Juan José Paz

By Abel Palermo (from Todo Tango)

Pianist, leader, composer and arranger
(7 September, 1921 - 17 January, 1970)
True name: Juan José Abbondanza

He was a pianist with the rhythmical tango school of the greats, with a good orchestral sense besides his capabilities as soloist. He made his debut at age 16 on Radio Argentina and from 1940 to 1942 he played in the orchestra led by Miguel Zabala "Zabalita" whose vocalist was Carlos Casares.

In 1943 he was summoned by Emilio Balcarce to join the brilliant orchestra that backed Alberto Castillo in his premiere as soloist. On December 7, 1943 they recorded the tango "Manoblanca" and the waltz "Luna de arrabal" for the Odeon record label.

The team Castillo-Balcarce recorded 20 pieces, and the work carried out by Paz on piano and Julio Ahumada as lead bandoneon was of the greatest importance.

But the stage in which he would demonstrate all his musical capacity would take place between 1945 and 1954, in the unforgettable Francini-Pontier orchestra lined up by Ángel Domínguez, Nicolás Parracino, Juan Salamone on bandoneons; Pedro Samartino, Aquiles Aguilar and Mario Lalli on violins; on cello, Adriano Fanelli and Rafael del Bagno on double bass. The leaders Enrique Mario Francini and Armando Pontier played as well violin and bandoneon respectively and the arrangements were written by Argentino Galván.

On November 10, 1952 he was invited by the record company Pampa to lead an orchestra to accompany the singer Alberto Podestá for the recording of the tangos "Alma de bohemio" and "En el olvido". The latter composed by Andrés Falgás with lyrics by José María Contursi.

In the late 1955 the orchestra was dismembered and tango suffered the disappearance -according to my opinion- of one of the most important aggregations in its history. After that each one of the leaders formed his own orchestra and on November 3, 1955 Francini with his orchestra recorded for RCA-Victor the Eduardo Arolas' tango "La trilla" as an instrumental, and with Podestá on vocals, "Petit salón" written by Vicente Demarco and Silvio Marinucci. Paz was the piano player and the arranger, while the other members were musicians of a remarkable level: Julio Ahumada, Alfredo Marcucci, Marcelo Yopolo, Victor Lavallén, Dino Saluzzi, on bandoneons; Francini, José Amatraián, Emilio González, Enrique Rodríguez, Mauricio Marcelli and Alfredo Terré, on violins; José Bragato on cello and on the double bass, Rafael del Bagno. The arrangements for the numbers sung by Roberto Rufino are excellent: "Melodía oriental" and "Espérame en el cielo".

In the mid- 1959 the orchestra was disbanded and our pianist is again summoned by the Pampas label, this time, to lead an orchestra to back the female singer Elsa Rivas in her recordings.

Two years later he joined, in his double role as pianist and arranger, the Joaquín Do Reyes Orchestra. In 1962 he temporarily replaced maestro Horacio Salgán in the Quinteto Real.

In 1963 he joined the staff orchestra of Radio Splendid conducted by maestro Ángel Domínguez. Later he led the group that accompanied the singer Miguel Montero for a rather long time.

In 1968 he appeared at the café-concert La Calle with a quartet lined up by the bandoneonist Antonio Marchese, the guitarist Héctor Davis and Pablo Piazza on bass.

He was not a composer of big hits but he wrote good pieces: the most well-known were "A mí no me hablen de tango", with lyrics by José María Contursi; "No matarás", with Eugenio Majul; "Los días pasarán", with Carlos Bahr; "Calesita de barrio" and the waltz "Cerraste los ojos", with José Otero and the instrumentals "A pedido" and the milonga "Tamborilera."

Regrettably, at age 49, he died of a heart attack when he was working in the summer season in the city of Mar del Plata. So was gone this great friend, loved and admired by all his fellow musicians and those that were lucky to know him.

Angel Vargas

by Ricardo García Blaya

Cantor
(Octubre 22, 1904 – July 7, 1959)
Family name:José Angel Lomio
Nickname: El ruiseñor de las calles porteñas(The nightingale of Buenos Aires streets)



Possibly, with Francisco Fiorentino, he was the paradigm of the "orchestra singer", to such an extent that when we refer to Ángel Vargas, we are inevitably reminded of Ángel D'Agostino, the orchestra leader of his greatest hits.

A singer with impressive personality, he is the symbol of "porteño"(from Buenos Aires) tango phrasing in the 40s. Vargas sings as only in the 40s tango was sung.

His phrasing was "reo" and "compadrito" but at the same time of an infinite good taste.

He had a sweetness which compensated for his small but masculine voice, he generated sympathy and was, above all, a charismatic singer.

The team D'Agostino-Vargas is, in my opinion, one of the most perfect mechanisms which tango had, only comparable to that of Troilo with "Fiore".

His career started in the early 30s. He performed in the orchestra of the famous and veteran musician Augusto Pedro Berto, under the pseudonym Carlos Vargas which he used for some broadcasts in Buenos Aires. In 1932 he made some appearances with whom, later he would form a successful team: Angel D'Agostino.

José Luis Padula, composer of the famous tango "Nueve de julio", hired him in 1935 and they recorded two versions, the tango "Brindemos compañero" and the ranchera "Ñata linda". In 1938 he sang some "estribillos" (refrains) for the well known Orquesta Típica Victor and the following year he recorded two pieces accompanied by guitars, the tango "La bruja" and "Milongón".

In 1940 he would commence his fundamental period when entering the orchestra led by the pianist Ángel D'Agostino with whom he would stay until 1946, producing 94 renditions on record which stand as legitimate jewels in the genre.

His stage as soloist is handled by putting together his own orchestra, alternately conducted by different musicians: the bandoneonist Eduardo Del Piano, the pianist Armando Lacava, and the bandoneon players Edelmiro "Toto" D'Amario, Luis Stazo and José Libertella, his total output with his orchestra amounts to 86 renditions. He also made interesting recordings with the Alejandro Scarpino trio.

Among his recordings these tango interpretations stand out "No aflojés", "Tres esquinas", "Ninguna" and "Muchacho", the waltz "Esquinas porteñas", all of them with the Ángel D'Agostino orchestra and, later as soloist, the tango "Ya no cantas chingolo (Chingolito)" by Antonio Scatasso and Edmundo Bianchi, accompanied by his orchestra conducted by Armando Lacava, which has the double peculiarity of being his only recording in duo with another singer and that, furthermore, this singer was his brother Amadeo Lomio.

Angel Vargas died young and still without a very noticeable decline as interpreter; he was, no doubt, one of the major artists in our tango music.

42nd Klingenthal International Accordion Competition

The 42nd Klingenthal International Accordion Competition takes place from May 6th to 13th, in the town of Klingenthal on the German-Czech border. This event was first held in 1948, and is a highly prestigious competition for solo, duo and ensembles of up to five players.

The Klingenthal event also features a program of concerts by international solo accordionists and accordion orchestras. Soloists this year include Mie Miki (Japan), Marcel Loeffler and Gilles Coquard (France), Daniele Donadelli (Italy), and Klaudiuz Baran - pictured (Poland), who plays both bandoneon and accordion.

