308 Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 07:57:56 -0800
From: Roger Pick <pick@CABLESPEED.COM>
Subject: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Stephen Brown wrote recently (20 October) about music for tango. I've
appreciated his postings and consider him to be quite knowledgeable
about what's available in tango recordings. I have very few CD's, maybe
ten or a few more, not all of them are danceable, some have only one or
two selections that would get me on the floor.
It came as a considerable surprise and disappointment to hear someone
with so much knowledge of tango say that:
"I think it would be extremely difficult to put together an evening of
tango
music for social dancing drawing only from recordings made after the
1950s."
Is it really true that in fifty two years of tango music being played
all over the world by live orchestras, many of whom have recorded and
are producing CD's, that it would be difficult to assemble, for a
milonga lasting from 9 am until 2 PM, the sixty or so tunes necessary to
make it work!!!???
If so, this is not only an indictment of the sad state of tango
orchestras, but it also paints a very negative portrait the tango dance
community for not supporting tango orchestras by hiring them, nurturing
them, and demanding that they play wonderful dance music for our
milongas and recording that music for use to use in our practicas and
for personal enjoyment.
I believe that it is the dancers that drive the creation of truly great
dance orchestras. We support a large and growing number of teachers of
dance. At some point in the re-creation of viable tango (people speak
of a "golden age" of tango that, apparently, is not in the present) we,
as dancers, must support, by paying them for their music, orchestras
that give us the pleasure of the dance.
Our small community is fortunate in having, as a resident, the founder
of an accomplished tango orchestra (Seattle City Sextet, CD SCS 2001,
"Tangoheart", a mix of music for listening and dancing) capable of
providing an entire evening of wonderful live music plus another
duo/sometimes trio that can keep us happily dancing for a short time,
and a very good guitarist who now seems to be playing music with more
popular appeal, I expect because it was impossible for him to live as a
tango musician in our small town of six thousand people. I think it
significant that SCS felt it was not in their best interest to produce a
CD of 100% danceable music. Because there are only twenty or so dancers
in our community, we do not support them anywhere close to the extent
necessary for them to devote themselves to dance music for our
enjoyment. I suspect the same is true even in Seattle and other large
cities and that it is concert tours to the larger cities, not dances,
that really provide sustenance for musicians. Even at that, playing in
a tango orchestra is probably a labor of love.
There might be another factor that works against musicians creating
wonderful dance music for us (that is, in addition to the basic one,
that some people just don't like dancing to live music). Tango dancers
are frequently seemingly unappreciative of the musicians efforts, hardly
acknowledging their presence. This might be true because we are so used
to music coming from a box that we forget that there are real people
playing and we must include the musicians in our enjoyment by letting
them know, in more ways than just enjoying our dance, that they are a
significant source of the joy of our evening. If they play at concerts
they are applauded by hundreds of people who pay handsomely for the
pleasure of only listening. There is a synergy that can exist between
dancers and musicians but it is difficult to develop the sense of it if
we mostly dance to recorded music.
Cost is frequently brought up as a factor. We as dancers get to listen
and dance for an entire night for $1,000 to $2,000 (for a full orchestra
in most major US cities). If we can draw a hundred dancers to a
milonga, that is not an impossibly large sum to generate even if hall
rental is $500. If a town has an active tango community it might be
worth attempting a self run milonga by cooperatively renting a hall and
instead of charging admission and running it as a for profit venture,
just view it as an invitational party. If expenses are covered by
contributors in advance and it's clear there will be empty space on the
floor, the doors can be thrown open to the rest of the dance community
and it will be their turn to host a milonga with live music the next
time. It is a good feeling to be open and give pleasure once expenses
have been met. In a caring community it does not always have to be the
same participants that wind up paying. If it is, you've learned
something, and it's time to work on community building. Maybe that's
why tango grew up being a neighborhood affair even in large cities. If
live music for tango can build community, so much the better, it's worth
the small price.
And Steve, I hope that soon someone can send you a listing of hundreds
of modern recordings filled only with the best of music for dancing,
that when played by a live orchestra will satisfy almost any hall filled
with dancers...
Roger Pick
pick@cablespeed.com
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 13:22:12 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Roger Pick wrote:
>>And Steve, I hope that soon someone can send you a listing of hundreds of
modern recordings filled only with the best of music for dancing, that when
played by a live orchestra will satisfy almost any hall filled with
dancers...<<
I do too. :-)
It would be wonderful to have such recordings available.
