, venturing very old and very new...

Broken-hearts over a cold stream ask me if we'll ever dance in the Star Valley again...

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

02. Sexteto Carlos di Sarli - Ernesto Fama "Flora" 1930 2:38

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

04. Adam Aston  "Nikodem"  0:20

An airy tanda after a super-grounded one:

05. Fool's Garden  "Lemon Tree" 1999 3:11

06. Jason Mraz  "I'm Yours" 2008 4:20

07. Damour Vocal Band  "SWAY - danceable cut"  1:39

08. Anibal Troilo - Fiorentino "Yo soy el tango" 1941 2:27

09. Anibal Troilo - Fiorentino "Maragata" 1941 2:46

10. Anibal Troilo - Fiorentino "El bulin de la calle ayacucho" 1941 2:30

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

12. Trio Garufa  "Silueta Porteña (Electro Milonga)" 2008 2:35

13. Bajofondo Tango Club  "Leonel, El Feo Milonga Cut" 2004 2:15

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

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

3rd track is too weak to close a tanda :(

16. Jem  "Come On Closer" 2004 3:47

17. Piatnitsa  "Soldat" 2003 3:13

18. Damien Rice  "Volcano" 2003 3:21

Without thinking about it, I juxtaposed Argentine rock and Argentine tango of the same exact year...

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

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

21. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Adios corazon (reverb)" 1968 2:16

22. Florindo Sassone - Instrumental "Bar Exposicion" 1959 3:26

23. The Blues Brothers  "Theme From Rawhide 1" 1980 0:21

24. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Lita Morales "Noches de invierno" 1937 2:47

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

26. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Mario Pomar  "Temo" 1940 2:55

27. Soda Stereo  "Corazon elator"  0:28

28. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos  "Se va la vida" 1936  2:44

29. Edgardo Donato - Romeo Gavioli "Amando En Silencio" 1940 2:51

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

31. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama  "No me pregunten porque" 1939 2:54

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

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

34. Folk  "Shumel Kamysh "  0:23

35. Eendo  "Eshgh e Aasemaani" 2011 3:31

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

37. Kevin Johansen + the Nada "Sur O No Sur" 2002 4:53

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

39. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Yo No Sé Llorar" 1933 2:36

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

41. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray "Angustia" 1938 2:39

42. Aya RL  "Skora"  0:33

43. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno "El encopao" 1942 2:34

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

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

46. Lyube  "Bat'ka Makhno cortina 1"  0:18

The smiling valses which smoothed my way into the world of tango back in the days...

47. Francisco Canaro - Francisco Amor "Salud, Dinero, Amor" 1939 3:06

48. Francisco Canaro - Francisco Amor "La zandunga" 1939 3:16

49. Francisco Canaro - Francisco Amor "Cuando Estaba Enamorado" 1940 2:49

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

51. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Nada" 1944 2:45

52. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Nido Gaucho" 1942 3:22

53. Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá "Lloran Las Campanas" 1944 2:58

54. Russian folk  "Murka"  0:20

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

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

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

58. Enrique Rodriguez  - Armando Moreno "Se ve el tren"  3:11

59. Enrique Rodriguez  - Armando Moreno "No Te Apures Por Dios Postillon"  2:59

60. Enrique Rodrigues - Armando Moreno "Maruska" 1943 2:07

61. Alfredo De Angelis - Instrumental "Pavadita" 1958 2:53

62. Alfredo De Angelis - Instrumental "Felicia" 1969 2:48

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

64. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "Bar Exposicion" 1973 2:33

65. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La torcacita" 1971 2:31

66. Juan d'Arienzo - Instrumental "Este Es El Rey" 1971 3:10

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

68.  Osvaldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Nochero Soy" 1956 3:32

69.  Osvaldo Pugliese - Roberto Chanel "Rondando Tu Esquina" 1945 2:48

70.  Osvaldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Recuerdo" 1944 2:39

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

72. 17 Hippies  "Marlène - danceable cortina cut" 2005 2:46

73. Goran Bregovic  "This Is A Film (feat. Iggy Pop)" 2003 4:18

74. Kayah & Bregovic  "Ta-Bakiera [This Tabakeria]" 1999 4:17

75. Kayah & Bregovic  "To Nie Ptak [Not a Bird]" 1999 4:40

Milonga Loca playlist, May 27, 2017

This holiday weekend, I was asked to take over a mixed-traditional and alternative milonga at a venue where I never played and never set up anything. We arrived 40 minutes early to make sure there are no big surprises. Soon, I started playing music - not for dancers yet, but more like a sound check and a mood-setter for the setup
01. Bajofondo/Ryota Komatsu  "Pa' Bailar (Con Ryota Komatsu)" 2007 3:59
02. Bajofondo "Leonel, El Feo" 2005 5:40
03. Otros Aires  "Perro Viejo" 2016 3:21
04. Leonid Bykov  "Smuglyanka cortina long"  0:33
05. Haris Alexiou  "To Tango Tis Nefelis" 1998 4:07
06. Hindi Zahra  "Beautiful Tango" 2011 3:57
07. Souad Massi  "Ghir Enta" 2008 5:06
First dancers show up, as if on a cue, right at the beginning of the first "scheduled", traditional tanda

08. Aya RL  "Skora"  0:33
09. Enrique Rodríguez - Armando Moreno "Adios para siempre" 1943 3:11
10. Enrique Rodríguez - Roberto Flores  "Te quiero ver escopeta" 1939 2:38
11. Enrique Rodríguez - Fernando Reyes "Alma en pena" 1946 3:05
12. Maya Kristalinskaya  "Nezhnost (Tenderness)"  0:17
13. Francisco Lomuto - Instrumental  "Criolla Linda" 1942 2:39
14. Francisco Lomuto - Instrumental  "Sentimiento guacho" 1942 2:55
15. Francisco Lomuto - Instrumental "Catamarca" 1943 2:34
16. Maya Kristalinskaya  "A za oknom"  0:16

Todotango picture

May is the birthday month of one of the tango pioneers, an Afro-Argentine Félix Gutiérrez. "El Negro" Gutiérrez, born on May 19, 1909, has made his way into tango by a lucky chance. In his teens, Félix Gutiérrez was a promising amateur boxer, and, having won a championship in his hometown Mar del Plata, he decided to move to Buenos Aires to pursue a professional career. But he also liked to play guitar and to sing, so he wanted to continue taking guitar lessons in the capital city. The music school Gutiérrez chose was run by ... Julio de Caro's father. And soon, the 17 year-old aspiring boxer started singing in De Caro's orchestra, and abandoned plans of a career in sports. The times were getting tough with the start of the Great Depression. Like most musicians of the time, Felix tried making a living in different groups and in different styles, but nothing lasted. At last, he was invited to join the orchestra of Edgardo Donato, and won instant acclaim! Their first, seminal song, "El huracan", will be played late during the milonga. Let's start honoring Félix Gutiérrez with his stellar 1936 vals:
17. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Quién Será (Vals)" 1941 2:15
18. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos "Con tus besos" 1938 2:20
19. Edgardo Donato - Félix Gutiérrez "La Tapera (Vals)" 1936  2:54
20. Pink Floyd  "Goodbye Blue Sky cortina long 2"  0:29
21. Soha  "Mil Pasos" 2008 4:07
22. Alacran  "Reflejo De Luna" 2010 3:44
23. Cirque du Soleil "Querer" 1994 4:34
24.  "Noladeti La shalom cortina"  0:36
25. Fool's Garden "Lemon Tree" 1999 3:11
26. Jason Mraz  "I'm Yours" 2008 4:20
27. Damour Vocal Band  "Sway"  3:49
28. Lyube  "Bat'ka Makhno cortina 1"  0:18
29. Otros Aires  "Los Vino`" 2010 2:43
30. Kevin Johansen + the Nada "Sur o No Sur" 2002 4:53
31. Juan Carlos Cáceres "Tango Negro" 2003 3:45
32. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel" 1987 0:22
33. Pedro Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "Vieja Amiga" 1938 3:13
34. Pedro Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "Desconsuelo" 1940 2:29
35. Pedro Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas "No me extrana" 1940 2:44
36.  "Nature doesn't have bad weather"  0:24
The 2nd tanda with the voice of Félix Gutiérrez and Donato's orchestra. I believe that "El huracan", "The hurricane", with its powerfully rhythmic, accelerated music was the forerunner of the D'Arienzo revolution, which is credited with saving tango a mere 3 years later. In the early 1930s, when the popularity of tango dancing waned and the economy was in the dumps, few tango orchestras could survive playing music for the remaining dancers. Many disbanded altogether; others, like Canaro's and Fresedo's, transitioned to performances, theaters, and movies. But Donato's mostly immigrant Uruguayan outfit stayed course, modernizing the vibe of the tango music in the process, getting the younger generation to pay attention to what once was their parents' dance form. In 1932, Edgardo Donato won a contract with a new recording studio, the ascendant "Victor". The orchestra needed to make a bold opening statement, and Donato hired Félix Gutiérrez and recorded "El huracan" for its debut. As it was customary for the era, the vocalist sings just a part of one of the three stanzas, and a part of one bridge - but in this case, the verse libre stanza about a rose bush destroyed by the hurricane is recited, bitterly, rather than sung. The lines of the bridge then tell of an insincere woman who destroyed the dreams, whose kisses were ice-cold and whose heart was full of hidden venom ... but without knowing the skipped lines, you might not guess that it was the woman who was metaphorized as the hurricane of destruction in the opening stanza. 
37. Edgardo Donato - Félix Gutiérrez "El Huracan" 1932 2:56
38. Edgardo Donato - Instrumental "El Estagiario" 1938 2:26
39. Edgardo Donato - Félix Gutiérrez "Santa Milonguita" 1933 2:23
40. Maya Kristalinskaya  "A za oknom"  0:16
41. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "María Esther" 1943 2:31
42. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "Francia" 1943 2:40
43. Quinteto Pirincho - Instrumental "Vibraciones del alma" 1956 2:51
44. "Hagedel Sheli"  0:28

