Rodolfo Biagi - Overview

If you ask DJs or dancers to give an example of orchestras playing good, rhythmical music in most cases the first choice will be Juan d'Arienzo, the second Rodolfo Biagi. I think this is the correct answer, for Biagi to be just after d'Arienzo :). I love Biagi's music. When I hear any of his songs in a milonga, I immediately start searching for a partner to dance it :).

Biagi has worked with many famous musicians like Juan Maglio "Pacho", Carlos Gardel, Juan Canaro. In 1935 he joined the orchestra of Juan d'Arienzo. It was a very important moment. His integration to D'Arienzo's orchestra influenced his own musical future, and at the same time had an impact on d'Arienzo's style, which set a new direction for the tango music! Guardia Vieja period had finished, Golden Age had started. Biagi left d'Arienzo's orchestra in 1938 to set-up his own orchestra.


Amongst Biagi's recordings, one can find a wide and diverse selection of music. His tangos from the early period (1938 - 1945) are faster and very rhythmic. Later (1946 - 1962) they are still rhythmic, but slower and much more melodic. His valses are great and should not be missed in any tango event! My favorite ones are Viejo Portón and Paloma. As far as I know there are only 7 milongas available on CDs. But there are real pearls. One of them, possibly the best milonga of all times: Flor De Monserrat.

For more detailed biographical and discographical information please go to:
Todo Tango - Rodolfo Biagi

In the next post I will start from presenting Biagi's valses....

Rafael Canaro

Orchestra: Rafael Canaro

Singers: Aldo Campoamor, Luis Scalon, Raul Sanders, Carlos Dante, Roger Toussaint, Instrumental


Period: 1927–1948

In this post I'd like to write a few words about one of less famous orchestras and it's leader Rafael Canaro. There are many not widely known facts about Rafael and I am more than happy to share some of them with you. Rafael was a brother of Francisco, one of the biggest and most famous tango musicians of all times. In the family there were 3 more brothers, each of them was a tango musician and an orchestra leader: Humberto, Juan and Mario.

The Canaro family was coming from Uruguay. We should not think that tango equals Argentina and Buenos Aires. The contribution of Uruguay and Mondevideo to the history of tango is significant. Other musicians coming from that country were: Edgardo Donato, Julio Sosa, Miguel Villasboas and many others. The most famous tango "La Cumparsita" was composed in 1919 by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez in Montevideo.

Rafael Canaro spent more than 10 years in Europe. He lived and recorded mainly in France (some songs are in French), but also in Spain and Germany. He composed (together with Francisco) one of my favorite tangos: Sentimiento Gaucho

DJ comment:

In my opinion Rafael Canaro recorded his best songs in Europe (1929-1939). You will find there lots of songs from repertoire of his brother Francisco, but they sound quite different. If you want to calm down the milonga and make your dancers hug each other more, a tanda of Rafael Canaro is a great choice.

Rafael Canaro's orchestra is one of the "non-mainstream" ones. I tend to avoid frequently playing tandas of those orchestras. I like keeping their special and less popular character. Other orchestras in this category could be: Jose Garcia, Donato Racciatti, Hector Varela, etc... But this is only my personal preference, you are free to do as you feel right.

Song examples:

Viejos Tiempos, Canta Aldo Campoamor, 1939

Paciencia, Canta Luis Scalon, 1938

Que le importa al mundo, Canta Luis Scalon, 1938

Yo no sé por qué te quiero, Canta Raul Sanders, 1936

A Montmartre, Canta Carlos Dante, 1929

Rien que nous deux , Canta Raúl Sanders, 1937 - in French

La mélodie de notre adieu, Canta Roger Toussaint, 1936 - in French

Enrique Rodríguez - Foxtrots

Orchestra: Enrique Rodríguez

Singers: Armando Moreno, Roberto Flores, Roberto Videla, Instrumental

Period: 1937–1970

A few days ago I was at a tango marathon. Around 5 a.m. on Sunday the energy of the milonga was going down and the only reasonable choice for me seemed to be going to the hotel. Suddenly the DJ started playing a tanda of Foxtrots by Rodríguez. The floor filled up with the dancers (I was one of them) immediately and it brought the milonga back to life. So here comes the topic for this post...