For further information email Intern.Akkordeonwettbewerb @ t-online.de

59th Accordion Coupe Mondiale

The Norske Trekkspilleres Landsforbund (NTL) and the city of Asker, Norway (near Oslo) will host the 59th COUPE MONDIALE from October 18-22, 2006.

The Coupe Mondiale is an INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR ACCORDIONISTS held under the auspices of the Confédération International des Accordéonistes (CIA) founded in 1935 in Paris, France. The Confédération International Des Accordéonistes (CIA) is a member of the INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COUNCIL (IMC-UNESCO).

All the information HERE!!!

Tango Trends don't stop

Electroacústica Tanguera Orchestra

he story of "Electrolatino tango" or "tango electrofusion": In 1997 Latin Rock pioneer Gustavo Santaolalla created Surco, the first Latin regional label dedicated to Hispanic Alternative music and the home of Molotov, Juanes, Orishas, Bersuit, El Otro Yo, La Vela Puerca, Arbol, and Erica Garcia.

Millions of tangobeats later, Surco takes its next step by launching Vibra, a new division which taps into the world of Electronica while never loosing touch with its Latin identity. Vibra's first in a string of Electrolatino releases is BTC: Bajofondo Tangoclub - a collective of artists and musicians who team up to create an array of music based on the fusion of diverse electronic genres (house, trance, trip hop, dub, drum n' bass, etc) with the traditional sounds of Tango.

Click here for BTC-audio
Click here for Video Bajofondo Performance Clips

The collection brings together some of South America's top names in both the electronic and tango world creating an eclectic blend that represents a contemporary view of urban life in the "Rio de la Plata". Without having been released yet, Bajofondo Tango Club is already causing a stir in Argentina's underground and is the newest vehicle for Santaolalla to demonstrate his creativity as an artist and producer.

Gustavo Santaolalla (Producer, Mezcla, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Guitar, Percussion)
Gustavo Santaolalla's professional music career started in 1967 at the age of 16, when he founded the group Arco Iris making history as the pioneer in the fusion of rock and Latin American folk. He has since become the most important name in Latin Alternative music having won Grammys for his work with Cafe Tacuba and Juanes and has also produced critical and commercial successes for million-selling Mexican group Molotov, as well as Julieta Venegas, Maldita Vencindad, Caifanes, Leon Gieco, Los Prisioneros and Divididos among others. In 1997, he founded Surco and has also played a major role in producing music for his label's roster of artists including Bersuit, Erica Garcia, Arbol and La Vela Puerca among others. Most recently, Gustavo has entered into the world of film music by scoring the music for the Oscar nominated film Amores Perros and producing it's soundtrack, and will once again team up with Amores Perros producer Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu to work on his upcoming film. Proving once again that he is not only a master in the world of rock, Santaolalla just completed production of the new release "Nuevo" for the classical string quartet Kronos which pays homage to the rich musical styles of Mexico.

Luciano Supervielle (Keyboards)
Today Supervielle is most recognized for being the keyboard player for singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler. He is the youngest member of Bajofondo Tango Club.
Supervielle started his professional career in his native country, Uruguay with the hip hop group Platano Macho. The plantain or platano macho is a banana, musa paradisiaca, which is eaten cooked rather than raw. Plantain are eaten in most tropical countries, including Mexico. Mariquitas are lightly salted, sweeter-than-bananas plantain chips.
Supervielle: From my 16 years, I interfered with the language of the electronics. It had keyboards that were allowing to compose music for layers: it was putting a battery line, one of down and above of it it had space to orchestrate. It is super important in my music, because though he is born of the piano, this instrument does not have a participation soloist, but it is one more element one orchestration. To the work with samples often it removes itself value because it uses material that was already done earlier by another person, but it forces to do a very important work of sound combination, which is something very nearby to the orchestration.
Was he interested in the tango before being summoned for Bajofondo Tango Club?
- not in a direct way. I always liked much the tango of Piazzolla, that he is other of the musicians who more influenced me, both for the rhythmic thing and for the melodic thing. Obviously, when we started being employed at this project there was a specific approach towards the tango that made me discover the style. I was never tanguero, I never did tango, and when we met in Bajofondo the premise of mixing it with our electronic language, it made me investigate it and to know more the style.
- this approach almost of laboratory: does not it leave it out of many elements of the tango?
- the fact is that I do hip hop. The things that serve me as the tango are those that I can associate with my genre. As in all work of experimentation, there are things that stay of side. But the tango and the hip hop share a dance origin, then there are many things that one knows that it can associate. Anyhow, if I do a contribution to some evolution it is to that of the hip hop or of the electronic music, not to that of the tango. The new tango is going to arise from a type that is tanguero, that it dedicates ten hours per day to doing tango. And if it approaches the electronic music, it will do it from the tango. I am of another side.

Gotan Project
Tango remixed to its African origins: the percussion.

Gotan Project was born thanks to Domingo Cura and Astor Piazzola, teachers of the tango that have inspired the founders of this group to revolutionize that Argentine sound, to modernize it and to create something totally new and that already has sold more than 850.000 recorddisks, starting with the single "El capitalismo foráneo". Its first album "The revenge of the tango / La revancha del tango", is an unique, delicious, and elegant work from the París-trío Philippe Cohen Solal, Christoph Müller and Eduardo Makaroff's bandoneón argentino and guitar.

The folk tango of Buenos Aires is remixed, the oldest one, with a very modern sound. But this new sound does not come from hands of Argentines exactly –although yes musicians of that country interpret it–, but their creators they bring it us, wise experts of this style, the French-Dee jay Philippe Cohen Solal, the Swiss musician Christoph Müller and Eduardo Makaroff. New is the CD "Inspiration, Expiration, DJ Set - Inspiración, Expiración", in which an interpretation of the actress is included Argentina Cecilia Roth, that recites a poem of Juan Gelman and recalls to the voice of Adriana Varela.

El alma: The soul of Gotan Project, or the soul of Philippe, that is the one that has mixed this new delivery, offers a music of the tango, but mixed, for the first time, with present sounds, as counts me, later, in a telephone interview since its study of Paris swims more to return from our country: "Dj Set” is a collection of songs, of remakes of our first work carried out Peter Kruder, Calexico, or the musician Pepe Bradock. It wanted to meet to all the teachers of the tango that have inspired us: Piazzola, Sunday, the folk, and the music that are connected with our sound; the tecno, the hip-hop, the jazz and the house. But I have wanted to carry them radically toward the direction that we take.

The tango that we make is the true "Electrauthentica", to the offspring, tango that has its origins in Africa and that shows in the percussion. What happens is that later each migration was including other instruments, like the bandoneón, that came from Germany, or the violin, that proceeded of the Europe of the east.

There are many white influences that were mixed with the black music of the original. For us work, tango was something a lot more surprising to do and, above all, more difficult. Philippe: Was interesting to work with somewhat unexpected, to modernize. I loved Piazzola, the urban tango confronts you, the electronic music and the folk music Argentina, the percussion. "Without knowing it we have carried the tango to its origins".

