[Tango-L] More on Live Music vs. Recorded Classics from a Musician's Perspective

[Barnes, Bob]

Hi-

My name is Bob Barnes and I'm the bandleader/accordionist/bandoneonist for the Mandrágora Tango Orchestra in Minneapolis (http://www.mandragoratango.com <http://www.mandragoratango.com/> ). We've been playing a Sunday night Milonga for about 4.5 years and have only begun to scratch the surface on learning what is "real tango".  We get 40-80 dancers every Sunday, and quite a few listeners as well. 

I wanted to make some more observations on live music vs. recorded classics:

1) Almost all Tango is played off of musical arrangements, like classical music. Getting good arrangements outside of Argentina is extremely difficult.  Most bands make their own and protect them jealously.   Most of what is available for purchase is for Orquesta Tipica (4 bandos, 4 violins, piano, bass), Sextet (2 bandos, 2 violin, piano, bass) or "Piazzolla Quintet" (bando, violin, guitar, piano, bass).  Unless your band is one of these formations, you will probably have to make your own arrangements.  This is huge barrier to entry for a lot of Tango bands.  Many bands play in a style called "a la parrilla" ("on the grill"), which is closer to how jazz players play: the sheet music has the melody and some chords and the band fills in the rest.  It is a lot easier to start a band and play this way, but it may not sound as authentic (at first).  Our band started out playing this way, but we hit a plateau and started the long process of converting to written arrangements.

2) Live music draws in newcomers. We (half-jokingly) call ourselves "Ambassadors of Tango". In addition to our weekly milonga, we play a lot of music festivals, concerts in the parks, operas, weddings, parties, mitzvahs, etc... Sometime our dancer friends join us and show off their moves to "civilians".   I can't count the times that a dancer has told me "I saw your band at ... and I decided that I wanted to learn how to tango".   

3) Some people simply prefer live music, even at the cost of authenticity.  I also know many great dancers who prefer recorded classics.  Luckily, the Minneapolis tango scene is big enough for both groups to co-exist.  Live music, authentic or not, creates an event that draws in people.  Like it or not, an event with a band is perceived as a bigger deal than one with recorded music.  Bars and promoters hire bands that can bring in people (and get them buying meals and drinks).  This is no different today than it was in Buenos Aires in the Epoca de Oro. Luckily, my band consistently draws enough people (and sells enough drinks) to keep us working every week.  There are also "fidelity snobs" who can't get past the surface noise of a classic tango to enjoy it.  They are missing out on some of the greatest gems of tango and are cutting themselves off from a more "authentic" experince.  More than one person has told me that they prefer to dance to our band live than to the old recordings at other milongas.  I cringe when I hear that (but then, I've never actually danced to my own band).  

4) Almost all the non-Argentine-born tango musicians I know got in to tango via Astor Piazzolla.  They heard a CD, got hooked and realized they wanted to play like that.  (Piazzolla's "Tango Hour Zero" album did it for me.)  My band plays a lot of Piazzolla in concert, but significantly less for Milongas.  Likewise, we seldom play our D'Arienzo transcriptions in concert.   When a band only knows Piazzolla, they will play it more.  You may wish to encourage fledgling bands to look up Piazzolla's roots and influences.   Name a good tango or two.  Make them a CD.  Offer to DJ during their breaks.  Find them some sheet music.  (http://www.mandragoratango.com/sheetmusic/MandragoraBook20040121.pdf is a good place to start).  

When I founded my band, I just wanted to play Piazzolla and Troilo.  I had no idea that people danced to the tango.  I was as crazy for the music as some folks on this list are about dance.   Mandrágora started playing for dances and we started the process of discovering what works and what doesn't.  I had one dancer tell me that tango can only be done to CDs and that I was wasting my time.  Luckily, other dancers encouraged us by telling us what works and what doesn't (and by dancing week after week!)  Let your local band know what your favorite tunes and and they might just play them more and learn some similar ones.  After all, they are fellow tango fans who have simply chosen a different path through tango music! 
 
PS: We try to follow a tanda playlist.  We group tangos, vals, and milonga based on things like composer, era, tempo, and the típica from which we've lifted the arrangement.  We tried doing our own cortinas, but that turned out to be kinda silly.
 
Bob Barnes
Accordionist/Bandoneonist/Bandleader/Arranger
Mandrágora Tango Orchestra
Email: info at mandragoratango.com
Web: http://www.mandragoratango.com/