Adios Nonino Archive

Astor Piazzolla – Tanguisimo (9 CD set of early tango recordings involving Piazzolla) – Chant du Monde

by John Sunier | Feb 14, 2013 | Pop/Rock/World CD Reviews

Astor Piazzolla – Tanguisimo (9 CD set of early tango recordings involving Piazzolla) – Chant du Monde 574 2200 07 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ***: Piazzolla (who I was lucky enough to hear in person prior to his death in 1992) was the second real icon in Argentine tango music alongside Carlos Gardel. He raised tango to the ranks of classical music without causing it to lose any of its force and character. His shaking-up of tango’s musical codes seemed sacrilege to the older generation, but was a needed revolution to those who wanted modernity. He was a virtuoso performer with a mastery of his instrument—the large-button bandoneon—noted for its unwieldy size and difficult fingering. I was greatly excited to see this compendium of Piazzolla’s recordings from 1945 thru 1961, which was subtitled “The birth of a revolution.” But I found listening to all nine CDs eventually was a bust. Aside from one track of Piazzolla’s lovely “Adios Nonino,” and a few of pseudo jazz on discs 6 & 7, the collection is mostly standard tangos of the time and towards the end some really embarrassing pop numbers recorded in the U.S. when Piazzolla was forced to do arrangements and orchestrations […]