Tango, a touchstone for Argentine national identity, has roots in Afroargentine danceforms like candombe, milonga, and cañiegue. Canyengue dance is almost without figures, freely from choreographic planning, but with fast play of the feet, with elastic legs moving at the drumbeat. A dance in which rhythm is everything. The tangueros with "Sangre Negra" or the "negros porteños" were coming for the most part from the Congo and Angola. In 1693 the first reference appeared on the slavery in the Río de la Plata (el tráfico de negros para venderlos como esclavos). In 1810 nearly 30% of the Buenos Aires population had black ancestry. The first Argentine president, Bernardino Rivadavia, was of African descent. Concerning Argentina’s black cultural legacy, Jorge Fortes and Diego Ceballos' documentary "Afroargentines", exposes the whitewashing of the Argentine self-image. So, the African rhythms who gave birth to the tango were suppressed and ‘refined’ by Western Europeans. The racial closeness of the first black tangodancers was replaced with the more rigid form.

The stiff torsos of the black dances became stiffer, the swaying hips (‘quebradas’) and the sharp interruptions of the dancing marches (‘cortes’) lost their joyful fluidity and became grave, and so did the faces, concentrated in displaying footwork (‘figuras’) for an marginalized attentive audience. Forced to compete with the immigrant for jobs, women, social status in a system that seemed to favour only the foreigner, the urban creole took out his frustration and bitterness against the immigrant and the elite in a challenging ‘duello criollo’, the tango Argentino. In these ‘tango duelos’ with acrobatic figures, the object was to show up the immigrant and the upper class.

"Nuestro Tango" became deep and serious in the early twentieth century and transformed itself into an intensely physical dance that evoked the unspeakable wounds in the subconscious mind. Ernesto Santos Discépolo summed up the tango as “un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar”.
Born from a crash of cultures, tango comes up to the surface as cultural medium for expressing messages in which the people can identify, so slowly giving profile or constructing a profile type of Argentinean identity.

Gotan Project signifies tango, but in reverse; a dialect that share French and Argentine and that arises of investing terms al to speak. Philippe will travel to Nashville, where prepares a project alone. To ends of 2005 there will be finished their second compact disc with Gotan, to good insurance that will surprise us in the house of electro tango, with precise beats per minute and realtime images manipulation .

Click here for Gotan videoclip (ram realplayer)

Gotan Project is to appear for the first time in Argentina before the end of 2005, announced Eduardo Makaroff, founder of the trio:"we never were in Argentina, I would like much to do it because in 2006 we will make a new disc and we will change the spectacle". After 210 live concerts Makaroff decided to take a pause in 2005. "It is a pause that is not pause, because we want to go to Argentina and Latin America and China in July". About the Argentinean musician Carlos Cáceres, "Cáceres rescues the African origins del tango, whose heiress can be murga. This disc is a identitaria affirmation, because not only in Uruguay there have been black candomberos and murgueros, murga is patrimony of the two coasts of the River of the Silver ", affirmed Makaroff. For Makaroff, the new seal "is the channel for the new creators of tango and Argentine music. The tango is a matter that is continues being unexplored like language , is comparable to the jazz and Brazilian music ". The musician also advanced that Cáceres will participate in the next production of Gotan Project, that will leave on sale in January of 2006.

Tanghetto: electrotango

Tanghetto is an argentine band led by Max Masri (synths and programming) and Diego S. Velázquez (guitars) formed in 2001. The name "Tanghetto" (the combination of the words "tango" and "ghetto") was inspired by the "little argentinas", the communities of exiled argentines living overseas.

In the mid 90s, Max Masri (one of the last disciples of the legendary tango composer Virgilio Expósito) went back to Buenos Aires from Germany after sharing interesting experiences with argentine emigrants and, because of that, brought the idea to create a new musical language, blending tango and modern sounds.

In late 1998 he started working with Diego S. Velázquez and they began recording and producing their first electrotango tracks. In 2001 this idea was revived, with a modern sound, their own compositions and, finally, a name for the project: Tanghetto

The current line-up includes Federico Vázquez (bandoneón), Matías Novelle (acoustic and electronic drums), Antonio Boyadjian (piano) and Chao Xu (violoncello and chinese bowed string instrument erhu).

Tanghetto's recent history

In December 2003 "Emigrante (electrotango)" (Tanghetto's debut album) was released in Argentina. The album achieved gold status by early 2005 and reached the top positions of many important charts of record chains.

In 2004 Tanghetto intensified its live activity, Some of the most important gigs since then were: II World Tango Championship, Tango Day, VII Buenos Aires Tango Festival (4.000 people), Avenida Corrientes Festival (in the Obelisco monument) in front of a crowd of over 15.000 people, Teatro ND Ateneo (sold out twice), Club del Vino, etc.

The year 2005 was also the year of the first european concerts. The band played many gigs in Italy and France between November and December. During 2006 the band continues touring abroad (USA, Italy, Poland, Germany, etc).

On July 14th, "Emigrante (electrotango)" was nominated for a Latin Grammy award in the "Best Instrumental Album" category.

On December 10th, 2004, many Tanghetto musicians, led by Max and Diego, released a side project called "Hybrid Tango", in which the fusion of modern tango music and electronica goes unprecedently beyond, adding a world music flavour with flamenco, latin rhythms and jazz elements. This record is been greatly received by music consumers, sharing the top positions of the rankings of alternative music sales with Tanghetto’s "Emigrante". Some of the tracks fo Hybrid Tango are part of Tanghetto's live repertoire. In August 23rd, 2005, this album was nominated for a Latin Grammy award in the "Best Tango Album" category.

In February 2005 the label Constitution Music released a compilation called Tangophobia Vol. 1, including, apart from tracks from various artists, several unreleased songs from Tanghetto and the "Hybrid Tango" project.

Tanghetto just released their first live DVD (titled "Live in Buenos Aires") and they are currently recording songs for their next studio album.

Official discography/videography

Emigrante (Electrotango) Official studio album 12 tracks. + info

Buenos Aires Remixed 12 remixes + 2 covers + info

Hybrid Tango Side project. 12 tracks + info

Tangophobia Vol. 1 Compilation produced by the band. Includes 5 unreleased tracks. + info

Live in Buenos Aires Live DVD. 19 songs+ 4 videoclips + extras. + info

Tangueto Free Downloadable Songs (MP3)

The Bandoneón

From Cristian´s Bandoneón Page

Introduction

A Bandonion or Bandoneon is some sort of square headed accordion, as I read somewhere. I'm not surprised about the fact, that you don't know about this instrument since it was not sold in a great scale to the US. Even in Germany, where this bellow instrument was invented by Carl Friedrich Uhlig in Chemnitz probably around 1834, it is rare to find people with knowledge about. However, this instrument became the symbol of tango, a popular music originated at the borders of the Rio de la Plata. It was the tango that saved us this instrument from its extermination and its revival makes us aware of the instrument's existence. That's also why the instrument's name changed from its original Bandonion, which expresses Heinrich Band's Akkordion, to the Spanish Bandoneón. Heinrich Band, a music teacher and dealer, was the prominent promoter of this Instrument though he did not invent the instrument but modified and extended the original keyboard layout.
After WW II the East German Language Council accepted the term Bandoneon as a regular denomination besides the original one honoring the largest market being still the Rio de la Plata area.

