Astor Piazzolla???????

Question

anybody familiar?

I picked up "Luna" from the library based on the cover the other day because my girlfriend plays the accordion and is always looking for accordion players to get ideas from. i was expecting a predictable tango album and was surprised by some inventive jazz, often experimental with a frequently dark and disonant tone that one would not expect from a tango.

for those not familiar, the theme to the movie 12 monkeys is based off one of his compositions.

anybody know anything about this guy? any opinions on him? any favorite albums or recomendations if i decided i want to hear another album?

Answer 1

Yeah, I picked up that album just because of the cover too. I saw it at the store when it was brand new. I was going through a phase of just buying music from the "world" section (not knowing about jazz yet) and wanting music with substance.

At the time, I had no reference materials/websites to investigate various albums. Not knowing ANY of the world musicians, the album covers were pretty much the only thing to choose by. Of course, this album was chosen.

My copy got lost somewhere along the way, but I remember it being a great album. I also remember the linear notes telling a story about how the tango was such a strictly practiced tradition and because of his avant garde style people tried to assassinate him during a radio interview.

My library has Zero Hour which I like a lot. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg...

Gotta love a guy like Astor.

Answer 2

"The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night." check it out. it's a bloody masterpiece...

Answer 3

Astor Piazzolla was the renewer of classical tango music. Tango music, for the argentinian people, was nothing more than a dance music until the 1950s. Then Piazzolla came and put this music into "music to listen to." - He improvised a lot, even in all his studio recordings. He recorded with Gary Burton (a celestial masterpiece, recorded in Montreux, I guess) and with Gerry Mulligan as well (Tango Nuevo, also a highlight).  His most known piece is called "Adios Nonino". --- By the way: The bandoneon is one of the instruments that are very hard to play. And I mean VERY hard. --- You also can check out the classical stuff that Piazzolla wrote (Concierto For Bandoneon a.o.)