Tangos Argentinos

I Salonisti is a classical music ensemble, who, like YoYo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, and other classical artists, felt compelled to release an album of tango music. As a classical music buff, I decided to find out why. So I listened to this album, and like millions of hapless others, became hopelessly and forever hooked on things "tango" -- tango music, tango books, bandoneons, street maps of Buenos Aires, etc. Seriously, this album is a wonderful compilation of tango music because it gives the novice a broad sampling of music from different periods. From tango standards such as 'La Cumparsita' and 'Uno' to the more rhythmically interesting (yet danceable) works of Horacio Salgan ("A Fuego Lento" and "Don Agustin Bardi") to Astor Piazzolla's "nuevo tango", exemplified by the last track on the album, "Contrabajissimo". Which brings up the never-ending brouhaha about Piazzolla's music and its lack of "danceability". First of all, the majority of tracks on this album are not by Piazzolla, and a couple of those that are, such as "Rio Sena", are very danceable. So if you buy the album to actually dance the dance, you'll have an ample supply of music, even if you skip all of Piazzolla's music. But more importantly, tango dancers need to keep in mind that Piazzolla was first and foremost a musician, not a choreographer. When a musician writes music, he or she intends for it to be listened to. If you care to dance to it, fine. But to reject Piazzolla's music because you can't dance to it is like throwing away a Picasso because it doesn't match your living room decor. This album affords the perfect opportunity for such persons to toss their dance shoes in the corner, sit back, and actually listen to his music -- maybe for the first time. Overall, this album should please any lover of tango music. The musicianship is first rate and the production quality is high.