It is basically a big concertina, originally with 3 rows of buttons and 54 tones, which later on became growing. Heinrich Band became the promoter of this instrument after 1854 when he organized the production and commercialized it together with a specially number written music. In 1882 appeared the name "Bandonion" derived from his name. It was supposed to be used as a substitute for the organ in small church communities. May be the very special sound hold up the demand, but because of the very complex disposition of the buttons, a greater diffusion was prevented. The idea was to have an instrument for polyphonic music rather than a melodic one and the buttons where placed in a way to facilitate building of chords. In contrast to the accordion, already quite popular in many countries, this instrument has no predefined cords. In addition, most of the buttons have different tone whether the bellow is opened or closed, this wrongly denominated as "diatonic". Because of the difficulty in learning to play it, the French musette players who wanted that sound, asked for so called chromatic instruments with equal tone for opening and closing. Until today there rests a certain tradition in the French speaking Switzerland using the "French" chromatic model. In Geneva e.g. there exists an orchestra with 10 bandoneons but only 2 of them are diatonic.

The popularity changed rapidly when about in 1890 the original instrument manufactured by Ernst Louis Arnold (ELA) reached the region of the River Plate where it was found to match perfectly well with the coming up tango. From then on the popular accordion was completely displaced and in 1911 the most famous producer, Alfred Arnold in Carlsfeld (AA), began manufacturing bandonions exclusively for the market in Argentina and Uruguay. The design was gradually modified and the number of tones increased up to 142, some models 152, with 5 button rows in left hand and 6 rows in the right. Only in one year (1930) there where exported 25,000 units to Argentina. If you consider the price comparable with that of a piano, it was of great commercial importance. Here the name was "translated" from the German Bandonion to Spanish: BANDONEON. Unfortunately the production ceased during World War II. A few samples left the factory after the war, but for quality reasons a less demand the factory finished in December 1956.

In Germany itself, as I mentioned, there was no great development of the playing techniques, and even in Argentina professionals began to develop first methods in the twenties, but mainly based on piano methods. No European conservatory included this instrument in its teaching program giving the instrument a low social position. Many people believe it is something for poor street musicians. But the fact that, like the violin, it lasts many years to achieve a certain level and the price show the contrary. Today things changed in Europe, and first Paris, later Rotterdam and recently many other French conservatories are offering lessons for bandoneon.

The tonal range is the same as for the cembalo, and baroque music sounds specially pleasant. The maximum development was reached by Alejandro Barletta in Buenos Aires. Marino Rivero in Uruguay, a pupil of Barletta, made very many transcriptions of Bach, Frescobaldi and other composers of the baroque and he is perhaps actually the most advantaged player for classical and contemporary music on this instrument. In the US it was perhaps Astor Piazzolla (who lived there for 17 years) which made it later known with recordings together with Gerry Mulligan and Gary Burton. There are very few musicians experimenting with jazz and I believe the future lies in this. Similar to the saxophone it allows forming the sound but in a polyphonic manner and which gives a strong melancholy feeling.

Technical Aspects
Whereas the accordion is usually build up using conical shaped tongues mounted on individual plates which are easy to replace with commercially pretuned ones, the bandoneon (now historical instruments) has up to 7 bi-sonoric tones, or 14 rectangular shaped tongues (reeds) on one zinc or aluminum plate (high steady mass). Each tone has a fundamental and an octave mounted on an separate reed plate and which is tuned exactly even. This results in a dry sound. So you have to achieve the tuning on the old plate taking the maximum care not to destroy the tongues. It requires special equipment to restore damaged tongues, since you can't buy them.

There are nearly no more good instruments on the market today, but the increasing demand (interest), not only in Argentina and Europe, but in Japan, possibly reinitialize production. Here in Switzerland, Brazil, the Netherlands and Berlin there are people (mainly organ builders) working to acquire the needed know how. Peter Spende in Berlin is actually producing new instruments based on the knowledge of Klaus Gutjahr and who for some time gave the technical assistance.

If you are interested in more details about the bandoneon in general, I can recommend you a compact disc which is also available in the US, and specially because of the 80 page booklet coming with. The recording is done by the mentioned Marino Rivero but here he plays folk dances of Uruguay, may be it is not too representative for the instrument.

Smithsonian Folkways - Traditional Music of the World 5
Bandoneon Pure: Dances of Uruguay
Smithsonian/ Folkways Recording CD SF 4031 Office of Folklife Programs
955 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 2600
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC 20560

The Bandoneon History

Primitive Free Reed Instruments

The earliest reed instrument was probably a mouth organ in Chingmian and somewhat later in the third millennium B.C. in China a sheng or tchiang, a mouth blown calabash with connected reed pipes.

In Europe the first reed sounding device is known from 1619, (Michael Preatorius, Syntagma Musicum II, De Organographia) But the invention, perhaps inspired by a sheng, was forgotten. The sheng itself was introduced by Johann Wilde in the 1740's into the Russian Court Society of St. Petersburg. Benjamin Franklin invented in 1762 the glass-harmonica and which was played even in the 19th century and for which compositions were made by Mozart and Beethoven. Inspired by Wilde, the Danish physicist Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein used the principle of the sheng to invent a speaking machine, able to pronounce five vowels and which was published in 1770. The first harmonica with a hand driven bellow and an organ like keyboard was build by Kirsnik, Kratzensteins assistant. The new invention led to Vogler's Orchestrion, an organ like instrument with four keyboards and 63 notes each, finished by the Swedish master Rakwitz in 1790.

In 1810 the German Bernhard Eschenbach named for the first time a new instrument aeoline combining the name of Greek wind God Aeolos with the German term violine. Newer versions were called Aelodion, Aeolodikon, Elodikon, Aeol-harmonika, Clav-aeoline or Aeola. In contrast to that times use, Eschenbach gave his ideas and knowledge free and many experimenters like Voit of Schweinfurt and J. D. Buschmann in 1812, Anton Häckl (Vienna), F. Sturm and Schortmann took advantage of this. Therefore many claim to be the inventor of the aeoline.

In 1821 Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann (1805 - 1864) in Berlin invented a diatonic single action mouth organ with 15 metal reeds which he called Aura or Mundaeoline. One year later he added a bellow and constructed the first portable bellow driven free reed instrument which he called Handharmonika or Handaeoline and which he used as an aid for tuning organs. This single action instrument consisted of a reed plate mounted on an wooden base with valves connected to a bellow allowing to produce sounds by the pressure of the own instrument weight. Anton Häckl used the term Physharmonika to describe his harmonium like instrument in 1821, a term which is still used today in Italy, G. A. Reinlein, also Vienna, used the term Aeol-harmonika in 1825 and 1827 and in 1828 the first printed tunes appeared for Mundharmonika (today's harmonica), a term used previously for the Maultrommel, a single reed using the mouth as a resonant. After the privilege to build harmonikas of the Chinese type was given to Anton and Rudolph Reinlein in 1824, the other inventors were forced to create other names for their products. The term Harmonika was then valid to describe a reed instrument with bellow, specially after the Wiener Privilegienverzeichnis (sort of patent) of 1830 thus displacing the term physharmonika. But the common term was Chineser, black lackered square boxes with Chinese ornaments, exported from Vienna through Gera to Leipzig.

