The London Tango Quintet (from left: Miloš Milivojević, Richard Pryce, Craig Ogden, David Juritz, David Gordon): Playing with spontaneity and freedom while shaping the music beautifully. (Photo: Olivia Wild)
By Robert Hugill
DANCING WITH PIAZZOLLA
London Tango Quintet
AWAL
Available online from Untuned Sky
Founded by violinist David Juritz in 2007, the London Tango Quintet brings together David Juritz (violin), Craig Ogden (guitar), Miloš Milivojević (accordion), David Gordon (piano) and Richard Pryce (double bass), a striking lineup of musicians with backgrounds stretching from jazz to classical and beyond, linked by their love of tango. Dancing with Piazzolla is the ensemble’s debut disc and features six tracks by Piazzolla alongside other tango classics and two new pieces by the ensemble’s keyboard player, David Gordon.
What strikes you on first listen to the disc is the high level of musicianship and the care the players take of the music. There is spontaneity and freedom here, but also a sense of the music being beautifully shaped. The way the five musicians interact is also profoundly enjoyable; you sense that this is a well-established ensemble and despite some of the musician’s classical backgrounds, there is improvisatory freedom.
‘Oblivion,’ by Astor Piazzolla, performed by the London Tango Quintet, featured on Dancing With Piazzolla
‘Bebop Tango,’ by London Tango Quintet pianist David Gordon, as heard on Dancing With Piazzolla
We begin with the easygoing sophistication of Piazzolla’s “Milonga del ángel,” whilst “Oblivion” has an element of dark seduction to it which, along with complexities of texture, takes the music well out of a typical Argentinian night-club. This is not down and dirty Piazzolla; rather, it is sophisticated and highly musically literate. “La muerte del ángel” is sharp and edgy in its rhythms with nervous energy, whereas “Resurrección del ángel” is a return to the cool and mellow. “Michelangelo ’70” is all crisp excitement and motor rhythms, an upbeat precursor to the captivating, ruminative conversation between Gordon’s piano and Milivojević’s accordion on “Soledad,” creating a noir-ish ambience heightened when Juritz enters with a violin solo teetering between tears and ebullience.
‘Michelangelo ’70,’ by Astor Piazzolla, performed by the London Tango Quintet, from Dancing With Piazzolla
‘Resurrección del ángel,’ by Astor Piazzolla, performed by the London Tango Quintet, from Dancing With Piazzolla
‘Ilusión de mi vida,’ by Feliciano Brunelli, performed by the London Tango Quintet, from Dancing With Piazzolla
David Gordon’s two items, “Bebop Tango” and “Milonga de mis amigos virtuales” both enjoyably work in more modern influences. Both are up tempo and engagingly jazz-inspired. I have to confess myself less familiar with the other works on the disc, though they are tango classics. Horacio Salgán’s “A Don Agustín Bardi” has a period elegance to it whilst the others move between the pizzazz of Agustín Bardi’s “Gallo ciego” and the toe tapping “La puñalada” by Pintín Castellanos to the period style of Enrique Delfino’s “Bélgica.”
There will still be a place in my heart for Piazzolla played on an ensemble based around a bandoneon that gives you a real feel of the dark heart of the music, but this disc brings a mutual love of the genre together with superb musicianship and a sense of engagement that really draws you in.
Tracks & Composers:
“Milonga del ángel,” Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
“Gallo ciego,” Agustín Bardi (1884-1941)
“La puñalada,” Pintín Castellanos (1905-1983)
“Oblivion,” Astor Piazzolla
“Bebop Tango,” David Gordon
“A Don Agustín Bardi,” Horacio Salgán (1916-2016)
“La muerte del ángel,” Astor Piazzolla
“Resurrección del ángel,” Astor Piazzolla
“Milonga de mis amigos virtuales,” David Gordon
“Quejas de bandoneón,” Juan de Dios Filiberto (1885-1964)
“Michelangelo ’70,” Astor Piazzolla
“Soledad,” Astor Piazzolla
“Bélgica,” Enrique Delfino (1895-1967)
‘Ilusión de mi vida,” Feliciano Brunelli (1903-1981)
“La cumparsita,” Gerardo Matos Rodríguez (1887-1948)
Reviews published here by permission of Robert Hugill at Planet Hugill (www.planethugill.com), a singer, composer, journalist, lover of opera and all things Handel. To receive Robert’s lively “This month on Planet Hugill” e-newsletter, sign up on his Mailing List. Robert Hugill photo by Robert Piwko. Mr.Hugill’s review of Dancing With Piazzolla was published at Planet Hugill on 1March 2024.
