296  Astor Piazzolla - A Memoir

Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 03:11:11 -0400
From: Keith Elshaw <keith@TOTANGO.NET>
Subject: Astor Piazzolla - A Memoir

We have all been done a fine service by Amadeus Press (which co-incidentally
is located in that tango hot-bed, Portland).

Natalio Gorin published in Spanish his interviews with Astor in 1990. This
new English edition is updated and filled-out with contributions from
friends and collaborators such as Horacio Ferrar and Gary Burton. It
includes some lovely photos from Astor's family's collection.

I am one who believes that the music is enhanced by knowing about the people
who create it.

Here in a highly readable form is the first-person story of the kid who
plays with Gardel at 12; who joins Troilo's band as player and arranger for
5 years at 18 during the Golden Age; who goes out and musically punches
everyone on the nose of their musical sensibilities with his bandoneon and
ideas for the next 50 years as he did in Little Italy with his fists when he
was hanging around with Jake Lamotta and pals as a boy.

With the publishers' permission, here are just 3 quotes from the book:

"I still can't believe that some pseudocritics continue to accuse me of
having murdered tango. They have it backward. They should look at me as the
saviour of tango. I performed plastic surgery on it." - Astor Piazzolla (A
pithy comment considering how big plastic surgery is in Argentina).


"Piazzolla's tango has the eyes, the nose and the mouth of it's grandfather,
the tango. The rest is Piazzolla." - Ernesto Sábato


"Piazzolla forced us to study - all of us." - Osvaldo Pugliese



For me, this new book, complete with Discography and Chronology, was a great
read.

I've written a full review on https://ToTANGO.net


Keith

Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2001 00:45:50 -0500
From: Natarajan Balasundara <rajan@EMC.COM>
Subject: Re: Astor Piazzolla - A Memoir

-----Original Message-----

Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 10:48:55 -0800
From: JeffryesSussex <doktordogg@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Astor Piazzolla - A Memoir

--- Natarajan Balasundara <rajan@EMC.COM> wrote:

> On the other hand, what is the bit about tango
> having no rhythm?? :-)

Hi Rajan,

Here's my take on the matters you brought up.

When Piazzolla mentions "oriental" I imagine he's
trying to convey something specific, although he might
not be speaking strictly correctly. Oriental
societies don't equate with individualism. They are
primarily, perhaps universally, collectivist. He
might have been referring to the stereotype of his
time of the "inscrutable Oriental".

As far as the rhythm of tango, certainly rhythm
exists, but the rhythm of tango contrasts with other
music in its degree of complexity and priority. The
rhythm of Afro-Cuban music, for example, is
staggeringly complex. It's all based on a repeated
rhythmic pattern called the "clave," and all the
other rhythms overlay that: montuno, tumbao, cascara.
There are names for all of those patterns and the
rhythm sections who play together have a religious
fervor about it.

Tango rarely uses any percussions instruments except
for a guiro occasionally. It's rhythmic in the sense
that there is steady time, but tango's focus isn't on
complexity of rhythm. The dance rhythm itself is
about as simple as you can get. I don't suggest that
as a shortcoming. The sophistication of tango music
lies in its expressive qualities.

At least, that's how I see things.

Jai

Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 18:29:45 -0500
From: Natarajan Balasundara <rajan@EMC.COM>
Subject: Re: Astor Piazzolla - A Memoir

JeffryesSussex wrote:

>
> > On the other hand, what is the bit about tango
> > having no rhythm?? :-)

> Tango rarely uses any percussions instruments except
> for a guiro occasionally. It's rhythmic in the sense
> that there is steady time, but tango's focus isn't on
> complexity of rhythm. The dance rhythm itself is
> about as simple as you can get. I don't suggest that
> as a shortcoming. The sophistication of tango music
> lies in its expressive qualities.

I wonder if perhaps what he means is rhythm as sound
marked by an instrument marking off beats is not there
in what he would consider tango (and I am not sure I
have heard even one tango where percussion instruments
are prominent).

If bandoneon were the only instrument, that would be
enough for a tango but the 'rhythm' is marked by the
silences(or change of note) -- *an inversion* of the
normal expression of rhythm.

May be this is where the past of tango(happy, rhythmic, fast
and extroverted when there was guitar) moves underground
to being dark,sombre, and introverted.

This would be the same as in wailing, singing, poetry...
and I am not sure that the rhythm needs to be regular
(poetry seems to have moved away from this).

The 'salsa' rhythm, as far as I am concerned, comes
from the ending of one sound and the beginning of
another, a pause(much to do with timbre of the bandoneon),
rather than the complexity of the rhythm itself.

About religious fervor, perhaps this is a matter of faith.
I would think that bandoneon sounds more religious
than drums. In fact, I would think the organ would
be the instrument closest in timber to the bandoneon
and I have not heard any fun hipswinging innovations
for the organ lately ;-)

In fact, Piazzolla seems to have been wanting to try to
move towards achiving this sound of the organ(I am
referring to the insert to 'Tres minutos con la realidad'
where he comes closest to this sound) for the bandoneon...
had he succeeded completely, may be dancing to his music
have been even more difficult.

I also think that when Piazzolla uses the term 'oriental',
perhaps he is more clueful than most. For one, he was
outside argentina quite extensively, for another, he was
at the same time in Paris as Philip Glass, and in 60s/70s
and Philip Glass who was/ is even now into 'oriental'
music -- in this case collaborating with Ravi Shankar
who also happend to perform during opening ceromony
at woodstock and was not all that unknown at the time
and 'orientalism' of woodstock was as much about
individualism(even if collectively) as any other western
strain of it.

As a foot note, sitar(as in Ravi Shankar), and the
guiro have a gourd in there in their etymology...finally
something in common ;-)

I am not a musician but when I have an itch, I guess even
if I can not dig it, I have to at least scratch it...



rajan.