As I wrote in one of my previous posts, Rodríguez was recording quite many different music genres (e.g. Corridos, Foxtrots, Marchas, Pasodobles, Polcas). His orchestra was called “Orquesta de todos ritmos”. Foxtrots had quite an important place in the repertoire. I´m aware of at least 50 recorded songs. During milongas they can be treated as "special" milongas. They are a bit more difficult to dance than a regular milonga, but I think it does not matter much. The fun you get dancing those foxtrots compensates any difficulties...

In songs recorded by Rodríguez there are many references to locations from outside of Argentina. In his foxtrots there are quite many Hungarian motifs. This is particularly close to my heart as I´m currently living in Budapest. The ones that come to my mind now are:

-          Noches de Hungría (also the name of a great tango marathon of Budapest),

-          Danza Hungara no5 (based on Hungarian dance by Johannes Brahms),

-          Alma de Dios (based on  Cancion Hungara from Zarzuela Alma de Dios)

-          Amor En Budapest

-      Please let me know if there are more of them :)

DJ Comment

I've got only one remark: don't use those foxtrots too often. If you do, their special character will be gone... So "play with moderation" :)

Song examples:

La Calesita Se Destrozó, Canta Roberto Flores, 1937

La Colegiala, Canta Roberto Flores, 1938
Bailan Yanick Wyler - Sigrid Van Tilbeurgh
Bailan Gaston Torelli ' Mariela

Amor En Budapest, Canta Armando Moreno, 1940

Noches de Hungría, Canta Armando Moreno, 1942

Se Va El Tren, Canta Armando Moreno, 1942

Suavemente, Canta Armando Moreno, 1942

Por Las Calles De Istambul, Canta Armando Moreno, 1944

Danza Húngara No. 5, Instrumental, 1947

Japonesita, Canta Roberto Videla, 1951

Osvaldo Fresedo, Roberto Ray - Hollywood in Buenos Aires

Orchestra: Osvaldo Fresedo

Singer: Roberto Ray

Period: 1932–1939

During the 1920ies and at the beginning of the 1930ies Osvaldo Fresedo's orchestra was playing and recording in Guardia Vieja style. In 1933 Fresedo´s style completely changed. The music became much lighter, softer, more sophisticated. New instruments (harp, vibraphone, drums) had added a completely fresh flavor to his music. When I ask my tango friends to describe Fresedo's music from that period, they say that is sounds like as if from a movie, straight from Hollywood.

At the beginning I wanted to cover all of the "Hollywod" period in one post. But there are so many great songs and singers in that period, that this post would be far too long. So I have decided to cut it in more pieces.

So let's start from the beginning. Roberto Ray was the first singer in that period. He was recording with Fresedo during the 1930ies. A few songs were recorded between 1948 and 1950, after nearly 10 years of break. Between the best and most known songs you'll find: Vida Mía, Siempre Es Carnaval, Sollozos, El Once (El 11), Cordobesita, Isla De Capri. The first 4 songs were composed by Fresedo himself. The Lyrics of those 4 songs (and many others) were written by the brother of Osvaldo, Emilio Fresedo.

DJ comment:

Orchestra of Osvaldo Fresedo is not played very frequently in the milongas of Buenos Aires. That obviously doesn't mean it should't be played more often elsewhere :). Amongst the recordings with Ray you'll find material for faster tandas (e.g. Araca La Cana, Cordobesita, El Mareo, Telón), but also very slow and romantic songs (e.g. Pampero, Siempre Es Carnaval, Vida Mía).  One of my favorite songs is "Como Aquella Princessa" with its very distinctive oriental sound...