One can actually find quite a few recordings made since the early 1950s
that can be used for social dancing, but those recordings offer the DJ only
a limited sound pallette.
1) The recordings on which modern orchestras recreate the sound of vintage
tango orchestras are quite limited in number.
2) After the golden age, tango music made a transition into several
different concert sounds.
3) One concert sound emphasized lush, dramatic orchestration. The
recordings with lush orchestration all begin to sound similar and
repititous when used any more than sparingly. You maybe able to get one or
two tandas in an evening before putting the dancers to sleep....
4) Another concert sound was profoundly influenced by the progressive
rhythmic and melodic developments pioneered by the Pugliese, Piazzolla and
Salgan orchestras. The recordings with a progressive concert-oriented
sound that are useful for social dancing tend to work best for late-night
dancing--a territory for which the Pugliese orchestra has many excellent
and reasonably high-fidelity recordings.
Consequently, the DJ must look to older recordings to provide a full
evening of quality dancing.
The shift in sound from dance to concert music owes to both artistic and
economic reasons. 1) As Roger pointed out, the potential audience for
tango dance music is considerably smaller than the audience for tango
music. During the golden age of tango, much of the broadly popular tango
music also had a dance beat. 2) Musicians are not content to simply
offer what has been created by others. 3) Old recordings provide a very
good substitute for newer recordings that seek to maintain or recreate a
vintage sound.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 12:19:30 -0800
From: Robert Hauk <robhauk@TELEPORT.COM>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Roger,
You are right. Tango really quit being played for dancers in the 50's,
and the major orchestras were then playing concert music that isn't
great for dancing. Now as we revive this thing, modern musicians are
faced with learning all of this again. If they don't dance, it is easy
to see why they are drawn to the more modern music, it makes more sense
to them, and it is initially more challenging and more fun for them.
We as dancers haven't been mature enough to show them the difference
yet. As our dance music tastes get more refined we will know how to
tell the bands what we would really like to dance to. Bands don't even
know what is a good tempo for dancing. I haven't seen a single tango
orchestra that didn't play too slowly, and then slow down even more to
put more 'emotion' into the music. This music is hard enough to dance
to and tiring enough that I really don't like to dance all night to it.
I also feel sad watching people dancing off the music because they can't
get in sync with it. This isn't teaching them to dance well, and I
doubt that the experience is all that pleasurable.
The orchestra we had here for the tango fest played a lot of more
difficult music. Experienced dancers can dance to this kind of music,
and have very pleasurable dances if they listen carefully to the music,
and each other, but it presents a big problem for the less experienced
dancers. I had one of my students tell me that trying to dance to this
orchestra made her feel like she would never be able to dance tango.
She said she felt like she should give up tango completely. It made me
feel bad to see people who payed their $18 to get in, only to have to
sit down because the music was too difficult for them. The orchestras
need to understand this, because if they don't play music that everyone
can dance to they will never have a big enough audience to pay for what
they do. Their labor of love is then completely wasted.
We have to be mature as dancers, and comunicate what we need, what all
dancers need, beginners and experienced alike, so everyone can have
fun. Maybe if we sat down when the music was too difficult for most
people we would begin to tell the orchestra what we like to dance to.
Maybe we should ask that they play music that all of our dancers can
dance to. Maybe we should teach the orchestra members to dance to give
them a feel for what we do. In the old days musicians made their living
playing dance music so they knew all of this well. Their next meal
depended on it. This hasn't been true for a long time.
I would love to have really good live music to dance to. It would help
build our communities and add an energy that is missing now. We have to
be appreciative of good orchestras, and pay them what they are worth.
They also have to be worth having. If they play difficult music that
chases our beginners away we can't really afford to have them play for
our parties very often.
Happy tangos to all,
Robert
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 12:33:55 -0800
From: Benjamin Koh <benkoh@STANFORD.EDU>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Roger Pick wrote:
> Is it really true that in fifty two years of tango music being played
> all over the world by live orchestras, many of whom have recorded and
> are producing CD's, that it would be difficult to assemble, for a
> milonga lasting from 9 am until 2 PM, the sixty or so tunes necessary to
> make it work!!!???
It is imperative to remember that tango as a social dance did not become
popular again until the late 80's or early 90's, thanks in part to the
commercial success of Tango Argentino around the world and the loosening
of political repression in Argentina. In the interval between the Golden
Age and today's revival, the tango music that was played was meant for
listening, not dancing. Therefore it doesn't matter if it was 2, 52 or
82 years - there was simply too little dance music produced during this
interval for it to be the only source of music for a milonga today.