Cyrill Demian & Sons (1772 - 1847) from Vienna registered in 1829 a description and drawings of an Aeoline, corrected by an other handwriter to Accordion.

Birth of the Concertina

The novelty of the accordion consisted in playing a predefined chord with a single button action on opening the bellow and a second one on closing. After the privilege for building accordions ended in 1834, the name and the instrument became very well known and the great commercial interest for the new instrument among other builders was based on the ease of its use, specially for the accompaniment of dance music and which made the accordion very attractive, particularly for non musicians. But the fact that the harmonies were fixed was criticized by some people. Several constructors introduced switches to shut off single tones from the chords, others, like C. F. Uhlig placed the single notes of a chord close together, in contrast to the usual systematic distribution of a keyboard instrument. The fact that the bisonoric action of a button was preserved and chords still were playable, let people like Höselbarth, Zimmermann or Band continue to name it accordion.

The individual selection of tones to form chords for several tones was the enhancement of Band's advertisement for his 40 and 56 voice accordions in 1844. In many countries the term accordion is also used for concertinas. In Germany a distinction came up when later versions of Band's instruments were named Bandonion. Similarly Leclerc in Paris presented a melody instrument he called mélophone and which was often confused with a concertina despite of its guitar shape. A special valve control allowed action of the same voice on opening and closing the invisible bellow.

Perhaps A. Debain of Paris used the term concertina for the first time before 1839. He sold his rights to J. Alexandre for the construction of concertinas or piano-concertinas. R. Blagrove used an instrument of Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802 - 1872) and published in 1839 a Verdi melange ``...for the Concertina with an accompaniment for the piano forte''. Regondi presents in 1840/41 his Wheatstone instrument bought in 1837 as a mélophone but in 1846 he calls it concertina.

The Bandoneon

H. Berlioz distinguishes in 1844 between ``le Concertina Anglais'' and ``le Concertina Allemand'' but dedicates a detailed description only to the first since the keyboard of the German instruments depended upon the caprice of the builder. The confusion persisted also in Germany but was finished at the end of the 1850's when the term Bandonion was introduced in the region of Krefeld, Mainz and Cologne while in Bavaria the term Concertina was used instead. The instruments from Saxony and Thüringen were continued to be called chromatic harmonikas while sold to English and French spoken countries as concertinas and to the Rhineland as bandoneons (but with a distinct layout of the keyboard). After 1860 an additional Konzertina keyboard system was introduced in Munich perhaps by F. Stahl first with 30 buttons, later with up to 60 buttons but which were close to the system of Band. May be this system was the basis for the later Bayrisches Schrammelbandonion of Strobl with 132, 136 and 180 voices.

In Leipzig a magazine for bandonion music established in 1895 was renamed after a year to Allgemeine Concertina- und Bandonion-Zeitung demonstrating the similarities among both instrument types. On the other hand, in 1895 there existed about 18 bandonion clubs in Leipzig and no one concertina club while using their players instruments of Wünsch, successor of Uhlig the inventor of the German Concertina. This shows that concertinas were called bandonions there. Wünsch himself describes in 1890: ``This instrument (bandonion) is becoming more and more known so that all instruments with 88 to 260 voices are now called bandoneons.'' (The number has to be divided by two since instruments with double chorus are meant). In the beginning of our century a distinction between the rheinisch on one side and Chemnitzer and Karlsfelder on the other is established.

The fast propagation of the bandoneon was based on a clever marketing. Besides the distribution of the instruments labeled BANDONION in big letters forming the good visible valve plaque on front of the instrument, Heinrich Band formed a merchant chain with members of his family giving lessons and distributing a huge number of scores and sheet music for his instrument and chamber music. So in 1859 his brother Johann established a shop in Cologne. Other existed in Mainz, Krefeld, Glasgow? and New York. In the time from 1868 to 1881 there existed a special section for bandoneon music in Hofmeister's Manual of sheet music with separate divisions for harmonica, accordion and konzertina. Because all the instruments were manufactured in Saxony, the factories there expanded simultaneously. They tried to copy Band's strategy and designed valve plaques saying CONCERTINA for the instruments they sold directly and until the end of the century the old term harmonika disappeared. Finally in the 20's the outer design of both instrument became the same. The polygonal shaped instruments were only the smaller 1 or 2-row ones with a limited number of voices. In many parts of Germany the term Konzertina was displaced gradually by the newer Bandonion and both terms were used undistinguishable up to the point when the saxonians returned to their own roots and forced their own keyboard system. When in the 20's the discussion about a unified system raised, there was no chance to bring both parties together and in 1924 a Einheitskonzertina (128 voices) was created besides the Einheitsbandonion (144 voices).

Many attempts were made for unisonoric instruments. Charles Péguri from Paris replaced the reed plates of 142 voice rhineisch bandoneons (an Argentine extension of the 130 voice version) with unisonoric ones unprecisely called chromatic bandoneon. This fact simplified the manufacture of instruments suitable for musette players. The construction of the Kusserow-bandoneon with a different button layout was not as popular.

Carlsfeld and the Bandoneon

• Music Instruments from Saxony
• New Bandoneons from Carlsfeld?
• The Bandoneon Museum
• The Carlsfeld Bandoneon Meeting

• The Keyboard Systems
  • The Key Codes
  • Evolution of the Keyboard Systems
  
  
• The Bandoneon Terminology
  • Control Panel of a Double Reed Instrument
  • Chamber Construction
  • Bellow Arrangement
  • Prospect of the Bandoneon
  
  
• Technical Aspects
  • Quality Criteria for a Bandoneon
    • Peter Adler writes
    • Christian Mensing writes
  • Modern Instruments
  • Sound Examples
    • Other Sources
  
  
• Bandoneons and Service
  • New Instruments
  • Find Used Instruments
  • Maintenance
  • Accessories
  
  
• Bandoneon Literature
  • Musicology
  • Learning to play Bandoneon
  • Bandoneon Tutors
    • Learn by Your Own
    • Chord Tables and PC Tool
  • Writing for the Bandoneon
  • Analysis of Piazzolla's Pedro y Pedro
  
  
• Pictures of Bandoneons
  • Pictures Of Bandoneons
  • Bert Smit's Chemnitzer
  • Christian Mensing's Bandoneon - AA Premier
  • Michael Dregni's Bandoneon - Alfred Arnold
  • Edgar Leschewitz's Bandoneon - Danielson
  • Louis XIV Type Bandoneon - ELA
  • Alfred Arnold 118 voice
  • Alfred Band
  • Meinel & Herold BBB
  • Wolf & Co.
  • Rare 130 voice Instrument

• Bandoneon related links
• Concertina, Symphonetta and related Instruments
• Index

Astor Piazzola

Listen & Watch
Audio library: listen to Piazzolla recordings
Audio Lectures about Piazzolla (CAP)
Videos of Piazzolla
200 Versions of "Adios Nonino"

Historical
Piazzolla Biography
Interview of Piazzolla
Museum: historical Piazzolla stuff
News in the Piazzolla world

Reference
Reference to all Piazzolla CDs
Recommended recordings
FAQ: common questions about Piazzolla
Other reference materials

Tanguísimo, Argentine Tango Orchestra

Tanguísimo! Oficial Website

A dancing voice, an "arrabalero" bandoneon,
a gardelian guitar,
some passionate strings and
the languid rhythm of the piano transport you into the heart of Buenos Aires.
A Tango which speaks of hope, violence and love...

