This Tango DJ thing seems pretty easy to me...

I overhear a lot of people say this for it seems like a slam dunk gig, show up with your computer, plug it in, bring up your itunes and click "play". What's the big deal about that?

I will write from time to time about how much goes into this tango DJ thing.

When I first started listening to tango music everything seemed pretty straight forward, if I heard a song I liked, I would either buy it from an on line store, a person selling Cd's at some tango event or go to a record store and buy it personally. I would import the Cd to my computer and now, I have the songs at my beckoning for whenever I wanted to play them. I could keep doing this forever, no sweat right?

Then I would buy a Cd that had maybe 3 songs that I didn't have and only copy those that I didn't have into my computer, ignore the rest and go on with my glamorous DJ life.

But then I noticed something, I had made a huge assumption, that all recordings where of the same quality and hence, once I found the song I was looking for I need not look any further. Wrong! Quality of sound varies from record label to record label. So, I started comparing different record labels vs private collectors and boy did the sound vary in so many different ways. Not only the clarity but also the pitch, the amount of "scratchiness" and even the volume. I started looking for the best quality sound that I could find for every particular song that I enjoyed. I started collecting tango "albums" and not just songs and found out a lot about tango music along the way. Later on we can talk about why's about how this happened and a lot of other digital mumbo jumbo but for now I hope to share some of the things to watch out for when purchasing tango music. Remember, tango music is not like regular music today, most of it has been converted from vinyl since a lot of the magnetic master recordings have either been lost or destroyed and when the transference of the music goes to a digital format, a lot could happen. Here are are a few things to look out for.

First rule, be careful of what you buy on line, especially the big music distributors because they could care less about tango and will sell whatever lousy, scratchy copy they have.

Second rule, be careful of buying purchasing so called digitally remastered collections, these can sometimes be worse than the originals.

Also, just be aware that when you purchase a Cd it is no guarantee that the sound will be of high quality. You either have to hunt by trial and error or talk to someone that has already gone through the trial and error process.

Lastly, a lot of the high quality Cd's are now out print and either are impossible to find or come at a very high price.

Wow! What a time consuming and painstaking process and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world for it has brought me closer to the reason that I began dancing tango, because I love the music so much.

When you buy one of my particular tango music collections I try to bring you the best quality sound based on over 10 years of collecting music. When I DJ at a milonga, I try to play the best quality recordings that I have found, if it doesn't have a great sound, then I won't play it. I believe it is not only important the music collection a DJ has when he shows up to play at a milonga but also the sound quality.

As an example, lets compare two Cd's and start with the following Cd, "Cuatro Compases" (EBCD-48), from Ricardo Tanturi from the "El Bandoneon" label which covers some of his best work with the great Alberto Castillo and has one of my favorite tangos, "Al Compas De Un Tango".

Sorry, but do not in any way purchase this Cd, overall, the quality is horrible and there is so much hissing and background noise that it's no wonder I kept listening to Tanturi after being tortured by this sound quality. Don't take my word for it, go listen to it on line and then compare it to the following Tanturi Cd below.

Now let's listen to the "Tanturi-Castillo" (BMG 71371) Cd from the Solo Tango Catalogue on the BMG/Solo Tango (RCA) label which has basically the same songs as the "Cuatro Compases" Cd.

On this Cd every song is of high quality with minimal hissing and distortion, a lot of the songs that I play at a milonga from Tanturi with Castillo come from this Cd. Unfortunately, as of 2009, this Cd as well as others from this high quality series have been discontinued, so if you are interested in starting your Tanturi collection with this Cd or just want it, then your either going to have to come talk to me or find it somewhere on line for a pretty penny.. I have also listened to digitally remastered tracks of the songs on this album from private collectors and so far, the quality of a lot of songs on this Cd are superior to many that I have heard, privately digitized or other. Now this doesn't mean that every song on this Cd is the best in comparison to others but overall, the Cd has a very high quality sound. This also does not mean that privately digitally remastered tango songs are not good, I have a super clean digitally remastered version of "Poema" by Francisco Canaro that I purchased from a musical engineer who doesn't even dance tango and it is spectacular. Once again, one has to compare and judge for oneself. So get out there and start collecting and don't ever say those words again, "Oh, that song, I already have a copy of that one.", for you just might just have a bad version.

My Early Favorite Tangos

When I first got into tango I knew very little about the music so I began purchasing, trading and of course, listening and discussing tango. I collected from friends, music stores, milongas, wherever and whenever. With time, my collection and knowledge grew. But in those early years I bought mostly Cd's and the memories that were formed from those Cd's still exist with me today. Back in 2002 in Los Angeles things were much different than they are now, the ipod was just released but I didn't have one, itunes? Hell, I was just learning to transfer music to my home computer! I mostly listened to Cd's and I didn't have a wide variety. I have since, listened to a lot of different tango since those early years but surprisingly, what tango music I listen to today is very similar to what I enjoyed during those early years of tango.      


