This week’s tanda features Miguel Caló with Raúl Iriarte. The first two tangos are by Enrique Mario Francini; the final two, by José Dames.
My choice for this week is ‘Gricel’ (Aníbal Troilo with Francisco Fiorentino, 1942). I reviewed five performances.
My favorite: Noelia Hurtado & Carlitos Espinoza.
My choice for this week is ‘Mandria’ (Juan D’Arienzo with Alberto Echagüe, 1939). I reviewed 47 performances.
My favorite: Noelia Hurtado & Carlitos Espinoza.
A tanda featuring four tangos with brilliant bandoneón variaciones by Pedro Laurenz, culminating with “Amurado”, the all-time classic by Laurenz and Pedro Maffia.
My choice for this week is ‘Dichas que viví’ (Rodolfo Biagi with Andrés Falgás, 1939). I reviewed 68 performances.
My favorite: Luiza Pasierowska & Osky Casas.
I also liked the performance by Barbara Carpino & Claudio Forte.
This is a mixed vals tanda built around Osmar Maderna’s exquisite “Pequeña”. I picked Calo’s version of “Jugando, jugando” because it features Maderna as pianist and the sound of the orchestra is similar to Maderna’s. However, as DJ Mary Wu pointed out to me, Lomuto’s version of that tango (with Carlos Galarce, 1944) has a kind of bittersweet quality that is present in “Pequeña”, but absent in Calo’s version. So I suggest experimenting with both versions, as I have myself done over the past few weeks at various milongas. You may also want to try substituting ‘Una vez en la vida’ (Osvaldo Fresedo with Ricardo Ruiz, 1941) for ‘Motivo de vals’ if you find the tempo of the latter unacceptably slow (personally I find that it works at some milongas but not others, depending on the energy levels).
My choice for this week is ‘Los despojos’ (Miguel Caló with Raúl Iriarte, 1947). I reviewed 14 performances.
My favorite: Roxana Suárez & Sebastián Achával.
I also liked the performances by Noelia Hurtado & Carlitos Espinoza and Ariadna Naveira & Fernando Sánchez.
I still remember the first time I heard a Fresedo/Ray tanda: I had never encountered tangos of such exquisite beauty. This set includes two songs composed by Fresedo himself, one by Enrique Delfino, and one by Juan Carlos Cobián (whom Fresedo greatly admired). I like to play this tanda either early in the evening, or after the milonga has reached its climax and the night is about to come to an end.
My choice for this week is ‘Trago amargo’ (Juan D’Arienzo with Alberto Echagüe, 1939). I reviewed 21 performances.
My favorite: Inés Muzzopappa & Federico Naveira.
I also liked the performance by Fatima Vitale & Maximiliano Cristiani.
In this tanda, Canaro’s orchestra recedes into the background as Charlo takes center stage. His unfailing intonation, polished technique and superlative musicianship put him in a special place in the history of tango vocalists. It is a shame that his voice is less often heard at the milongas than that of many lesser talents. The last two numbers also display his remarkable skills as a composer.