Styles: Tango, Latin
Year: 1982
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:05
Size: 92,1 MB
Art: Front
(5:04) 1. La Cumprarsita
(2:18) 2. Por Una Cabeza
(2:25) 3. Yira Yira
(3:37) 4. La Violetera
(2:17) 5. Caminito
(2:59) 6. Retintín
(3:14) 7. Chalita
(3:02) 8. El Choclo
(2:47) 9. Vida Mia
(2:16) 10. A Media Luz
(2:30) 11. El Esquinazo
(2:27) 12. Adiós Muchachos
(5:02) 13. Jalousie
The Tango Project
Year: 1982
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:05
Size: 92,1 MB
Art: Front
(5:04) 1. La Cumprarsita
(2:18) 2. Por Una Cabeza
(2:25) 3. Yira Yira
(3:37) 4. La Violetera
(2:17) 5. Caminito
(2:59) 6. Retintín
(3:14) 7. Chalita
(3:02) 8. El Choclo
(2:47) 9. Vida Mia
(2:16) 10. A Media Luz
(2:30) 11. El Esquinazo
(2:27) 12. Adiós Muchachos
(5:02) 13. Jalousie
Do you remember the scene in Scent of a Woman where Al Pacino's character, though blind, dances the tango with the character played by Gabrielle Anwar? Well, the delightful music they danced to was from the eponymous album by the Tango Project. It's a classic piece called "Por Una Cabeza" by Carlos Gardel. Dramatic, even for a tango, it's heartbreakingly brief. It also may be the high point of this collection, which consists of music written in the heyday of the tango, mostly in the first third of the 20th century, and mostly by Argentines, of course, along with a few by Europeans. On five of the album's 13 numbers, only the core trio of accordion, piano, and violin appear. On the rest, a second violin and an acoustic bass are added to create a small orquestra tipica. The performances are competent but lack a crucial margin of passion. The album is thus best appreciated intellectually with heavy reference to the liner notes, as when listening to the two tangos from the earliest days of the form: "Retintín" sounds a bit like American ragtime, while "El Esquinazo" resembles a 19th century Viennese "champagne" polka, complete with sound effects. The album is good, moderately stimulating tango music served up with love and care by the musicians. Recommended for both fans of the style and ballroom dancers. ~ Kurt Keefner http://www.allmusic.com/album/tango-project-tango-collection-mw0000650743
Personnel: Stan Kurtis (violin); William Schimmel (accordion); Michael Sahl (piano).
Personnel: Stan Kurtis (violin); William Schimmel (accordion); Michael Sahl (piano).
The Tango Project
The blurb writer you found from allmusic.com says, "The performances are competent but lack a crucial margin of passion." Yeah, well, that's pretty much exactly the point. You want passion, you go for the real thing -- you go for Argentine tango music, which I have collected for decades and that nowadays can be found in industrial profusion on the great Argentine blog El Tango y sus Invitados. (Anyone who doesn't know this musical literature, try, for example, Roberto Goyeneche -- that's passion.) These Tango Project performances are something else. They are "palm court" music or, if you like, tango MINUS the passion. This is the music you listen to, while you eat cucumber sandwiches and chocolate cake with cherries on the top and you sip Earl Grey tea in the late afternoon at places like the Hotel Sacher in Vienna or the Plaza in New York or the Copacabana Palace in Rio. Thanks as always, Giullia. I don't know how you guys do it. I admit to a measure of curiosity. Probably just as well, however, if I never find out. Anyway, I used to own all three of the original Nonesuch Tango Project LPs. The one that's just been posted was the first. The second was better than the first and the third was the best of all. Mine disappeared in the great vinyl extinction. I'm thrilled to begin to ... what's the word I want? Reamass? Re-amass? Sounds crude. But that's the way I am experiencing it. Beijos,
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