Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Raul Garello Sextet at Velma Café
Saturday, February 17, 2007
When one has the chance, it is always worth it to go see Raul Garello. If not exactly a “grande” of the genre, he is one of the few players to have made significant contributions to tango in its heyday that is still around and very active. A bandoneón player in the post-Piazzolla lineage, Garello spent many years in the orchestra of Anibal Triolo, contributing both original compositions and arrangements to the group in the 60s and 70s. These days, he can most commonly be seen leading up the city government’s official tango orchestra, a large ensemble that is legally charged with providing porteños with a season of free tango concerts. It is a large group, whose stylistic orientation draws the work of 1970s groups like the Salsoul Orchestra to mind, but tango. Again: always worth it!
This night, Garello had put together a sextet of bandoneón, piano, acoustic bass guitar, violin, flute and drum kit. That relatively unorthodox instrumentation alone—especially the snare-less, double tom-tom drum set—tells you exactly where the band is coming from: the so-called “modern” tango as made famous by Piazzolla. Despite this instrumentation, the band interestingly concentrated on more “classic” repertoire such as Triolo’s “Che bandoneón” and “Como dos extraños.” The latter was sung by guest singer Jesus Hidalgo, who looked like he could not be more than 18 years old, which, when placed alongside his septuagenarian band mates, made his low, husky voice look and sound almost uncanny. I also enjoyed the work of drummer Jose Maria Lavandera very much. Though having drums in tango can often come off as awkward, Lavandera, in the Piazzolla style, brought a surgical precision to his crashing tom-tom rolls and complex cymbal work.
As a whole the concert was very enjoyable, if not rousing. Hearing tango in this style reminds me of looking at high-modernist architecture, both being at once futuristic and old fashioned, relentlessly visionary and hopelessly dated. It was one of the few times here where I have been self consciously aware of being young. That feeling was only amplified by the environment of the Velma Café, a new venue that has become important in the local tango music scene following the abrupt closing of the Club del Vino last August. While the cool professionalism that the Velma Café strives for and largely achieves needs to be applauded, the venue as a whole feels like it could or even should be in a place like suburban Maryland. Since I am American, I of course could be criticized for taking the kind of “first worldliness” one can experience at the Velma Café for granted. That said, for me, the place, like the concert, was enjoyable if not rousing.
Related Links
www.velmacafe.com.ar
When one has the chance, it is always worth it to go see Raul Garello. If not exactly a “grande” of the genre, he is one of the few players to have made significant contributions to tango in its heyday that is still around and very active. A bandoneón player in the post-Piazzolla lineage, Garello spent many years in the orchestra of Anibal Triolo, contributing both original compositions and arrangements to the group in the 60s and 70s. These days, he can most commonly be seen leading up the city government’s official tango orchestra, a large ensemble that is legally charged with providing porteños with a season of free tango concerts. It is a large group, whose stylistic orientation draws the work of 1970s groups like the Salsoul Orchestra to mind, but tango. Again: always worth it!
This night, Garello had put together a sextet of bandoneón, piano, acoustic bass guitar, violin, flute and drum kit. That relatively unorthodox instrumentation alone—especially the snare-less, double tom-tom drum set—tells you exactly where the band is coming from: the so-called “modern” tango as made famous by Piazzolla. Despite this instrumentation, the band interestingly concentrated on more “classic” repertoire such as Triolo’s “Che bandoneón” and “Como dos extraños.” The latter was sung by guest singer Jesus Hidalgo, who looked like he could not be more than 18 years old, which, when placed alongside his septuagenarian band mates, made his low, husky voice look and sound almost uncanny. I also enjoyed the work of drummer Jose Maria Lavandera very much. Though having drums in tango can often come off as awkward, Lavandera, in the Piazzolla style, brought a surgical precision to his crashing tom-tom rolls and complex cymbal work.
As a whole the concert was very enjoyable, if not rousing. Hearing tango in this style reminds me of looking at high-modernist architecture, both being at once futuristic and old fashioned, relentlessly visionary and hopelessly dated. It was one of the few times here where I have been self consciously aware of being young. That feeling was only amplified by the environment of the Velma Café, a new venue that has become important in the local tango music scene following the abrupt closing of the Club del Vino last August. While the cool professionalism that the Velma Café strives for and largely achieves needs to be applauded, the venue as a whole feels like it could or even should be in a place like suburban Maryland. Since I am American, I of course could be criticized for taking the kind of “first worldliness” one can experience at the Velma Café for granted. That said, for me, the place, like the concert, was enjoyable if not rousing.
Related Links
www.velmacafe.com.ar