The more tango music you acquire, the more you'll find that fidelity
aside, modern recordings don't always sound better than those of the
Golden Age. Part of the reason is selection, too. Canaro, as an
extremely prolific example, apparently made more than 2000 recordings,
of which perhaps 100 or even less are popular as dance tunes. How many
of today's orchestras have even 200 recordings, from which we can pick
10 or 20 as great dance tunes? The relative quantity of old (20's to
50's) material available simply means that statistically, most of the
tunes suitable for a night's dancing will come from the old collection.
> If a town has an active tango community it might be
> worth attempting a self run milonga by cooperatively renting a hall and
> instead of charging admission and running it as a for profit venture,
> just view it as an invitational party.
To my knowledge nobody runs a milonga as a for-profit venture. A milonga
is a labor of love; admissions usually barely cover the costs
(especially if food and drink are provided) and the DJ (who is often
poorly paid, if at all) can never please everyone. That's why many
milongas don't last more than a couple of years - eventually the rents
rise, and rather than raise admission fees the milonga changes venue or
disappears altogether.
The hosts either have a real job (some are tango teachers, others work
in the business world) or are retired. I doubt you'll find many people
on the list who can say their job (the one that pays the bills) is
milonga organizer.
Benjamin
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 15:50:24 -0800
From: Mark Celaya <mark@CLASSICTANGO.COM>
Subject: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Roger Pick brought up a very interesting subject for me & inquired about
tango music recorded after the 1950`s. I`ve often wondered how long we would
continue dancing to music recorded 50-70 years ago even though I still enjoy
it very much after listening to the same recordings many times over the past
10 years. The variety of styles helps tango music as a whole to endure. But
I am receiving more & more e-mails requesting advice regarding danceable
tango music recorded after the "Golden Age".
I possess close to a hundred CDs that contain tangos recorded after 1960,
many of which I feel are excellent for social dancing; I`m sure that there
are many, many more. Following is a partial list of what I like to use at my
gigs when I feel the need to bring the crowd "back to the future". As a
professional DJ, I try to recognize the mood of my audience as well as its
musical tastes. This gets more and more difficult as tango dancers in the
USA are becoming more sophisticated & particular about the music to which
they prefer to dance. I may begin the evening with these, fill in the middle
period, or end the evening with some of the following, once again depending
on the crowd & the mood.
Formost on the list are:
- "Argentina to the World"/Osvaldo Pugliese
COMMENT: Half of these were recorded in the 1970`s; the earlier ones are
from the mid to late 1950`s. All instrumentals.
- "El Rey Del Compas"/Juan D`Arienzo (arrangements)
COMMENT: 16 Superb instrumentals recorded in 1982 by D`Arienzo musicians
after his death.
-"Instrumentales Incomparables"/Hector Varela
COMMENT: Contains some great milongas & valses (1960`s).
- MIGUEL VILLASBOAS: 3 Wonderful CDs, all instrumentals, containing great
milongas & valses, 60 tracks in all; recorded in the 1960`s. (1) "El
Paisanito"; (2) "Una Noche De Garufa"; "Su Quinteto Bravo Del 900."
- "Esencia De Buenos Aires"/Baffa-Berlingieri - 20 instrumentals/good dance
rhythms.
- "Bien Milonguero" - volumes 1 & 2/Florindo Sassone - 40 excellent
instrumentals (1960`s).
- "Tangos Para Exigentes"/Sexteto Mayor (1970`s-1980`s), 20 instrumentals.
- "Tangos Para Bailar"/Sexteto Mayor (1999), 17 tracks.
- "Quinteto Francisco Canaro"/Antonio D`Alessandro (1995), 15 tracks,
instrumental version of "La Milonga de Buenos Aires".
- "Orquesta Especial Para Bailar Tango"/Alberto Di Paulo (1990`s), 12
instrumentals-Di Sarli syle.
- "Instrumentales Inolvidables"/Alfredo De Angelis (late 50`s - early 60`s),
20 tracks including a beautiful vals: "Lagrimas y Sonrisas".
- "Sus Ultimos Instrumentales"/Anibal Troilo (1960`s), 20 tracks.
- "Pa` Milonguear"/Sexteto Tango ~ ex-Pugliese musicians, 20 instrumental
tangos.
- 3 Great soundtracks (1990`s) loaded with arrangements by Pugliese, Di
Sarli, Canaro, D`Arienzo, & Troilo are: (1) "Perfumes de Tango", (2) "Una
Noche de Tango", (3) "Tango" (movie).
