Monday, February 26, 2007
Escalandrum and Pablo Ziegler Trío at the IX Buenos Aires Tango Festival
Sunday, February 25, 2007
This was jazz and tango night at the festival, and I have to say, given the eclecticism of the groups I had heard the night before, that I am impressed with the broad understanding of contemporary tango that the producers of the festival obviously brought to the table when making their booking decisions.
Escalandrum is a jazz sextet led by drummer Daniel “Pipi” Piazzolla, Astor’s grandson. They are one of the key groups among what is by now a large, well established, and highly organized local jazz scene here in Buenos Aires. I don’t make a point of keeping up with the jazz scene here, partially because aside from a few players like pianist Adirán Iaies I have not really liked a lot of what I have heard, either live or on disc. Call me a jazz snob, I probably deserve it, but this was very much the case the first and last time I heard Escalandrum play at a local club, which was over two years ago now. Bringing my preexisting doubts to this concert, I was happy and, I hate to say, surprised to hear how much better this group has gotten since the last time I heard them. Piazzolla’s drumming has gotten much more subtle, and the group’s pianist, whose name I don’t know, played several compelling solos. The group’s original compositions and arrangements are also much more diverse and robust than before. While they don’t depart too far from modern jazz a la Miles Davis’s quintet with Wayne Shorter et al, they have something to say and they say it. The band did indulge in a few moments of nearly arrhythmic fluff, which seems to be popular among jazz players here, and the three saxophone horn section seems a little limited, but all in all I was quite impressed and think I need to get over myself and go hear more local jazz.
The real draw of the night was pianist Pablo Ziegler, who now lives (I think) in New York and makes relatively infrequent appearances here in Buenos Aires. Ziegler played with Astor Piazzolla for many years, and is featured on Piazzolla’s quintet recordings on the Nonesuch label that are well known in the US. His performances always incorporate a fair amount of Piazzolla’s music as well as his own original compositions that depart more or less directly from those of his ex-boss. They are punchy, edgy, and extremely virtuosic, making for music that is at times more jaw dropping than really memorable, but always worth seeing. The main difference that Ziegler brings to this modern tango repertoire is jazz-like improvisation, opening up each song for sometimes extended improvised solos. This is interesting to listen to not only for what the musicians have to say with each piece, but because the “swing” of tango, its overall rhythmic feel, is in many ways the exact opposite of that heard in jazz. (Jazz emphasizes the second and fourth beat of the bar, whereas tango emphasizes the first and third, just for starters.)
The band Ziegler featured tonight was a trio of piano, bandoneón, and guitar. The bandoneónist ripped through his charts and solos with blistering speed and precision; the guitarist was all over his instrument but remained calm and collected throughout. Ziegler himself attacked his instrument with his characteristic virtuosity, intensity, and romanticism, which was made more impressive by the fact that it all appeared to be so easy for him that he seemed like he was almost bored at times. I think that bored look, in all honesty, is a characteristic feature of truly great musicianship, if not a truly great musician.
Despite all the fireworks going off on stage, the band seemed to lack an overall driving energy or groove, which I think, like the night before, was due more to the extreme echo of the performance space than the musicians. Especially with a group as subtle as this, and one that lacks a bass player, drummer, or other driving instrument, the sonic muddiness of the room could easily swallow up any musical oomph put out into it. My theory was proved right when Pipi Piazzolla joined the group on drums for a quick rendition of Astor’s hyper-famous “Libertango.” The drums brought the energy up a notch, which could be noted in the more enthusiastic response from the audience during and after that song. I hate to complain about the space so much, because there would be nothing to do about it except not use it, and that, for now, is not a viable option. It is, however, a shame to hear a band as good as this be impeded by their venue.
Related Links
www.mdrrecords.com.ar/ziegler
This was jazz and tango night at the festival, and I have to say, given the eclecticism of the groups I had heard the night before, that I am impressed with the broad understanding of contemporary tango that the producers of the festival obviously brought to the table when making their booking decisions.
Escalandrum is a jazz sextet led by drummer Daniel “Pipi” Piazzolla, Astor’s grandson. They are one of the key groups among what is by now a large, well established, and highly organized local jazz scene here in Buenos Aires. I don’t make a point of keeping up with the jazz scene here, partially because aside from a few players like pianist Adirán Iaies I have not really liked a lot of what I have heard, either live or on disc. Call me a jazz snob, I probably deserve it, but this was very much the case the first and last time I heard Escalandrum play at a local club, which was over two years ago now. Bringing my preexisting doubts to this concert, I was happy and, I hate to say, surprised to hear how much better this group has gotten since the last time I heard them. Piazzolla’s drumming has gotten much more subtle, and the group’s pianist, whose name I don’t know, played several compelling solos. The group’s original compositions and arrangements are also much more diverse and robust than before. While they don’t depart too far from modern jazz a la Miles Davis’s quintet with Wayne Shorter et al, they have something to say and they say it. The band did indulge in a few moments of nearly arrhythmic fluff, which seems to be popular among jazz players here, and the three saxophone horn section seems a little limited, but all in all I was quite impressed and think I need to get over myself and go hear more local jazz.
The real draw of the night was pianist Pablo Ziegler, who now lives (I think) in New York and makes relatively infrequent appearances here in Buenos Aires. Ziegler played with Astor Piazzolla for many years, and is featured on Piazzolla’s quintet recordings on the Nonesuch label that are well known in the US. His performances always incorporate a fair amount of Piazzolla’s music as well as his own original compositions that depart more or less directly from those of his ex-boss. They are punchy, edgy, and extremely virtuosic, making for music that is at times more jaw dropping than really memorable, but always worth seeing. The main difference that Ziegler brings to this modern tango repertoire is jazz-like improvisation, opening up each song for sometimes extended improvised solos. This is interesting to listen to not only for what the musicians have to say with each piece, but because the “swing” of tango, its overall rhythmic feel, is in many ways the exact opposite of that heard in jazz. (Jazz emphasizes the second and fourth beat of the bar, whereas tango emphasizes the first and third, just for starters.)
The band Ziegler featured tonight was a trio of piano, bandoneón, and guitar. The bandoneónist ripped through his charts and solos with blistering speed and precision; the guitarist was all over his instrument but remained calm and collected throughout. Ziegler himself attacked his instrument with his characteristic virtuosity, intensity, and romanticism, which was made more impressive by the fact that it all appeared to be so easy for him that he seemed like he was almost bored at times. I think that bored look, in all honesty, is a characteristic feature of truly great musicianship, if not a truly great musician.
Despite all the fireworks going off on stage, the band seemed to lack an overall driving energy or groove, which I think, like the night before, was due more to the extreme echo of the performance space than the musicians. Especially with a group as subtle as this, and one that lacks a bass player, drummer, or other driving instrument, the sonic muddiness of the room could easily swallow up any musical oomph put out into it. My theory was proved right when Pipi Piazzolla joined the group on drums for a quick rendition of Astor’s hyper-famous “Libertango.” The drums brought the energy up a notch, which could be noted in the more enthusiastic response from the audience during and after that song. I hate to complain about the space so much, because there would be nothing to do about it except not use it, and that, for now, is not a viable option. It is, however, a shame to hear a band as good as this be impeded by their venue.
Related Links
www.mdrrecords.com.ar/ziegler