	Tanguísimo has arisen from the coming together of virtuoso musicians, who have set out on a musical journey in search of new horizons. Their respective paths have led them to perform several hundred concerts in the world’s most prestigious auditoriums. Under the direction of the viola player and guitarist Ludovic Michel, they decided to merge their various tones and their virtuosity to form an ensemble of perfect balance and an unusually rich sound. José Luis Barreto comes from the heart of the Rio de la Plata itself. He started singing the Tango at the age of 9, appearing on radio and TV in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. His love of song and precocious talent led him quite naturally towards Opera. Since then he has followed a dual career in both Tango and Opera: Barreto was sought after by Astor Piazzolla himself for his opera “Maria de Buenos Aires”, and he has been invited to sing at all the major opera houses. Destiny then brought these artists together in Europe so that this unique ensemble could come into existence. A Tango was born of this long voyage, braving and defying the currents, which navigated its course between hope, violence, love and passion … The melancholy of a bandoneon, the impassioned soaring chords and languid rhythms of a defiant piano all tell of the same tragic suffering, the same wounds caused by life’s journey. Accompanying the tender, sensual and penetrating voice of José Luis Barreto, Tanguísimo interprets all the magic of the tango in its most comprehensive form, expressing the fateful nature of an impossible love and sentiments amplified by the poetry of the Rio de la Plata. In 2004, José Luis Barreto and his orchestra Tanguísimo were asked by Artemis Production to perform in their show "Otango", an international first performance which took place at the Festival de l'Eau, and soon on a world tour. Tanguísimo has performed at all the major festivals, including among others the Labeaume Festival, the “Fort Antoine dans la ville” Festival in Monaco, the La Vézère Festival, the Young Soloist Festival in Antibes, the Operatic Festival in Marmandais, the Annecy Summer Festival, the Tarascon-Latino Festival, the Vollore Concerts, the Le Relec Festival, the “Ma ville est Tango” in Menton, the “Fortune de Lutherie” Festival in Mirecourt, the International Tango Festival in Paris-Saint Mandé, at the Petit Journal Montparnasse and the Hotel du Nord in Paris, the Opera in Saint-Etienne, the Opera in Nancy, the Théâtre Impérial in Compiègne, the “Podewill” International Tango Festival in Berlin, the Herrenhausen Festival in Berlin (as part of the 2000 Universal Exhibition), in Switzerland, Italia, Greece, Bulgaria... Audio and Trailer, click here

Carel Kraayenhof y su Sexteto Canyengue

Biography (English)

QUOTATION INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINES:

Tango Reporter Los Angeles (USA) Julio 2001: Tango Máxima;'....uno de los buenos y más notables CD de tango grabado por musicos europeos.'
Sadaic (Argentina): '..el Sexteto Canyengue es un grupo de tango Instrumental, unico en el genero en toda Europa.
The Herald (UK): '...Sexteto Canyengue hail from Amsterdam and are purveyors of thrilling real tango...'
Anchorage Daily News (USA): '...it was tango in audio form, rich in emotions, sensuality and fierce energy....'


SEXTETO CANYENGUE

In the autumn of 1988, bandoneon player Carel Kraayenhof, driven by his love for the works of Osvaldo Pugliese and Astor Piazzolla, the great maestros of Argentine tango, co-founded the very first tango sextet in the Netherlands. In his new ensemble, they could draw from earlier experiences in the tango domain. Carel Kraayenhof was co-founder of the Tango Cuatro and Viento del Sur ensembles, and, in 1987, performed as bandoneon soloist in the Broadway musical 'Tango Apasionado' in New York at the special invitation of Astor Piazzolla. In 1990 Sexteto Canyengue toured Buenos Aires and Montevideo with the orchestra of Pugliese by special invitation from the Maestro himself. Carel took on the challenge of providing the new ensemble with a repertoire consisting mainly of original arrangements. In addition, Carel composed various tangos for the sextet, described by critics as 'the missing link between Piazzolla and Pugliese'. His 'Clavel rojo', dedicated to Don Osvaldo Pugliese, has become a popular piece in the tango repertoire.

The ensemble's musical interpretations are romantic, melancholic, lively and sometimes rough, but always passionate. They emphasise the fact that the tango is indeed world music, and show clear influences from pop, jazz, salsa, classical and contemporary music. The bandoneons, the heart and voice of the tango, lead the other instruments in the sextet with the pulsating force of the canyengue: the fierce rhythm characteristic of this musical style. Canyengue is for the tango what swing is for jazz.

Ten years later, the tango has taken the sextet to many corners of the world.
Sexteto Canyengue has performed in numerous European countries, as well as in Malaysia, Argentina, Uruguay and Canada (at the Festival International du Jazz du Montréal). The ensemble's performances at the 1997 and 1998 Edinburgh Fringe and International Festival were a great success and attracted the attention of the world media.
In the same year, they performed with the master cellist Yo-Yo Ma in the Dutch television programme Reiziger in muziek, and played to sold-out houses as part of the tango show 'The Art of Tango'. Also the famous violist Guideon Kremer was inspired by Sexteto Canyengue for his tango-cd and even used Kraayenhofs arrangement 'Celos' from Piazzolla to record it by himself. Their performances with the famous dancer Pablo Vernon and the dancer/filmmaker Sally Potter (famous for her films Orlando and The Tango Lessons) were particularly impressive. In 1998, in addition to their regular theatre concerts both with and without the Argentine dance pair, Sexteto Canyengue accompanied the National Ballet, playing the music of Astor Piazzolla for the five tangos by Hans van Manen included in the programme.

Canyengue toured with a lot of success in 19981999, 2000, 2001 with the tango show Milonga Boulevard and Tangueros (Argentinean, Italian and Dutch production) through America, Alaska and Italy.
Most members of Sexteto Canyengue teach at the Argentine Tango department of the Rotterdam Conservatory, which is run by its founders Leo Vervelde and Carel Kraayenhof. This department was officially opened in 1993 in the presence of its honorary artistic director Osvaldo Pugliese. Since the death of maestro Pugliese, Gustavo Beytelmann has continued his work.

Sexteto Canyengue was awarded the 1993 Gouden Notenkraker by the Dutch musician's union (NTB), for its excellence and continuous efforts to bring tango music back to the stage.