- 2 other soundtracks with a few tangos suitable for the milonga are:
"Forever Tango" & "Tango Argentino".
- "Frente a Frente"/Pedro Laurenz & Quinteto Real (1960`s), 20 tracks.
CONTEMPORARY GROUPS with excellent CDs:
- New York Tango Trio
- El Arranque
- Los Cosos de al Lao
- Nuevo Quinteto Real
- Color Tango (Pugliese arrangements)
- Los Reyes del Tango (D`Arienzo arrangements)
- La Gente de Tango (Di Sarli arrangements)
2 other groups that specialize in "turn-of-the-century" style tango are Los
Muchachos De Antes & Los Tubatango. They both have fun CDs that are crowd
pleasers. I think that their recordings may be from the 1990`s but I`m not
sure. Maybe someone has more info regarding these 2 groups.
As I stated earlier, there are probably many more recordings from post-1960
favorable for dancing which maybe some list members may care to add.
Happy Holidays to all,
Mark Celaya
www.classictango.com
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:37:15 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Yesterday, Mark Celaya posted an extensive list of CDs that were recorded
after the golden age that have dance rhythms. In doing so, I think it is
fair to say that he established that there are a lot of recordings made
after the golden age that can be used for social dancing.
Working carefully through the list, however, I think that one will find
that these recordings are more valuable as a supplement for an evening of
dance music rather than as the bulk of the music to be played. I find
these newer recordings fall into four basic categories:
1) Golden Age and Vintage Redux -- only a few recordings.
2) A Lush Concert Sound* -- quite a few recordings but all sounding quite
similar to each other.
3) A progressive Pugliese/Piazzolla/Salgan sound -- quite a few recordings
but occupying the same place on the DJ's sound pallette as Pugliese.
4) Show tango -- a number of recordings that for the most part combine
difficult rhythm changes, lush orchestration and the progressive sound.
The most useable for social dance occupy the same place on the DJ's sound
pallette as Pugliese.
*The lush concert sound is exemplified by the recordings of Florindo
Sassone and the later recordings by Francini/Pontier on JVC. These
orchestras largely took the best tangos from the golden age and played them
with larger orchestras with a more full sound.
As I have classified these recordings, it seems as though the DJ can extend
the playing repetoire only slightly by reaching past the golden age into
more recent recordings. (I could dig more than 15 tandas out of the
material Mark listed, but I am also likely to end up with four versions of
Gallo Ciego on the playlist as a result.) For many audiences, the ability
to extend the playing repetoire is worthwhile, and I would guess that many
DJs have most of the CDs that Mark listed.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 19:02:50 +0000
From: Bruce Stephens <bruce@CENDERIS.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
Mark Celaya <mark@CLASSICTANGO.COM> writes:
> Roger Pick brought up a very interesting subject for me & inquired about
> tango music recorded after the 1950`s. I`ve often wondered how long we would
> continue dancing to music recorded 50-70 years ago even though I still enjoy
> it very much after listening to the same recordings many times over the past
> 10 years.
We should continue so long as we have good enough taste! Some of that
music, with all of the scratches and crackles, is sublimely beautiful.
Why would we ever want to stop dancing to it?
Of course, it's a shame that there's (relatively) little more modern
music of the same danceability, but it's hardly surprising. I suspect
we're still a relatively small market compared to Argentina during the
golden age. Musicians are more likely to make a living by playing
music for the ears than music for the feet.
[...]
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 08:15:57 -0800
From: JeffryesSussex <doktordogg@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
--- Roger Pick <pick@CABLESPEED.COM> wrote:
> it also paints a very negative
> portrait the tango dance
> community for not supporting tango orchestras by
> hiring them, nurturing
> them, and demanding that they play wonderful dance
> music for our
> milongas and recording that music for use to use in
> our practicas and
> for personal enjoyment.
>
> I believe that it is the dancers that drive the
> creation of truly great
> dance orchestras. We support a large and growing
> number of teachers of
> dance. At some point in the re-creation of viable
> tango (people speak
> of a "golden age" of tango that, apparently, is not
> in the present) we,
> as dancers, must support, by paying them for their
> music, orchestras
> that give us the pleasure of the dance.
I certainly sympathize with this yearning for a more
vital community of live musicians. I used to play
piano in dance orchestras a long time ago. More
recently, I worked in the Broadway industry. I
changed careers after a decade of commercial work
because there wasn't enough live music to make a
viable living at what I was doing.
