Osvaldo Pugliese - Overview

Osvaldo Pugliese was one of musicians that have revolutionized tango music. By quite many tango dancers Pugliese’s creation is identified mostly with some stage tango songs (e.g. La Yumba, Gallo Ciego, Nochero Soy, etc..). This is a big simplification and not the best way of looking at the topic. It is fact that many of Pugliese’s songs are great for shows and dancing choreographies. But there is much more than the “stage Pugliese”. I personally love the most his first recordings from 1940ies – instrumentals and with Roberto Chanel. There are also lots of interesting songs from 50ies, 60ies and even 70ies. We will discover all that in the next posts of this blog.

For detailed biographical and discographical information please go to:
Todo Tango - Osvaldo Pugliese

Edgardo Donato, Horacio Lagos

Orchestra: Edgardo Donato

Singer(s): Horacio Lagos

Period: 1935–1942

Comment:

As a dancer I love songs by Donato and Lagos. They are very rhythmic and easy to dance. When you listen carefully you will notice that the songs from early period are slightly different from the later ones. In my opinion the early songs are more playful and happier. The difference is not as clear as in case of di Sarli (1939-1941 vs 1942 and later), but I think there is something in it. Does it mean that the musicians were "growing up"? Let's see if we find similar examples from other orchestras later on...


DJ:

Edgardo Donato with Horacio Lagos: I think that most dancers love their songs and the dance floor is always pretty full.

I feel like I am repeating myself...I have written similar comments about most other orchestras and singers that have appeared in the blog so far. I can promise you that it will not continue forever. In some time I will start writing about less popular orchestras and more sophisticated songs.

If you want to finish your milonga and send the dancers home in good moods, Donato is one of the best choices for the last tanda...

Song examples:

Hay que acomodarse, Orquesta Edgardo Donato, Canta Horacio Lagos, 1935

Me Voy A Baraja, Orquesta Edgardo Donato, Canta Horacio Lagos, 1936
Bailan Alex Krebs - Luciana Valle
Bailan Fernando Sánchez - Ariadna Naveira

Se Va La Vida, Orquesta Edgardo Donato, Canta Horacio Lagos, 1936

Gato, Orquesta Edgardo Donato, Canta Horacio Lagos, 1937

El Adios, Orquesta Edgardo Donato, Canta Horacio Lagos, 1938
Bailan Gustavo Naveira - Giselle Anne
Bailan Osvaldo - Coca
Bailan Dante Sanches - Angelica Avalos

Alas Rotas, Orquesta Edgardo Donato, Canta Horacio Lagos, 1938

A Oscuras, Orquesta Edgardo Donato, Canta Horacio Lagos, 1941
Bailan Pablo Inza - Yamila Ivonne

Edgardo Donato - Overview

The time has come: Edgardo Donato. All tango dancers know many songs of this orchestra very well. Every time I can hear first few beats of any of Donato's song, I can feel some positive energy and I always want to go immediately to the dance floor.

The discography of Edgardo Donato is very rich, but what we usually hear in milongas covers only small part of it (some instrumentals and songs with Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales, Romeo Gaviolli). I will try to help you discover much more than the basics. But I will start with the most famous and the best part...


For detailed biographical and discographical information please go to:
Todo Tango - Edgardo Donato

Carlos di Sarli, Alberto Podestá

Orchestra: Carlos di Sarli

Singer(s): Alberto Podestá

Period: 1942–1944, 1947

Comment:

We are in 1942. From the previous 2 chapters about di Sarli (Roberto Rufino & Instrumentals 40ies) we know that the music is now slower and more lyrical. For me the voice of Alberto Podesta make the songs very romantic. In my opinion we, dancers in Europe, listen too much to the rhythm and too little to the melody while dancing. Di Sarli with Podesta is a great example of music to listen to the melody. Let's try to slow down more, connect to our dance partner and experience the strong emotion the music can bring us.

DJ:
In 1944 Podesta stopped recording with di Sarli to be back in 1947. It might be not obvious immediately, but the songs from 1947 are quite different from those recorded earlier. There are only 5 tangos recorded in that year (La canción más triste, Por el camino, Soy aquel viajero, Dinero, dinero, Dejame No Quiero Verte Mas). They are less frequently played and in my opinion a little bit more difficult to dance. I would keep them for the moments when we have better dancers on the floor.


