Danceable Tangos of the Year

Episode 52 covers the years 1976-2016. We start the episode with one of Astor Piazzolla's most recognizable tango nuevo piece, "Libertango"; as "demonstrated" in the movie Tango Lesson, it is "danceable", at least in circumstances where a follower is courted by three leaders. To cover the many great tango nuevo, alternative tango, and electronic tango formations of the past four decades would take way more than an hour; instead, our last episode follows the spirit of the series and cherry-picks from danceable tangos of more traditional style, but perhaps lesser known formations. I hope you enjoyed our journey to explore 90 years of Argentine tango music. We started at 1927 when non-acoustic recording methods started to become widespread and finished with last year. “Danceable Tangos of the Year” featured more than 900 tangos, valses, and milongas that you could and should be able to listen and dance to in milongas all around the world (some statistics: balazstango.blogspot.hu/2016/10/which-are-top-3-argentine-tango.html .) If you would like to listen to these and many more danceable tangos, you could start at Argentine Tango Radio at www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com, and then head to purchase the music on your own at tangotunes.com, tango-dj.at, or at the usual big online music stores. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all enthusiasts around the world who put significant amount of their own time to help disseminate tango culture. My work as a DJ and radio host was indirectly helped to a great extent, for instance, by the teams behind todotango.com and el-recodo.com, by Bernhard Gehberger of tango-dj.at, by Tobias Conradi of tango.info, by Christoph Lanner of the Canaro discography, by Gabriel Valiente, author of Encyclopedia of Tango, and by Vicente Luis Scorzari and many many others. Thank you! I’d also like to apologize for my bad Spanish pronounciation which surely entertained, or upset some friends on the other side of the globe. Please forgive me the hubris of entering to your territory without a proper command of your language; my only excuse is that mine was a work of love. Two of the most influential figures in the development of Argentine tango music, as it headed into its Golden Age, were Julio De Caro and Juan D’Arienzo. We started our episode series with the former, and it seems to me most appropriate to end it with the latter. Juan D’Arienzo’s 1951 "La Cumparsita" brings the closure. Abrazos to all! For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 51 covers the years 1966-1975. We start with "Mi dolor" shouted by Osvaldo Ramos with the orchestra of Juan D'Arienzo, followed upon by Osvaldo Pugliese, Aníbal Troilo, Juan D'Arienzo (instrumentals, and with Osvaldo Ramos), Florindo Sassone, Alfredo De Angelis (with Carlos Aguirre), and valses from Alfredo De Angelis and from Héctor Varela with Jorge Falcon and Fernando Soler. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 50 covers the years 1960-1965. "Qué falta que me hacés", recorded by Miguel Caló with Alberto Podestá is our first tango, which is followed by valses from Francisco Canaro, Juan D'Arienzo (with Osvaldo Ramos) and Alfredo De Angelis (with Juan Carlos Godoy) and further tangos from Aníbal Troilo, Juan D'Arienzo with Jorge Valdez and with Osvaldo Ramos, Osvaldo Pugliese with Jorge Maciel, Alfredo De Angelis with Alberto Cuello, and Victor Braña with Carlos Dante. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 49 covers the years 1957-1959. The episode starts with "Merceditas" of the orchestra of Osmar Maderna with singers Adolfo Rivas and Carlos Aldao. We continue with Alfredo De Angelis (first with instrumentals, later with singers Juan Carlos Godoy and Oscar Larroca), Carlos Di Sarli, Fulvio Salamanca with Armando Guerrico, Osvaldo Pugliese with Jorge Maciel, Juan D'Arienzo with Jorge Valdez, and Aníbal Troilo. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 48 covers the years 1955-1956. "Fueron tres años" in the interpretation of Argentino Ledesma with the orchestra of Héctor Varela gets us started. Osvaldo Pugliese with Jorge Maciel, Juan D'Arienzo with Libertad Lamarque, Héctor Varela with Rodolfo Lesica, Carlos Di Sarli, Alfredo De Angelis with Carlos Dante and with Oscar Larroca, Francini-Pontier, and Ángel D'Agostino is featured in the remainder. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 47 covers the years 1953-1954. "El amanecer" from the orchestra of Carlos Di Sarli opens the episode, followed by tangos of Rodolfo Biagi with Hugo Duval, Juan D'Arienzo, Donato Racciatti with Nina Miranda, Osvaldo Pugliese with Alberto Morán, further instrumentals from Carlos Di Sarli and Osvaldo Pugliese, Miguel Caló with Alberto Podestá, Alfredo De Angelis with Oscar Larroca, and Francisco Canaro with Alberto Arenas. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 46 covers the years 1951-1952. The 1952 version of Osvaldo Pugliese's "La Yumba" starts the episode (I shall add there is some uncertainty regarding whether this version is a new recording or "is the result of laboratory manipulations" of the original 1946 version, as Nicolas Lefcovich claims). We continue with tangos from Domingo Federico, Juan D'Arienzo with Alberto Echagüe and with Roberto Lemos, Rodolfo Biagi, Osvaldo Pugliese with Alberto Morán, Donato Racciatti with Nina Miranda, as well as with a vals of Francisco Rotundo with Enrique Campos and Floreal Ruiz and a milonga of Juan D'Arienzo. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 45 covers the years 1949-1950. A beatiful interpretation of "Duelo criollo" by the orchestra of Héctor María Artola with singer Alberto Marino is followed by tangos of Alfredo De Angelis with Carlos Dante and with Julio Martel, instrumentals from Rodolfo Biagi and Domingo Federico, Osvaldo Pugliese with Jorge Vidal, further tangos from Aníbal Troilo, Juan D'Arienzo, and Oswaldo Bercas, as well as two Alfredo De Angelis valses. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 44 covers the years 1947-1948. "Patético", in the interpretation of Osvaldo Pugliese, kicks off this episode, which mostly focuses on valses of Alfredo De Angelis with Carlos Dante and Julio Martel, of Aníbal Troilo with Floreal Ruiz and Edmundo Rivero, and of Alberto Castillo. Selected tangos include those of Rodolfo Biagi, Juan D'Arienzo with Alberto Echagüe, Alfredo Gobbi, Alfredo De Angelis, Osvaldo Pugliese with Alberto Morán, and Ricardo Tanturi with Osvaldo Ribó. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .

Episode 43 covers the year 1943. The episode starts with "Pobre flor" (alternative title: Primera ilusión) from Alfredo De Angelis with the singers Carlos Dante and Julio Martel. We continue with tangos from Carlos Di Sarli, Enrique Rodrigues with Armando Moreno, Rodolfo Biagi with Alberto Amor, Juan D'Arienzo with Alberto Echagüe, Osmar Maderna, Miguel Caló with Raúl Iriarte and Roberto Arrieta, Osvaldo Pugliese with Roberto Chanel and with Alberto Morán, Aníbal Troilo with Alberto Marino, Alfredo De Angelis with Julio Martel and with Carlos Dante, a D'Arienzo milonga, and an Alberto Castillo vals. The episode concludes with the first recording of Astor Piazzolla's own orchestra, "El recodo", as an example of one of his early, danceable recordings. For more information on "Danceable Tangos of the Year" visit: www.ArgentineTangoRadio.com/dtoty .