It isn't a coincidence that the "Golden Age" of tango
corresponds with the "Swing Era" here. The economics
of those times could support large orchestras like
that. People's entertainment choices and the support
costs of live music are very different now, and it
affects musical entertainment of all genres.
People who love live music always wish that it were
supported better, and are often wistful about the past
while being righteously indignant about the sparse
consumption by audiences in the present. This is as
true for symphony orchestras as it is for tango bands.
If you can drum up interest in engaging tango
musicians, great! Do it. I wish you a lot of luck.
The reality in New York, however, is that as large as
the tango community is, tango performances are still a
small niche within an overall market and it's not
sufficient to support a large number of musicians who
play tango. There is a very small number of competent
players here who can be heard with any frequency.
On another rant, whereas the widespread piracy of
intellectual property on the internet through file
"sharing" (a euphemism for stealing) has impacted the
livelihoods of all recording musicians (and production
personnel like me who made a significant amount of
money from residual payments), I wonder if it might
affect the economics of live music performances in a
positive way. If musicians can't make money from
their work in recording, they'll stop recording. (For
example, any new tango recording quickly gets
"burned", i.e. stolen, and distributed throughout a
tango community.) Maybe live music will return as the
primary contact people have to current musicians.
On the other hand, that might be too hopeful. People
seem quite happy to listen to old tango recordings
forever. We might have to wait a long time to see a
new flowering of either the recording industry or the
live music industry. This is why I now program
computers for a living and play the piano for myself
at home!
Jai
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 13:39:03 -0800
From: Benjamin Koh <benkoh@STANFORD.EDU>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
JeffryesSussex wrote:
<snip>
> People who love live music always wish that it were
> supported better, and are often wistful about the past
> while being righteously indignant about the sparse
> consumption by audiences in the present. This is as
> true for symphony orchestras as it is for tango bands.
Just a small point to add here - I try to do my part and turn up
whenever there is live music offered. However, at the last few milongas
I attended that also offered live music, my enjoyment was marred by
inappropriate amplification. That is to say, someone (either the host or
the person in charge of the musicians' equipment setup) had turned the
amplification up too high, to the extent that I was unable to enjoy the
music, simply because my ears were hurting.
This meant that I actually sat out a lot of the live music being played,
because being on the dance floor (near the musicians) also placed me
next to their speakers. So I ended up sitting farther away from the
speakers, and thus not dancing at all. The music was good, but the
excessive volume threatened my hearing and became a distraction instead
of an enticement to dance. I would like to appeal to milonga hosts and
the bands' technical staff to always check the sound levels carefully
and adjust them if need be between songs.
At present because of this issue I am no longer so enthusiastic about
live music - I still turn up, but now my expectations are considerably
lower than for milongas with pre-recorded music, which (usually) seems
to be played at more reasonable volumes. Other people I have met at
milongas have also commented on this issue of sound levels, so I doubt
that I have especially sensitive hearing.
> On another rant, whereas the widespread piracy of
> intellectual property on the internet through file
> "sharing" (a euphemism for stealing) has impacted the
> livelihoods of all recording musicians (and production
> personnel like me who made a significant amount of
> money from residual payments),
I agree that the advent of digital-copying technology has made it
increasingly easy for people to steal copyrighted work. In my personal
experience, however, most of the people doing the stealing would not pay
the money to buy the real work anyway. Most fans really want to support
their artistes and buy original works when these are available. Whether
CD-copying technology exists or not, the thieves will not buy the
originals. Thus either way the artistes get nothing... except free
publicity from pirates.
NOTE: I am not advocating that everyone should steal music, but I
personally would not own half the music CDs I do today if not for
Napster, which allowed me to download and preview music before deciding
if it was good enough to buy. Without Napster I would simply have not
bought any CDs at all! Before Napster I bought less than 10 CDs over the
previous five years. After Napster I bought more than 20 CDs in one year
alone. Since Napster's demise I haven't had any more access to free
music, and have thus cut back on music purchases considerably as I no
longer have any idea if I'll like the music (and no, the 30 second
previews on shopping sites DO NOT suffice).
That fans will go out of their way to support their favorite artistes is
not limited to tango music. It is also visible in the anime and j-pop
movement, for example, where many people are willing to pay large sums
for the originals (often imported from Japan) versus next to nothing for
illegal copies or compilations. These illegal copies and compilations
are everywhere. Just look on eBay and you'll see literally thousands of
illegal or unauthorized compilations of music not easily available in
America, especially video game soundtracks such as the Final Fantasy
series.
