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Another Important Reissue

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 09/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just when you might think that every recording Astor Piazzolla ever made had been remastered and reissued, along comes another reissue to prove you wrong. Tango Para Una Ciudad is yet another in a series of reissues of recordings made by Piazzolla and his various musical formations during the "lost years" that stretched from the early to the mid-1960s. I had heard some of these renditions before on a "greatest hits" compilation now long out of print, but never on any of Piazzolla's regularly issued albums and had wondered about their source. Now thanks to Sony BMG's Edicion Critica series, I have the answer.

This 1963 CD is important because it continues the work begun in 1962 on Nuestro Tiempo with the same musicians, most of whom are now legendary in the Piazzolla canon. Antonio Agri on violin, Osvaldo Manzi on piano, Kicho Diaz on the contrabajo, Oscar Lopez Ruiz on electric guitar, and Hector de Rosas on vocals join Piazzolla to make this an essential component of any collection of Piazzolla recordings.

My favorite pieces are Part 1 of the title cut; the always tasty Mores/Discepolo composition Cafetin de Buenos Aires; the jazzy Iracundo; the mournful Extasis; the dreamy Revirado; the prowling Buenos Aires Hora Cero; the deep melancholy of Maquillaje; and the pure virtuosity of Francanapa. Really about the only cut I don't care for both instrumentally and lyrically is El Mundo De Los Dos.

The CD is accompanied by an attractive fold-out that features the original liner notes and pictures as well as some added contemporary perspective by Diego Fischerman.

Tango Para Una Ciudad is not just for completeists. It is a recording any true Piazzolla fan will treasure and play often. Get it while its still available. At the current price of around ten dollars, its a bargain."