Members:

Main strength of Sexteto Canyengue:
Artistic leader/ bandoneón: Carel Kraayenhof
Bandoneón: Rocco Boness
Piano: Sebastiaan van Delft
Double bass: Jaap Branderhorst
1st violin: Emma Breedveld
2nd Violin and viola: Bert Vos

Strength with STREET TANGO theatre concert:
Artistic leader/ bandoneón: Carel Kraayenhof
Guitar: Andreas Suntrop
Piano: Sebastiaan van Delft
Double bass: Jaap Branderhorst
1st violin: Emma Breedveld
2nd Violin and viola: Bert Vos

Percussion: Arie den Boer

Sound engineer: Cro Lampe

Light engineer: Tom Brooijmans

Discography:

CD '....por el tango' (1992, Increase/EMI Lucho 7701-2)
CD 'Tiburonero' (1993, Increase/EMI Lucho 7711-2)
CD 'Piazzolla bien canyengue' (1995, Increase/EMI Lucho 7720-2)
CD 'Tangueros de Holanda' (1997, Sexteto Canyengue 1997-1)
CD 'Cinco Tangos de Astor Piazzolla' (1998, Sexteto Canyengue 1998-2)
CD 'Tango Máxima' (2000, Sexteto Canyengue 2000-3)

All 6 CD's are distributed world white by BERTUS DISTRIBUTION in Capelle a/d IJssel in the Netherlands (#31.(0)10.2641591), and the last 3 CD's are available at our web site.

Documentaries /films:
1995: 'Embraced by the Tango' (1990) Kraayenhof will be followed on his trip to Argentina and his visit to maestro Osvaldo Pugliese. Direction: Leendert Pot
1998: 'Bandoneon' (1997), de director follows the history of the more than 150 year journey of the bandoneon through Germany, Argentina, France & The Netherlands. Kraayenhof wrote the arrangements for the bandoneón solo en act as a interpreter and guide of the instrument. Direction: Rolf Lambert

News and Agenda, click here

Discography and On Line Shop, click here

Downloads, click here

Color Tango Orchestra

Artists members of the Color Tango Orchestra

Roberto Álvarez
DIRECTOR · BANDONEÓN · COMPOSER · ARRANGER

Hernán Bartolozzi
2nd BANDONEÓN

Fernando Rodriguez
1st VIOLÍN

Diego Lerendegui
VIOLA

Gustavo Hunt
KEYBOARDS

Analía Goldberg
PIANO

Manuel Gómez
CONTRABASS

Roberto Decarre
VOICES

History of the Orchestra

1989
• In 1989 Roberto Alvarez, first bandoneon of Osvaldo Pugliese´s orchestra, creates together with other musicians "Orquesta Color Tango".
• Their debut takes place in Holland in a tour of 26 concerts.

1990
• In March 1990 the orchestra records its first CD "ColorTango" which is very well received in different European countries and Japan.
• In Argentina they perform in Radio Nacional (National Radio) and become the stable orchestra of the state television channel (A.T.C).
• They also perform in theatres such as: Municipal General San Martin, Presidente Alvear, C.C. Recoleta, Casa del Tango, Café Tortoni, Café Homero, El Mesón and many others.

1992
• In 1992 the orchestra takes part of the gala performance in Expo-Seville together with other notable argentine artists including Julio Bocca, Eleonora Cassano and Alberto Cortés.

1993
• In March 1993, they return to Europe touring Italy and The Netherlands. Once again in Italy, during the month of September, they participate in the festival "Musical September" in the Teatro Reggio, Torino and the "South American Musical Festival of Portofino".

1994
• March 1994 finds them on their third tour around Italy (Genoa, Bologna, Milan) with their show "Tangueros".
• That year, in Argentina, they are nominated by the Asociación de Cronistas de Espectaculos for their CD "A Toda Orquesta".

1995
• In March 1995 they return to Italy, this time touring to 11 cities and adding Paris. In June they tour in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil with the very successful show "Una noche en Buenos Aires" together with singer Eduardo Espinoza.
• End of October, they arrive to Norway and Sweden to take part in the "Verden y Norden" festival (Oslo). In Sweden they perform in Stockholm, Uppsala and Sala with the show "Con Este Tango" and the tango dancers C. Códega and E. Moreno. In December 1995 they record a new CD for the collection "Timeless Tango" (recording label Forever Music, in Miami).

1996
• In March 1996 the orchestra takes "Tangueros" to Italy and open a new show called "Milonga Boulevard" based on the story "Las puertas del cielo" (Heavens doors) by writer Julio Cortazar. This last show included tango dancers : Pepito Avellaneda, Suzuki, Teté,Maria, Alejandro Aquino and Mariachiara Michieli.
• June of that same year takes them to Japan with famous tango dancers Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves, Elsa Maria, Nélida and Nelson and Carlos Rivarola.
• In October , they perform in different cities around Holland and Belgium together with singer Abel Córdoba.

1997
• During February and August, they carry out a tour for 20 cities of Italy.
• Back in Buenos Aires they will perform in historical places such as La Ideal and T. Tasso Cultural Centre.

1998
• In 1998 a new CD, "Color Tango...Con Estilo".
• In February, they travel to New York with their show "Milonga Boulevard".

1999
• In March 1999, 11 shows in Holland with dancers Ricardo and Nicole and singers Daniel Cortés and Viviana Vigil.
• They perform in Switzerland during the month of July in the festival "Tango Stadt Zurich" together with Quintet Real and R. Mederos.

2000
• With the turn of the century, they start working on new musical arrangements and in April they present their new CD "Con Estilo Para Bailar- Vol 2" with Leopoldo Federico as guest.
• They have an active participation in the International Tango Festival in Buenos Aires.

2001
• In March 2001 their two last CDs are edited in Berlin by Oriente Musik music label in a double CD format.
• In April, they tour in Switzerland, Germany and Turkey with great success.
• In July they travel to Los Angeles (USA) to perform at the "Tango Fireworks 2001 Festival”.
• In December they travel to Holland, their fourth visit to this country, to play in "Tangomagia 2001".

2002
• On July 2002, they visit Dallas (USA) invited by the City Hall and they also work in Los Angeles ("Tango Fireworks 2002").
• December takes them to Amsterdam : "Tangomagia 2002", Stockholm, Copenhagen and five cities in Italy. In this extensive tour they pay homage to Maestro Osvaldo Pugliese.
• In October they perform in honour of Maestro Osvaldo Pugliese in Montevideo together with Lidia Pugliese (the Maestro's life partner) and singer Abel Córdoba.
• They participate in "World Tango Festival" in Buenos Aires becoming one of the principal attractions.

2003
• During March 2003, they participate in the "International Tango Festival of Buenos Aires", teaching the "Pugliese style" at the C.C. Gral. San Martin (Sala AB). They close the festival at the "Gran Milonga de la Calle Corrientes".
• They perform during the opening and closing ceremony of the international festival "CITA 2003".
• They also take part in the live recording of radio station Radio 2x4 and play in a charity event at the Luna Park Stadium.
• They travel to USA and Canada in July to play in Dallas, Los Angeles (“Tango Fireworks Festival 2003”) and "International Tango Festival in Montreal".
• Towards the end of that month they travel to Zurich and take part of the tango festival "Zurcher Tangowoche", there they conduct a seminar and two concerts, one of them during the closing ceremony of the festival.
• During August and September they present their very successful CD called: "Tango a Pugliese" at the C.C. T. Tasso.
• In October they perform in the "World Tango Festival" taking place in Buenos Aires.
• In November they travel to Europe for a series of concerts in Saarbrucken, Munich, Karlsruhe, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Turin, Milan, Basel and Arnhem. During this tour they conduct the seminar "The History of Tango" in all these cities and they present their new CD with the contents of the seminar called "A History of Tango".
• During December they travel to Montevideo, Uruguay to take part in the II Tango Seminar organised by the Universidad de la República.
• In Buenos Aires they perform a homage for Osvaldo Pugliese at the C.C. de la Cooperación where a bust is uncovered by Pugliese´s wife.

