2264 The music is to the dance
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 17:11:35 -0300
From: Alberto Gesualdi <clambat2001@YAHOO.COM.AR>
Subject: The music is to the dance
Dear friends from tango list
I have been reading all the posting concerning this issue on dancing tango steps with other music.
I have not seen the video so I can not make comments about it.
What I would like to comment, is what I have been doing this past two months , since I minor accident ( a broken fibula) exclude me from the dancing places .
But I spent this time listening and buying Tango music ,and found some singularities
1) there are more and more local musicians , playing tango music with a "jazz" flavour. One case is Ariel Iaies and his CD " Nocturna".Wether this music is to be danced or to be listened , is such an open issue.... I could not decide for a yes or no answer . It has to be with what the music proposes, what oneself is willing to do , and what the other self, the person that is dancing with you, is also willing to do. It is not to be compelled to dance, it has to be something casual or authentic, I think.
2) there are a lot of new local tango records. But I found there is a kind of " sticker" that is placed on the CD4s " Tangos para bailar / tangos to dance" .
In a new series of four CD , recorded live during 2003, by a group of local music companies and entities related to the tango promotion, they put a sticker on each CD " Tango para bailar/ to dance" , "tango instrumental", "Los cantantes/the singers ", "los compositores/ the composers".
We are talking of four CD that account for around 60 tracks.
Tangos para bailar / to dance ........ well, it is not quite true . I mean, they recorded live Color Tango, El Arranque, Orquesta Escuela de Tango,. Pablo Mainetti, etc.etc.etc.. But there is no consistency along the CD, you cant play this CD non stop, it simply does not fit. And also you can not play small tandas for each group, they sound different
Tango instrumental.... well, here you may find some consistency , because the list of tangos selected, although played by differente groups , have some "path" ( A Orlando Goqi-Amurado-Fuimos-Morena-Gallo ciego-Los mareados-Nocturna-Milonga triste-La cachila-Fortin cero-Aquel dia-A los mios-Nunca tuvo novio-Adios Nonino-Paris Otoqal) .
Also the CD has something good, the first and last track is played by Sexteto Mayor, who was a kind of godfather for almost all the other groups that play, like el Arranque, Orquesta escuela de Tango, Neotango and so on
Tango singers and Tango composers, are two CD related to new singers and composers , and again, it is not consistent to play them all together . Lidia Borda style is different from Walter Chino Laborde stile.
3) el Arranque issued a "new" CD with a big campaign in the streets , saying "the CD of the year, El Arranque, playing now at Club del vino"
But...... it is not a "new" CD , it is a recording made in year 2002 at Rete Due in Switzerland. What could be interesting is the recording was made without electrical amplification, just with the sound of the auditorium of the radio .... But it is not what El Arranque is playing now, since they recorded another CD in 2003 , not as main orchestra, but as background orchestra for some of the tracks of Lidia Borda CD "Tal vez sera su voz".
So if you are a follower of this group , as is my case, you find yourself confused, about what is the "style" of the group , what you are hearing as their "last" music, is not what they are playing now .
4) I got from a local DJ , Mario Orlando, a selection of tracks from Fresedo, and for the first time , I found this selection of Fresedo music danceable , consistent. Maybe is the selection of tracks that the DJ made , based on his knowledge of how people react top the music .
5) We went with some friends to two places, Centro Tasso, to watch Juanjo Dominguez, Lucho Gonzalez and Colacho Brizuela with guitars, and to a milonga, which I will keep anonymous , not to offend the organizer .
At Centro Tasso,nobody danced. It was incredible. The DJ played tanda after tanda , and the only one to dance was another Alberto, a kind man that makes shoes , with his dancing partner. Sometimes two couples or three danced , no more. The musicians came, play, received and standing ovation and were required to return after 10 minutes of cheers and applauses, played another theme, and ended their show.
20 minutes later the place was almost empty., the people simply came to listen and not to dance.
And at the milonga where we went .... The music was low recording quality , without changes , tanda after tanda the same tangos. Ocasionally a tanda of milongas , and from time to time , valsecitos. But the DJ was not placing his heart on the music. He put a tanda of milongas, and after the fourth milonga, when almost all the people returned to their tables, keep the tanda on for three milongas more.
Also valsecitos, the tanda was maybe of 8 valsecitos, and people left the dancing area desert, but the tanda keep going . And this is the kiss of death for a dancing atmosphere. It was not like a milonga, it was like a meeting of neighbours or relatives, that came to have some dancing with his spouses, after having their meals at home . Very disappointing.
Sorry for this long comment, buy I found he issue of music and dance very strong .
There is such an amount of music to listen and found. I also bought a CD from Di Sarli to 1941 and 1947, it includes four milongas, which was a surprise to me , never before I listened milongas from Di Sarli, and they sound good.
There is also a new collection called " La fonola" that issued already three CD with Troilo, and music non previously recorded on CDs ,at least not commercial . It is interesting, but since it has many interruptions and voices ( they are from radio shows ) , is also difficult to build a tanda with it.
warm regars
alberto gesualdi
buenos aires
My feeling about this subject of music and dance, is that there a lot of
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Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 14:30:21 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: The music is to the dance
I recently purchased the Ariel Iaies CD, "Nocturna." I really like it as
music for listening. I hadn't thought much about dancing to it. Asking
whether one can dance Argentine tango to Iaies is more like asking can one
dance Argentine tango to Bill Evans than Astor Piazzolla. The jazz feel
quite strong in the Iaies recording. I have an open mind on the question,
but my sense is that it would be quite challenging to dance in this music
and still convey a sense of Argentine tango.
With best regards,
Steve (de Tejas)
Stephen Brown