Orquesta Romantica Milonguera has just released its first album, and the raspy voice of Marisol Martinez sounded quite remarkable, so I couldn't resist putting together a tanda. But with the studio speakers, I got an impression that the sound was somewhat dull, not as juicy as it seemed on the laptop... 
45. Romantica Milonguera - Marisol Martinez  "En esta noche de luna" 2017 3:37
46. Romantica Milonguera - Marisol Martinez  "Oigo tu voz" 2017 3:13
47. Romantica Milonguera - Marisol Martinez  "Solamente ella" 2017 3:22
48. Zhanna Aguzarova "Cats" 1987 0:21

Hector Maure

I often play tangos from D'Arienzo's earliest periods, both instrumental and with the voice of Echague, accented by ringing-crystal piano keys of Biagi (until 1938) and Polito (until 1940). Both Biagi and Polito left to lead their own orchestras, and took a number of key musicians with them (the first one achieved remarkable success, while the second one was kept off best venues and recording studios by the increased clout of Juan Polito's former employer). But as it happened repeatedly, "The King of the Beat" rebuilt his orchestra with a remarkable continuity. Fulvio Salamanca, another genius of piano, came to replace Polito. With the changing tastes of the times, D'Arienzo's music of the 1940s becomes slightly less exuberant, darker and deeper, while still true to the trademark domination of the beat. Some of the most beautiful records of this period feature the voice of Héctor Mauré (hired in the end of 1940), another aspiring teenage boxer (he fought for the Students Sports Association of BsAs) who abandoned boxing for tango. After the 1955 military coup, Héctor Mauré was blacklisted from TV and radio waves for his Peronist sympathies, but he fought back by contributing a lot of time and energy to keeping tango alive during its "darkest years" in the 1960s and 1970s. Let's celebrate Héctor Mauré by a 1941 tanda!

