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Rodolfo Biagi - Sus éxitos con Jorge Ortiz

Rodolfo Biagi was the pianist with the magic hands (manos brujos) who electrified D'Arienzo's orchestra in 1935, sparking off the tango revolution. After three years of stupendous success, Biagi quit to form his own band whilst a succession of imitators discovered how difficult it was to fill the vacant pianists's chair in D'Arienzo's orchestra.

Biagi did not attempt to reproduce the D'Arienzo sound, but created his own style which is playful and cheeky. It's a simpler formula than D'Arienzo - Piazzolla condemned it as insipid - but the heavy syncopations and sparkling piano solos are so easy to enjoy.

The vocalist on this disc is the Jorge Ortiz. Joining forces with Biagi after the departure of the excellent Andrés Falgás, Ortiz became Biagi's best and most successful vocalist. They recorded 29 tracks together before Ortiz departed in 1943, but after brief sojourns with Miguel Caló amongst others he returned in 1945 and cut another 8 sides.

Standout tracks on this disc include the opener Humillación - just listen to the despair with which Ortiz utters Odio este amor (I hate this love) - and the deliriously romantic Todo te nombra (everything names you).

Of your love, I am a captive
Because everything in me names you

The disc also includes the superb instrumental vals Lágrimas y sonrisas, whose final piano variation is so quick that your fingers will get tired just listening to it.

Track list

Felino - Electrocutango

How are we managing to include this cd at the club price? I don't know ; )

Felino's electrocutango is simply one of the best electronic tango cds - and if you know me, you know how fussy I am about that! Read more about it on our Tango Nuevo page.

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Track list

Carlos Di Sarli - sus éxitos con Jorge Durán

As the 1940s progressed, the strong preference for high tenor voices for the male cantor de orquesta (orchestra singer) began slowly to soften. Even before Troilo took the step of incorporating the much lower base-baritone voices of Edmundo Rivero and Roberto Goyeneche - both of whom he poached from a struggling Horacio Salgán - Carlos Di Sarli had, in 1945, invited the wonderful Jorge Durán to join his orchestra, following the departure of both Roberto Rufino and Alberto Podestá, and for a couple of years he was Di Sarli's only singer. The bulk of the tracks on this cd date from that period.

Together they recorded a string of hits. It's classic Di Sarli with a strong walking beat and a strong but sensitive voice. Standout tracks: Que no sepan las estrellas, Porteño y bailarín, Tus labios me diran adiós, Un tango... y nada más Duelo Criollo and Tu íntimo secreto.

Not to mention the wonderful and overlooked milonga Con alma y vida, which shares the same wonderful cadence as Di Sarli's 1941 hit Zorzal.

The only duff tracks here are the late 1950s tracks - two instrumentals, Germaine and El incendio, and three vocals - and that's simply because you can now get much better transfers elsewhere.

But never mind about those - everything else on here is sensational.

Track list

Aníbal Troilo vol.1 - Bien Milonga 1950-51

In 1950, following the torching of the archives of RCA-Victor by their new manager, a number of artists quit and joined the new TK label. Troilo was one of those making the move.

It's unfortunate that this move should coincide with Troilo's most fertile period since the band's formation since the heady days with Francisco Fiorentino back in 1941, because the quality of the records that TK were able to produce is simply not as good as those of their rival. The first four tracks in particular on this cd sound quite ropey. But the music - most of the arrangements are by Astor Piazzolla, returned to Troilo after the commercial and critical failure of his first orchestra - is astonishing. Listen to the barely restrained madness of Tanguango, to Piazzolla's arrangement of his own composition Preparense, and to Troilo's best (and most danceable) recording of his spine-tingling classic Responso, written as a tribute after the death of his close friend, the poet and lyricist Homero Manzi.

It's also lovely to hear singer Raúl Berón with Troilo. Together they shine, especially in the tender vals, Un momento.

This cd is the first of five cds on Archivo TK, the complete recordings of the Troilo orchestra on TK (1950-1956) released by Euro Records in 2006 - after the 50 year copyright had expired. This will certainly be the only time we offer this cd at this price.

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Track list