I thought it would be interesting to come up with a personal list of my favorite tangos during those early years, the Cd which contains the song and why I love each one so much. Each one has a personal little story as to why these songs are endearing to me. I am sure each one of us has his own personal list of early favorite tangos, in no particular order, here is mine.

1. Amarras (Orquesta Juan D'Arienzo with Héctor Mauré) 07/21/1944'

Music: Carlos Marchisio

Lyrics: Carmelo Santiago

D'Arienzo Maure

I fell in love with the voice of  Héctor Mauré  many years ago when I first listened to the D'Arienzo Maure Cd from the BMG Tango Series (RCA). This is one of the many Cd's I purchased from the late Mark Celaya who directed me to so many tango musical treasures during those early years in Los Angeles. Although a clearer copy of this can be found on another Cd's this does have some of the cleanest copies of many songs by D'Arienzo with Mauré. The song is so enchanting to me from the opening bandoneon lick to the heartwrentching lyrics and Mauré's vocals have so much feeling that no matter how many times I listen to "Amarras" it always brings me to chills. I had forgotten about this CD after overplaying it and getting sick of it and one weekend I heard "Amarras" while taking classes with Julio Balmaceda & Corina De LaRosa in San Francisco in 2006. It made me remember how sweet that tango was and that weekend I danced for the first time with Corina and this song was in the the tanda that we danced. I was in heaven but trembling. To this day, it is still my favorite tango of all time.

2. Nido Gaucho (Orquesta Carlos Di Sarli with Alberto Podesta) 11/30/42'

Music: Carlos Di Sarli

Lyrics: Hector Marco

Sus Primeros Exitos Vol. 2

I talked Claudia Cortes into buying me some music during her first visit to Argentina back around 2006 and she brought me back 3 Cd's and one of them was a Carlos Di Sarli with Alberto Podesta from the Tango Argentino series (RCA) and it had "Nido Gaucho" composed by Maestro Di Sarli himself. I fell in love with this song from the moment I heard it, the beautiful theme of the song, Podesta's deep and rich voice. There are other CD's that have a better sound but I obsessed over every scratch. Even the cover brings back memories for me of those times when Claudia came back from Argentina and we began to form a wonderful friendship inside and outside tango.

3. Golgota (Orquesta Rodolfo Biagi with Teófilo Ibáñez) 08/19/38'

Music: Rodolfo Biagi

Lyrics: Francisco Gorrindo

Sus Exitos con Andreas Falgas y Teofilo Ibanez

The first person that introduced me to Rodolfo Biagi was my first tango teacher, Hugo Patyn. He used to have a milonga called "El Adoquin" back around 2003 along with Miriam Larici. That was a very special time for me for that was where I learned to dance and formed my first tango friendships. Every Friday I would be there like clockwork to take their class and stay for the milonga. Hugo loved Biagi's instrumental version of "El Rocodo" which intrigued me when he would play it. So when I learned which orchestra played it I bought the first Biagi Cd that I could get my hands on and it was the "Reliquias" Cd above. "Golgota" soon caught my attention and I thought it was amazing and so far ahead of it's time. I love the voice of Teofilo Ibanez and it is a perfect match for the rough, edgy and pounding rhythm of early Biagi.

4. Cuatro Palabras (Orquesta Adolfo Carabelli with Charlo) 7-25-33'

Lyrics: Luis Rubistein

Lyrics: Luis Rubistein

Cuatro Palabras

I Whenever I saw Mark Celaya with his Cd collection at a milonga I would always ask him to make some suggestions on what to purchase. As time passed he wouldn't wait for me to ask but would already have suggestions ready for me. Adolfo Carabelli's "Cuatro Palabras was one of the suggestions and I became obsessed with every song on this Cd but the title track, "Cuatro Palabras" would always stand out to me. Charlo's voice was so different than any of the other masculine voices that I had heard up to this point and the haunting bandoneon at the start of the song that has to be Ciriaco Ortiz, foreshadows what she says to him in the song. That the four words that she is saying to him over the telephone has assured him that she will never be his again. Ah, this song always brings me back to those early years in LA when tango was just growing and we didn't have all the milongas that we have now. Also, it was quite remarkable to me as to how clear sounding the Cd was for the year of the recording.

5. Marioneta (Orquesta Alfredo De Angelis with Floreal Ruiz) 07/23/43'

Music: Juan Jose Martin Guichandut

Lyrics: Armando Tagini

From Argentina to the World

Another suggestion from Mark Celaya, I focused on the valses when I first began listening to the Cd but then I fell in love with the Tangos. This Cd reminds me of driving around with Orlando Paiva Jr. through the night time Los Angeles Freeways on route to a milonga. For some reason this Cd was always playing around that time. It is too bad that Floreal Ruiz left the De Angelis Orquestra so early because in my opinion, the small recordings he did with De Angelis are superior to anything he did after, including his wonderful works with Anibal Troilo. 

