Customer Reviews

Astor Piazzolla Reunion: A Tango Excursion

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Astor Piazzolla - genius who transcended his Tango roots to create some of the most beautiful music of the 20th Century
Gary Burton - jazz innovator who brought his instrument - the vibes - to another level of virtuosity and nurtured some great musicians such as Pat Metheny.

Both undeniably great musical contributors but how do they work together?

Well, in a nutshell - Brilliantly! This release is testament to the shared sensibilities of Burton and Piazzolla. Before his death Piazzolla did work with Burton (hence the "Reunion" in the title) and it is clear that Burton understands the material well.

Speaking of material - many of Piazzollas best are included here and Burton and his team do them justice and then some. The vibes works surprisingly well for this material and full marks to Burton for his feel and overall musicianship in putting this music across with the delicacy and fire required - the darkness and light which is the essence of Piazzollas music.

Hugely recommended.

I've owned this CD for several years now, but never gave it a serious listen until just the other day. What I heard astounded me! Gary Burton has not only assembled some of the finest tango musicians in Argentina to produce this CD with him, he has managed to select a playlist of some of what I consider to be Piazzolla's finest work: Tanguedia, Triunfal, Soledad, Revirado, Decarisimo, and Concierto Para Quinteto, among others. Many of the musicians have a long history working with one another and with Piazzolla, so every note seems to spring forth effortlessly. Though one does not often associate the vibes with tango, Burton manages to work them in unobtrusively and seem a natural part of the musical flow. His vibes shine especially on Biyuya, Caliente, Tanguedia, and Concierto Para Quinteto. On Soledad, the lead of the bandoneon is skillfully replaced by Burton's vibes. The CD is so good that it often seems like Piazzolla himself is performing. For the love of Astor, Burton's ensemble offers more than an hour of spectacular music. If you love Astor as well, it behooves you to add this CD to your collection.

For this album (recorded in 1998, after Piazzolla's death), Gary Burton assembled a high quality line-up of tango musicians including three members of Piazzolla's quintet - Fernando Suarez Paz (violin), Hector Console (bass) and Horacio Malvacino (guitar). The results, sometimes intriguing, are not bad, but never as good as the man himself.

If you are looking for the Burton/Piazzolla album from 1995 it's called "New Tango"