2004
• In February 2004 they take up their activities performing at the typical milongas and they travel to the south of the country, province of Rio Negro to perform in the city of Gral. Roca.
• In March they participate in the VI Festival of Buenos Aires Tango presenting "Corazoneando" a musical show with text and choreography reflecting the style and thought of Maestro Pugliese in now a day tango. The texts are narrated by Roberto Alvarez and actor Franklin Caicedo, sung by Abel Córdoba and Julio Balmaceda together with Corina de la Rosa dance.
• Once again they take part in CITA (Cosmotango) performing during the opening and closing ceremony of the festival wich took place in Palacio San Miguel.
• In April they travel to Europe for a series of concerts in Munich, Berlin, Chemnitz, Padova, Cesena, Torino (Torino Tango Festival) and Copenhagen.
• During May and June they play oftenly in "milongas" of Buenos Aires.
• In July they carry out a new tour of concerts for Europe, visiting Tarazona, San Sebastian, Sasso Marconi (Bologna Tango Festival 2004), Grosseto, Scandiano, Castelnovo Ne' Monti and Zurich ("Zurcher Tangowoche 2004").
• Also in July, they travel to Santiago de Chile and play a show during the classificatory stage of the “II Mundial de Tango”.
• During October and November they travel again to Europe performing at Tango Festivals and important Theatres in Rotterdam, Teramo, Gent, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Paris, Nimes, Avignon, Brussels (“Beltango Festival”), London, Karlsruhe, Milan (“1º Milano Tango Festival”), Padua, Munich, Hasselt ("Festival Noches a Media Luz"), Schloss Elmau (Tango Festival), Vienna (Concert en Radiokulturhaus, Ö1- ORF), Dresden, Koblenz and Baden-Baden.
• In December they Travel to Medellin (Colombia) performing in the Teatro Metropolitano de Medellín during the tribute "70 años sin Gardel".

2005
• In March 2005 they take part again in the Bs As Tango Festival performing at the open air closing milonga for crowded of people dancing on the street.
• In March/April they travel again to Europe performing at Turin (“Torino Tango Festival”), Rome, Naples, Lorrach, Bettembourg (“3º Festival du tango rioplatense”), Berlin, Ljubljana (“1º International Tango Festival Slovenia”), Padua, Paris (“11º Festival Couleurs Tango”), Chemnitz (“Festival Tango mi Amor”), Nuremberg and Ludwigsburg.
• In June the travel to Uruguay performing in Montevideo and Tacuarembó.
• In July they travel to Canada performing in Toronto and in Montreal (“International Tango Festival Montreal 2005”).
• In August, September and October they play often in Argentina performing in Sunchales, Cañada Rosquin, Rosario (Pcia. de Santa Fe), Rio Grande (Pcia. de Tierra del Fuego), Gral. Roca (Pcia. de Rio Negro) and Rio Cuarto (Pcia. de Córdoba).
• They present in October their new CD "Pugliese Inédito", based on 10 unedited compositions from Maestro Osvaldo Pugliese, plus 5 new tangos composed by members of Color Tango de Roberto Álvarez.
• In October/ November they travel again to Europe performing at Warsaw ("Pasja Tango" Festival), Avignon, Milan, Rome, Naples, Stockholm, Bremen, Graz and Brescia.
• In December they play at C.C. San Martin taking part of the Tribute to Maestro Osvaldo Pugliese, in the day of the 100 years birth anniversary.

Repertory

The style of the ORQUESTA COLOR TANGO is the ideal continuation of the so-called Decareana School, which begun in the mid-1920’s and developed by great masters such as Alfredo Gobbi and fundamentaly Osvaldo Pugliese. Romantic and full of expressive force, tango in the 1940’s evolved within this movement with a treatment of arrangements which was both agile and open to innovation.
In the same way, new compositions incorporated into the repertoire of the orchestra bring with them renewed concerns which help to produce a greater expressive maturity, but conserve an unchanging continuity along the aesthetic path which began in the very origins of tango.

- A EVARISTO CARRIEGO (Tango) - A FUEGO LENTO (Tango) - AL GALOPE (Milonga) - BOEDO (Tango) - BORDONEO Y 900 (Milonga) - CABULERO (Tango) - CHACABUQUEANDO (Tango) - CHARAMUSCA (Tango) - CHIQUÉ (Tango) - DE FLOREO (Tango) - DESDE EL ALMA (Vals) - DOMINGUERA (Milonga) - EMANCIPACIÓN (Tango) - ESTE ES EL REY (Tango) - GALLO CIEGO (Tango) - ILUSIÓN DE MI VIDA (Vals) - LA CUMPARSITA (Tango) - LA GUITARRITA (Tango) - LA LUCIÉRNAGA (Milonga) - LA MARIPOSA (Tango) - LA YUMBA (Tango) - LOS MAREADOS (Tango) - MA Y PA (Vals) - MALA JUNTA (Tango) New CD: “PUGLIESE INEDITO” Obras Inéditas de Osvaldo Pugliese: - BARRIADA (O. Pugliese) (Tango) - AMORANDO (O. Pugliese) (Tango) - BRIZNA (O. Pugliese) (Tango) - COMO FLOR DE YUYO (O. Pugliese) (Tango) - DE MI CORRAL (O. Pugliese) (Milonga) - A LOS OBREROS GRÁFICOS (O. Pugliese) (Tango) - LA PAPONIA (O. Pugliese) (Tango) - MARGA (O. Pugliese) (Vals) - PARA HÉCTOR LARREA (O. Pugliese) (Tango) - PA’L VASCO IZURIETA (O. Pugliese) (Tango) Nuevos tangos en la senda del Maestro: - CADENERO (H. Bartolozzi) (Tango) - ESTACIÓN PATERNAL (D. Lerendegui) (Tango) - PA’ LOS TRES (R. Álvarez) (Tango) - OXIDADO (A. Goldberg) (Tango) - PIQUETEROS (G. Hunt) (Tango)

Discography > ColorTango Click over a song and listen to a 30 seconds mp3 sample of each one.
1 - Maypa	3:00' R. Álvarez	COLOR TANGO (1990)
2 - Meridional	4:19' V. Lavallén
3 - Milonga Triste	3:16' S. Piana
4 - El Abrojito	3:56' A. Bernstein
5 - Don Goyo	3:58' A. Bernstein
6 - Negracha	3:51' O. Pugliese
7 - Camandulaje	3:06' A.Gobbi
8 - Sentimiento Gaucho	4:03' F. Canaro
9 - A los Tríos Milongueros	4:24' L. Spitalnik
10 - Contrapunto	4:07' Balcarce
11 - Clavel Rojo	3:54'C Kraayenhoff
12 - Danzarín	3:53' J. Plaza

Download videos of live presentations here

To visit their oficial web site click here