Yet sites that specialize in importing original music continue to do a
roaring business, because real fans continue to pay money to get the
originals. Part-time fans who wouldn't pay significant sums of money in
the first place simply buy the illegal or unauthorized CDs. I say
unauthorized because many of these CDs are pressed in Taiwan, which
follows its own ideas about copyright laws and thus allows such
unauthorized compilations to be made under Taiwanese law. Other CDs are
outright CD-R copies of legitimate recordings and thus illegal to sell.
A favorite euphemism to sell these CD-Rs as "backups".
> I wonder if it might
> affect the economics of live music performances in a
> positive way. If musicians can't make money from
> their work in recording, they'll stop recording. (For
> example, any new tango recording quickly gets
> "burned", i.e. stolen, and distributed throughout a
> tango community.) Maybe live music will return as the
> primary contact people have to current musicians.
IMHO, if musicians have to play all the time to get paid, they're not
going to play, period. A musician is a human being, not a machine. There
will be good days and bad days. A recording allows the musician to make
a "good" performance for everyone to enjoy, and it provides a stable
source of income against the uncertainty of gigs. Fans burn CDs only
when they can't buy the originals themselves. The majority of concert
tours don't make much money; they are meant to increase the artistes'
exposure and raise fan loyalty. And somehow I doubt that the people
whose music collections are primarily CD-Rs will pay the astronomical
sums to attend these concerts. This is the one instance where the
presence of lots of gold means you're a cheapskate! A tango band's
concerts are likely to be no different (ie planned for exposure, not
profit).
> On the other hand, that might be too hopeful. People
> seem quite happy to listen to old tango recordings
> forever.
As I posted earlier, it is simply a question of relative quantity. We
compare any new group's recordings against the best recordings from
existing artistes, thus it is always difficult to make a breakthrough.
The tango bands of the past had years to perfect their style and
technique, and it's a little unfair (but completely valid) to compare a
new recording against an existing one (which was itself picked as
superior to so many others). Think about sports records - there are some
very old ones. Today's athletes are very good, but sometimes still not
good enough. Likewise with tango bands today - often good, but not good
enough to change our preferences.
It's even harder for a live band - what are the chances that any
particular night will be the one where their version of your favorite
tango song will be superior to your favorite recorded version?
Regardless, a live band brings its own dynamics and superior fidelity,
which I enjoy, aside from the caveat I mentioned earlier about excessive
sound levels. And they're also less predictable than your favorite (and
oft-played) recordings, making dancing to them a new and interesting
challenge.
> We might have to wait a long time to see a
> new flowering of either the recording industry or the
> live music industry.
Currently the recording industry is undergoing a massive reorganisation
due to the flurry caused by Napster and its workalikes. It is my
understanding that with the major record labels as little as 50 cents or
one dollar goes to the artiste for every $20 CD sold. I humbly suggest
that tango bands without existing recording contracts try to produce the
CDs themselves or do so with small independent labels with less
restrictive terms. An online store or mail-order operation could
overcome the problems of distributing small quantities.
I also suggest that some trouble be taken to produce good liner notes.
The liner notes are the primary reason I buy original CDs - I enjoy
reading about the artistes and their music, sometimes with lyrics too.
Liner notes add value and help justify my purchase. Without them there
is little difference from an illegal copy I can make myself at home.
To sum up, I'm all for live music (at reasonable sound levels).
Musicians, please keep recording - eventually there'll be a modern
library large enough to compete with the vintage ones. And I believe
that people who love your music will buy it even if it's cheaper to
steal it, because they want to feed you and make you keep playing.
Benjamin
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 08:41:57 +0900
From: astrid <astrid@RUBY.PLALA.OR.JP>
Subject: Re: Music, Tango, & Dancing...
In Tokyo, the three orchestras that are mainly used for playing at milongas
are "Che Tango", a group consisting of old Japanese gentlemen, the leader
has very long grey hair (at Suiyokai), "Enrique Cuttini", an excellent
orchestra from Argentina, sometimes used for the great milonga (250 people,
shows, 40$) in Asakusa every few months, or events with Jose and Laura
dancing, and "Ryota Komatsu", bandoneon, and his orchestra, who mainly plays
Piazzolla and composes new tangos himself (available on CD), for
performances and very expensive dance events. They are all good, and their
sense of rhythm etc. is just fine. So if you ever have a chance to come to
Japan, you can see, there are milongas where live music is more fun than
recorded music for dancing. (check schedule first with tangotokyo)
Astrid