49. Juan D'Arienzo - Héctor Mauré  "Dime, mi amor" 1941 2:40
50. Juan D'Arienzo - Héctor Mauré  "Infamia" 1941 3:07
51. Juan D'Arienzo - Hector Maure  "El olivo (El olvido)" 1941 2:51
52. Endless Boogie  "High Drag cortina" 2017 0:22
The rhythmic energy continues with a tangofox tanda
53. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno  "Se va el tren" 1942 3:11
54. Enrique Rodriguez - Armando Moreno.  "No Apures Por Dios Postillon" 1945 2:59
55. Enrique Rodriguez - Roberto Flores "Para mi eres divina" 1938 2:28
56. Sergey Nikitin  "Pesnya Sleptsov " 1988 0:26
57. Lhasa De Sela  "La Cara de la Pared" 2005 4:23
58. Carlos Libedinsky  "Vi Luz y Subí" 2005 3:18
59. Shigeru Umebayashi "In The Mood For Love" 2001 2:29
In another intersection of my hobbies, tango and genealogy, my newly found third cousin Yakov, a great fan of brooding and foreboding music, shared a new album of Endless Boogie and I couldn't resist using some of the tracks for cortinas.
60. Endless Boogie  "Trash Dog cortina" 2017 0:21
A classic non-traditional tanda with a super-traditional arrabal vibe.
61. Orquesta Tipica Fervor de Buenos Aires "Quien Sos" 2007 3:08
62. Orquesta Tipica Fervor de Buenos Aires "E.G.B." 2007 2:26
63. Analíá Goldberg y Sexteto Ojos De Tango "El Adios" 2011 3:13
64. Maya Kristalinskaya  "A za oknom"  0:16
65. Zazie "J'envoie valser" 1995 2:52
It's close to midight and to milonga's end and it looks like folksy waltzes aren't cutting it, so I scrap this tanda and make a plan to keep playing only tangos in the remaining time. But, see below...
66. Zhanna Aguzarova "Old Hotel" 1987 0:22
67. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Solo una novia" 1935 3:23
68. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Condena (S.O.S.)" 1937 2:39
69. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida "Ojos negros que fascinan" 1935 2:51
70. Sandro de America  "Yo Te Amo cortina" 1968 0:23

March 1943 newspaper ad for Angel D'Agostino and
Angel Vargas. From late Michael Krugman's  blog

We've just marked birthday of Angel D'Agostino (25 May 1900 - 16 Jan 1991), a wonderful musician whose tangos, simple and beautiful, are so welcome at almost any moment in the milongas. D'Agostino was the milonguero's musician, and like the old milongueros, he not only liked dancing tango himself, but also partied, gambled, and forswore marriage. Almost all recordings of D'Agostino are with the voice of Angel Vargas, and the two Angels set a high standard for joint work of the orchestra and the singer in tango for the dancers. I already wrote about life of Angel Vargas, about his hardscrabble beginnings and a long road to recognition. The life path of Angel D'Agostino is, in some ways, exactly the opposite. He grew up in a family of classic pianists and received great musical education, but chose the bohemian life of a tanguero. A funny tidbit to add: as a child, D'Agostino played piano in a trio where the little violinist was Juan D'Arienzo!
71. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas, glosas: Julian Centeya "Cafe Dominguez" 1955 2:58
72. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Caricias" 1940 2:44
73. Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas "Ninguna" 1942 2:57
74. Marek Jackowski   "Oprócz blekitnego nieba"  0:23
75. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda "Manana zarpa un barco" 1942 3:24
76. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda "Pa' mi es igual" 1942 3:18
77. Lucio Demare - Juan Carlos Miranda "No te apures cara blanca" 1942 3:31
78. Alla Pugacheva  "Winter Night (Svecha gorela) cortina"  0:19
Wait, wait! A birthday girl walks in during the penultimate tanda ... and with a request to play Piazzolla's "Dede", a record which isn't even in my collection. But a vals it must be...
79. Osváldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Desde El Alma" 1943 2:56
80. Gypsy Folk  "Autumn Dew"  0:30
81. Osváldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Malandraca" 1949 2:52
82. Osváldo Pugliese - Instrumental "Tiny" 1945 2:42
83. Edgardo Donato - Instrumental  "La Cumparsita"  2:19
84. Harry Roy - La cumparsita [rumba] " 1936 2:58