6. Te Juro Madre Mia (Orquesta Osvaldo Fresedo with Roberto Ray) 02/15/35'

Music: 

Lyrics: Jose Sassone

Vida Mia 1933 1938

I knew that I was listening to a lot of tango music when one night at a milonga I overheard a couple talking among themselves and asking which orquestra was playing and I interrupted explaining that it was Osvaldo Fresedo with Roberto Ray singing and the title was, "Vida Mia". Just the fact that I knew the orquestra, singer and song impressed the couple and even me! I had learned this by listening to this Cd constantly and there was one track that would make me cry on the way home after the milonga. One of the events in my life that led me to tango was the death of my mother and that is why, "Te Juro Madre Mia" has brought me to tears so many times. Roberto Ray is one of my favorite singers and in this tango, in his smooth and pleasant voice he swears to his mother that he will change and become a better person to make up for all the worrying that he has caused her. I can really relate to that.

7. Yo Soy El Tango (Orquesta Anibal Troilo with Francisco Fiorentino) 03/04/41'

Music: Domingo Federico

Lyrics: Homer Exposito

RCA Victor 100 Anos, Anibal Troilo y Sus Cantores

Right after my mother passed away I got to visiting San Francisco quite frequently to get away from my surroundings and visit friends. I had only been dancing tango a short time but once in awhile I would break away from the bar scene, muster up some courage and go to a milonga or two. One of my favorite during that time was "The Golden Gate Yacht Club" milonga. It was right on The San Francisco Bay and I would take the bus to the bay and walk along the peninsula that led out to the where the milonga was held. You could hear the music almost echoing into the misty bay as you approached. The first time I went there I heard, "Yo Soy El Tango" as I walked in, they had a bar at the entrance and I ordered a drink as Francisco Fiorentino sang to me about how he was the tango that was born in the slums and even though he is now in salons, he will never be tamed. The distinctive high pitched bandoneon of Anibal Troilo fits perfect within this tango and ties together a memory that for me will last forever,

8. Malena (Adriana Varela) 93'

Music: Lucio Demare

Lyrics: Homero Manzi

Maquillaje

The first time I took a road trip with Claudia Cortes was in 2005 to a tango festival in Reno and she brought a whole suitcase of her Cd's and she played Dj the whole 8 hour as we drove to Reno, Nevada. One of the songs among the wide variety of songs that she played that weekend was, "Malena" by Adriana Varela although her and I had no idea who the artist was. I immediately fell in love with her rich and sultry voice and I wanted to hear more of it. Once I found out who this beautiful voice belonged to I bought "Maquillaje" at a tango festival and I have not stopped listening to this wonderful piece of art since. Esteban Morgado plays guitar on this beautiful version of "Malena" and compliments her unique voice.

9. Al Compas De Un Tango (Ricardo Tanturi canta Alberto Castillo) 03/13/42'

Music: Alberto Suarez Villanueva

Lyrics: Oscar Rubens

Cuatro Compases

Another Cd that I purchased from Mark Celaya when he used to bring his CD collection to Luba's Milonga out in Costa Mesa (Orange County). This Cd is not of very good quality but you can read about that in my other blogs. I ignored this CD for awhile and then a girl tore my heart out and I went into a depression. I stopped dancing and only left the house when I had to, then while driving back from San Francisco one night I found the Cd in my glovebox  and put it in my car stereo. I had never liked Tanturi although I had given his music plenty of chances. But during that car ride, I related to everything Alberto Castillo was singing to me in this beautiful song, telling me to return to the milonga, where to the beat of a tango I would forget the girl who had broken my heart and I would meet somebody who could not only dance but understand my pain. I eventually did exactly as the song suggested, but all that led to another broken heart.

10. Alas Rotas (Edgardo Donato canta Horacio Lagos) 12/09/38'

Music: Edgardo Donato

Lyrics: Maruja Pacheco Huergo

A Media Luz

Of all the tango that I listened to while I was learning about the music (which I still am), The Orchestra of Edgardo Donato stands on top for me during those early years of dancing and had a huge influence in shaping my dancing. This Cd, "A Media Luz", which once more, was a suggestion from Mark Celaya must have been played by me hundreds and hundreds of times and every track brings a memory of those early years in tango where there weren't that many milongas in LA and a night of dancing seemed so special to me. "Alas Rotas" is a song that is just one of those songs that I will never get tired of listening to and when Horacio Lagos sings, "Estoy solo en mi dolor y tengo miedo, esta ausencia que me aleja mas de ti", it speaks to me of the times I have been alone after losing love.

This is just some of the tango songs that are special to me and I still love after all these years and I am sure I will continue loving for years to come.