milonga.co.uk

El Farabute - dúo de tango

It's very seldom that we find some contemporary music that we would like to sell on the site, so I'm thrilled to offer the debut CD from the duo El farabute - Pablo Citarella and James Ogle. The guys played at a gig in Suffolk where I was DJ-ing and I was so excited that I went to London the following week to hear them again. Argentine pianist Pablo Citarella is an outstanding musican, but I was even more thrilled to find in James Ogle a violinist who wasn't afraid to attack the strings and to experiment wth different effects, giving the tango violin the variation and especially that percussive edge it is so often lacking in modern playing.

This CD is structured a little like one of their set lists. Naranjo en flor is their opener, a track they use to establish the mood before they really bite into the dancing material. And it is all dancing material from here on in: even classics from the pen of Horacio Salgán such as A fuego lento, and Julián Plaza's Danzarín (just stand during the introduction to Nocturna, okay?). Part of the secret of that is the pace - it's just a little bit slower than the recordings which have come down to us - but the texture of the playing keeps it interesting and danceable.

Exciting - thrilling even - contemporary. Just get one

If you want to hear some of this music, visit Pablo's website.

Track list

1. Naranjo en flor
2. Gallo ciego
3. Tinta roja
4. Ensueños
5. Nocturna milonga
6. Flor de lino vals
7. A la gran muñeca
8. Los mareados
9. Milonga de mis amores milonga
10. La yumba
11. A fuego lento
12. Danzarín

Aníbal Troilo: Tinta Roja (1941/1942)

BMG 659437

Offered previously in the club in September 2008

I'm not here going to review the great Aníbal Troilo, whose orchestra was one of the greatest tango ever produced, or ever will. Somehow his music remains underplayed in milongas in the UK.

This cd, being the second in BMG's wonderful collector's series, Aníbal Troilo en RCA Victor, won't require any effort on your part to enjoy. Volume 1 is one of our essential cds and we offered it as a club choice some months back. Volume 2 continues where Volume 1 left off, and musically it's quite similar, this being Troilo's original line-up with Fiorentino on vocals and the mercurial Orlando Goñi on piano. In other words: fabulous, outstanding music from start to finish. C.T.V. is a tour-de-force, with Goñi's piano playing an absolute marvel. Fueye, a tango in praise to the bandoneón, is one of the greatest tango recordings ever; and Malena, given the full Troilo treatment, is elevated in from the classic interpratation of Lucio Demare into something even higher. The whole cd is at this quality - just wonderful.

Oh yes - there is a small error in the transfer of Colorao - colorao, which goes right back to the lp transfer made in the 1970s. See if you can spot it. This track has never been printed correctly on cd - at least I don't think so. If you have a different version - call me!

Track list

1. Tinta roja
2. Malena
3. Pa' que bailen los muchachos
4. Fueye
5. C.T.V.
6. Mi castigo
7. Del tiempo guapo milonga
8. Soy un muchacho de la guardia
9. Papa Baltasar milonga
10. El tamango
11. Tu diagnostico vals
12. Cautivo
13. No le digas que la quiero
14. Un placer vals
15. Colorao - colorao
16. Sencillo y compadre

Canta:

Francisco Fiorentino (1-4,6-16)

Inolvidables RCA - Carlos Di Sarli

BMG 656735

Since the demise of the BMG-RCA series RCA Victor 100 Años, and it's wonderful Di Sarli CD (if you have it you don't need this one), this is the album we recommend for anyone looking for a Di Sarli CD - or looking for their first tango CD, full stop.

Di Sarli's steady walking beat, not too quick, and his command of the melody make him one of the favourite orchestras for dancing. This album presents 13 of Di Sarli's late instrumentals from the late 1950s, along with some '40s tracks with his vocalists Roberto Rufino, Alberto Podestá and Jorge Durán, as well as the instrumental La racha - a very welcome inclusion.

Track list

1. Bahia Blanca (1957)
2. La cumparsita (1955)
3. El choclo (1954)
4. Fumando espero (1956) canta Argentino Ledesma
5. El amanecer (1954)
6. Organito de la tarde (1954)
7. Rodríguez Peña (1956)
8. Al compás del corazón (1942) canta Alberto Podestá
9. A la gran muñeca (1954)
10. La morocha (1954)
11. Nueve Puntos (1956)
12. Verdemar (1943) canta Roberto Rufino
13. Milonguero viejo (1955)
14. El ingeniero (1955)
15. Cara sucia (1957)
16. Tinta verde (1954)
17. Buenos Aires (1956) canta Roberto Florio
18. Nido gaucho (1955) canta Mario Pomar
19. La racha (1947)
20. Un tango y nada más (1945) canta Jorge Durán

Ariel Ramírez - Recordando Valses

Polygram 5332532

Offered previously in the club in December 2009

Pianist Ariel Ramírez is a folklore musician, so this CD of tango valses, performed in a light jazz style that's perfect for dancing, comes as a real surprise. Ramírez plays with the accompaniment of a jazz drummer. The whole thing is delightful.

This CD was first printed back in 1996 and if I know anything about this label, the last and final printing was some years ago. Once stocks run out, it won't be reprinted. We have just a handful left

Track list

1. Desde el alma
2. Amor y celo
3. Ilusión de mi vida
4. Lagrimas y sonrisas
5. Pulpera de Santa Lucia
6. Noche de verano
7. Palomita blanca
8. Francia
9. Santiago del Estero
10. Olga
11. Aeroplano
12. Nelly
13. Uruguaya
14. A su memoria