Song examples:

Vida Mía, 1933 

Cordobesita, 1933, Bailan Pablo Rodriguez - Noelia Hurtado
Bailan Hiroshi Yamao - Kyoko Yamao

Araca La Cana, 1933
Bailan Pablo Rodriguez - Noelia Hurtado (long, long time ago :) 

En La Huella Del Dolor, 1934
Bailan Ricardo Viqueira - Valérie Lafore

Isla de Capri, 1935 

Recuerdos de Bohemia, 1935 

Como Aquella Princessa, 1937

Niebla del Riachuelo, 1937
Bailan Oscar Casas - Ann Casas 

Bailan Javier Rodriguez - Andrea Missé

Sollozos, 1937 

Siempre Es Carnaval, 1937
Baila Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes
Bailan Edwin - Jennifer 

Osvaldo Fresedo - Overview

Osvaldo Fresedo is one of the most interesting characters in the history of tango. He was apparently the longest recording tango musician ever. My music collection indicates 60 years of recording (the first from 1920, the last from 1980). Todo Tango's biography mentions 63 years. That's a very long period and lots of things have happened during that time.

Not many people know that in the 1920ies and early 1930ies, Fresedo was recording in Guardia Vieja style (similar to Orquesta Tipica Victor, Adolfo Carabelli, etc...). Some of the recordings from that period are really amazing and I will surely write a separate post about them. I hope they will be becoming more popular and we will hear them more frequently in the milongas...

His most popular recordings come from the 1930ies and the 1940ies. During that period he developed his very particular and easy to recognize style. The music is very soft, romantic and it feels like it has some Hollywood touch. Fresedo's orchestra from that time could hardly be called "Típica". A¨normal¨ orchestra "típica" (as it is the case of the most famous tango orchestras) includes: violins, bandoneóns, piano, and double bass.. Fresedo's orchestra on top of the standard instruments  included harp, vibraphone and drums. That surely contributed to his unique style.

During the 1950ies his music gets a more jazzy flavour. It's still very good and danceable (though I would not play it in milongas too often). Later recordings are rather interesting for listening only.

Fresedo's discography is quite big (more than 1000 recordings), but one can hardly find any songs suitable for dancing milongas and valses. As far as I remember I have heard only once a tanda of Fresedo's valses (during La Latina marathon in Rome). I liked it a lot, but I'd treat is as something special and keep it for only very rare occassions.

Fresedo had quite many prominent singers recording with his orchestra. Below I list the main ones:

Early Period / Guardia Vieja style (1920 - 1932)

• Ernesto Famá
• Ada Falcón
• Teófilo Ibañez
• Luis Díaz

 Middle Period / Hollywood style (1932 - 1950)

• Roberto Ray
• Ricardo Ruiz
• Carlos Mayel
• Oscar Serpa

Late Period / Jazzy Fresedo (after 1950)

• Héctor Pacheco
• Armando Garrido

The singers from the early period are surely more known from their recordings with different orchestras: Ernesto Famá with di Sarli and Canaro, Ada Falcón with Canaro, Teofilo Ibañez with Biagi, Luis Díaz with Orchestra Típica Victor and Edgardo Donato.

That's enough for now, let's move to the next post to listen to some music and watch some videos.

Francisco Canaro - Fast / Late Milongas

Orchestras: Francisco Canaro, Quinteto Pirincho

Singers: Ernesto Famá, Carlos Roldan, Instrumental

Period: 1938-1947

As time went by, the milongas of Canaro became faster and faster. In the period between 1932-1937 the speed was ranging from 76 to 90 bpm. 76 is rather slow (e.g. Milonga Sentimental), 90 starts to be reasonably fast (e.g. Milonga de Antańo). Suddenly in 1938 songs started to speed up and after that period they ranged from 96 bpm to 116 bpm (116 is a really fast milonga - e.g. Requebrada).

Personally, as a dancer, I like most of the songs recorded between 1938 and 1939. One can find amongst them "hits" like: Reliquias Porteñas, La Milonga de Buenos Aires, No Hay Tierra Como La Mía and many others... Similar to many other orchestras something changed in the beginning of  the 1940ies. The later milongas are less enjoyable and more difficult to dance.

DJ comment:

As written above, the milongas from the later period are very fast. For that reason they might not  be appreciated by some less experienced dancers. Milongas sung by Carlos Roldan are very good, playful but not very easy to dance. Quite many times I have seen dancers (even pretty advanced ones) leaving the dance floor in the middle of tanda.