Song examples:

Junto A Tu Corazón, Orquesta Carlos di Sarli, Canta Alberto Podestá, 1942
Bailan Sebastian Jimenez - Maria Ines Bogado
Bailan Pablo Rodriguez - Noelia Hurtado

Nido Gaucho, Orquesta Carlos di Sarli, Canta Alberto Podestá, 1942

Lloran las campanas, Orquesta Carlos di Sarli, Canta Alberto Podestá, 1944

Nada, Orquesta Carlos di Sarli, Canta Alberto Podestá, 1944
Bailan Finalistas de Mundial de Tango

La Capilla Blanca, Orquesta Carlos di Sarli, Canta Alberto Podestá, 1944

Dejame No Quiero Verte Mas, Orquesta Carlos di Sarli, Canta Alberto Podestá, 1947

Juan d'Arienzo, Osvaldo Ramos

Orchestra: Juan d'Arienzo

Singer(s): Osvaldo Ramos


Period: 1965–1974

Comment:

By far Osvaldo Ramos is not the most important singer recording with Juan d'Arienzo. Nevertheless I wanted to share it in a separate chapter because I like a lot some of their songs. And there are some really nice performances online. Enjoy :)


DJ:
There are not too many songs recorded by Ramos with d'Arienzo. The energy of several of them is amazing. If you play them in right moment, it can be  the best part of the milonga... Not that we are talking here about 60ies and 70ies, which is much later than the majority of classical tango music played in milongas. For me it still sounds good and can be played even in quite "conservative" milongas. There are not many other orchestras from that period about which I could say the same .


Song examples:

Mi Dolor, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Canta Osvaldo Ramos, 1972, Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes

Sentimiento Gaucho, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Canta Osvaldo Ramos, Bailan Sebastian Jiménez - Maria Inés Bogado

Dimelo Al Oido, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Canta Osvaldo Ramos, 1974

Remembranzas, Orquesta Juan d'Arienzo, Canta Osvaldo Ramos, TV recording

Juan d'Arienzo - Overview

The orchestra of Juan d'Arienzo is one of the most important (if not the most important) in the tango music history. I'm pretty sure that very few people would disagree with it. As per music survey I have carried out in February 2012, Juan d'Arienzo is the most frequently played orquesta in Buenos Aires (considering tango, milonga and vals all together).

D'Arienzo recored with many singers, but in my opinion there are 2 big names: Alberto Echagüe and Hector Maure. We can obviously find a lot of good songs recorded with other singers, but in general they are less interesting and for that reason they are not so frequently played in milongas.

Concerning instrumental recordings: in my opinion in all periods (1935 till 1975) we can find very good songs that can be played in milongas.

In the history of tango music you will not find many orchestras that would have a great selection of tangos, valses and milongas. D’Arienzo is certainly one of them. All 3 genres are play frequently in milongas both in Buenos Aires and Europe. Other orchestras that have wide selection of danceable and popular tangos, valses and milongas are Francisco Canaro, Anibal Troilo, Edgardo Donato.

The big entrance of d'Arienzo happened in 1935. But he did record quite may songs before that, in 1928. Between the singers at that time we had Carlos Dante and Francisco Fiorentino (that will become famous with other orchestras later on). From dancing and dj-ing perspective songs from that period are not really interesting.

Click the link below if you want to see the timeline of d'Arienzo's orquesta with the musicians set-up in different periods.
D’Arienzo – Orchestra’s Members

For detailed biographical information please go to:
Todo Tango - Juan d'Arienzo

For the best discographical information please go to:
Discography of Juan d'Arienzo

Adolfo Carabelli

Orchestra: Adolfo Carabelli

Singer(s): Alberto Gómez, Charlo, Carlos Lafuente, Luis Díaz, Instrumental


Period: 1930–1934

Comment:

The name of Adolfo Carabelli is not so widely known between tango dancers. Yet his orchestra brings us the best songs from Guardia Vieja period and is very frequently played in milongas. They are great for beginners (easy, rhythmical, not too fast) but also for advanced dancers (generally playful, but sometimes quite romantic, lyrical).


DJ:
There were hundreds of orchestras playing Guardia Vieja style. If you invest some time (and money) you can discover lots of less popular recordings with very good quality of sound and great for playing in milongas. You can do it... Alternatively you can stick to the most known and popular names. Dancers in your milongas will be probably happy with both solutions. In the first case they enjoy new, unknown yet easy to dance songs (just don't experiment too much :). If you decide to stay with the most popular names, your dancers will enjoy the comfort of dancing to the songs they know well and like. This comfort will allow them discover new opportunities in their dance, be more relaxed, play more, have more fun from the dance... If we talk about the popular or big names of Guardia Vieja: 2 orquestas will always come up: Adolfo Carabelli and Orquesta Típica Victor (whose director for some years was..... Adolfo Carabelli).


For detailed biographical and discographical information please go to:
Todo Tango - Adolfo Carabelli


Song examples:

Alma, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Canta Alberto Gomez, 1932
Bailan Federico Naveira - Inés Muzzopappa

Por Que?, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Canta Alberto Gomez, 1932, Bailan Pablo Inza - Eugenia Parilla

Olvidao, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Canta Charlo, 1932

Cuatro Palabras, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Canta Charlo, 1933, Bailan Murat Erdemsel - Michelle Erdemsel

Mentira, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Canta Carlos Lafuente, 1931

El Pensamiento, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Canta Carlos Lafuente, 1932

Felicia, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Instrumental, 1932

El Cabure, Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli, Instrumental 1933