Customer Reviews

Two Argentinians in Paris

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Those who are fans of both Lalo Schifrin and Astor Piazzolla should be delighted by this reissue of important early works. The tunes here were originally on separate albums by their respective artists and have been long out of print until the issue of this BMG compilation.

The first eight songs are by Lalo Schifrin and they show the listener both his piano virtuosity and his already strong skills as an arranger. I recognize many of these songs having heard them done by other artists in my father's record collection. Though the "tropical" sound may seem dated and quaint to modern ears, several listens will show you just how far advanced Schifrin was for his time. Jack del Rio's Latin percussion work is just outstanding across the board! The booklet says that Schifrin is embarrassed by the title of the album on which these songs were originally available, and so they have been omitted from his discography and from previous compilations. Once you hear them, you will be perplexed by his embarrassment.

The last eight songs are from an Astor Piazzolla recording session in Paris done the same year (1955) as the Schifrin sessions. They are available with other songs from the Paris sessions on another CD called Paris 1955 that I own and which can be obtained from the French music publisher that owns its rights. These were done at a time when Piazzolla was getting away from the traditional "orquesta tipica" that dominated the Argentine tango scene and began blending his tango with classical and jazz elements. The results here are nothing short of spectacular. Never before and never since had Piazzolla made a recording of such dazzling beauty! I am a fan of most of what Piazzolla did in his career, but these timeless compositions remain among my favorites. If you are a Piazzolla fan who hasn't yet heard these obscure and admittedly hard to find recordings, then your understanding of Piazzolla's music and career cannot yet be fully developed.

With the CD comes a booklet in French and English. Though it is very informative, the French portion is much more thorough in its commentary.

After listening, I find it hard to believe that this great music is already more than 50 years old. Order Two Argentinians In Paris today and you will hear what I am writing about.

Lalo and Astor in Paris 1955. Both were still students. It's hard to imagine these two maestros as students, but for testimony, the liner notes have a photograph of Lalo at the Conservatoire Metro stop. They apparently met, their paths crossed, but alas, they do not cross on this album. Apparently they did not record together, and as the French say, quel dommage.

For Lalo, this music dropped out of sight altogether and we are indebted to original vogue masters for bringing it back. Even on the Old Standards (Moulin Rouge, Mon Homme)you can hear a distinctive Lalo intonation here and there, and the Fascination is just terrific. The music is lively, pleasing, romantic, and here and there, you can hear some of the Height of Cool that Lalo's music later became. Astor here is the more interesting. His work is all over the place. There are pieces here, this early that only be Astor. And there are pieces where he sounds like a very good Nino Rota knockoff. (A compliment.) But not Astor.

The excellent liner notes give a good notion of how their Paris years helped to form them as musicians. For Astor, however, it may well be what he did not take from Paris that helped to form him. An anecdote in the liner notes tells how the legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger listened to some lovely classical pieces he had written and remarked: "Where is Astor in that?" Later Astor is absolutely imbued in all his music--even when other people play it. And there are pieces here that there's no doubt, 1955 or not who this is. For myself, as an Astor fanatic, this is the earliest Astor I have heard recorded, and a treasure for that. But what I like best is to imagine these two crossing paths in Paris, having a drink together, even playing together. Now that would be something to hear! One would become synonymous with Cool. One would break our hearts forever.