So you'll probably need to be a bit more careful while playing the later milongas of Canaro, but still they should be in the repertoire of every DJ. There are lots of great songs to choose from.

Song examples:

Reliquias Porteñas, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Instrumental, 1938
Bailan Javier Rodriguez - Geraldine Rojas
Bailan Javier Rodriguez - Andrea Missè
Bailan Sebastian Jimenez - Maria Ines Bogado
Bailan Fabian Peralta - Virginia Pandolfi

La milonga de mis tiempos, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Instrumental, 1938, Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes
Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes, Version 2

Mi Buenos Aires, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canata Ernesto Fama, 1938

Milonga Brava, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Roberto Maida, Bailan Pablo Noelia
Bailan Sebastian Achaval - Roxana Suarez

La Milonga de Buenos Aires, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Ernesto Fama, 1939
Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes

No hay tierra como la mía, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Ernesto Fama, 1939

Parque Patricios, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Ernesto Fama, 1940

Caran Can Fu, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Carlos Roldan, 1941, Bailan Oscar Mandagaran - Georgina Vargas

Serenata, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Carlos Roldan, 1944

La Naranja Nacio Verde, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Cantan Carlos Roldan, Hector Castel, 1944

Se Dice De Mi, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Carlos Roldan, 1943

Arrabalero, Orquesta Quinteto Pirincho, 1950, Bailan Horacio Godoy - Cecilia Garcia

Juan d'Arienzo - Tango Revolution

Orchestra: Juan d'Arienzo

Singers: Alberto Echagüe, Enrique Carbel, Instrumental

Period: 1935-1939

When you read about d'Arienzo, you might come across phrases like:"he returned music to the dancers", "he revolutionized tango music", "with d'Arienzo new era in tango music starts ", etc... I am not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that the people who wrote those statements, knew well what they were talking about :)

What I know for certain is that in 1935 something significant happened. When I go through my music collection in chronological order I have a feeling that all of the music before 1935 is somehow similar. That obviously does not mean that until that time nothing interesting was happening in the tango music scene. Lots of great orchestras were recording, each one with a particular style (especially Fresedo with his “Hollywood flavour"). But when I listen to the first recordings of d'Arienzo from 1935 they stand out significantly. Something has changed. It's like a breath of fresh air... There’s not point in writing much more. Just listen and judge yourself.

It's important to mention that Rodolfo Biagi was a pianist in d'Arienzo’s orchestra at that time (1935-1938). He did significantly contribute to the new, unique style.

DJ:

The D'Arienzo from the 1930ies is nearly a MUST for every milonga. The recordings are very rhythmical and easy to dance. No matter what time played, a tanda of songs from that period will surely bring most of the dancers to the dance floor.

Alberto Echagüe was the main singer of the orchestra in the 1930ies. Enrique Carbel has recorded only one song: Paciencia. Only one song, but a great one. Another singer from that time was Walter Cabral: he did not record any tangos, but rather a few valses and a milonga.

Song examples:

9 de Julio, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Instrumental, 1935

El Flete, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Instrumental, 1936
Bailan Octavio Fernandez - Corina Herrera
Bailan Chicho - Juana Sepulvera
Bailan Federico Naveira - Ines Muzzopappa

Ataniche, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Instrumental, 1936
Bailan Federico Naveira - Ines Muzzopappa

Paciencia, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Canta Enrique Carbel, 1937

Pensalo Bien, Orquesta Juan d'Arinezo, Canta Alberto Echagüe, 1938
Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes
Bailan Pablo Veron - Teresa Cunha
Bailan Oscar Casas - Mary Ann Casas, Osky Casas - Luisa Pasierkowska

Nada Mas, Orquesta Juan d'Arinezo, Canta Alberto Echagüe, 1938

La Bruja, Orquesta Juan d'Arinezo, Canta Alberto Echagüe, 1938
Bailan Nestor Ray - Patricia Garcia

No Mientas, Orquesta Juan d'Arinezo, Canta Alberto Echagüe, 1938