A brilliant hybrid
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 03/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pablo Aslan, on his second release, proves he's the absolute master of the New Tango. Really, he builds on, and far surpasses, the legacy of his forerunner in such endeavors, Astor Piazzolla. What we've got here is a very compelling blend of Tango and jazz, certainly never before so forcefully and beguiling presented.
One of the major moves he makes is modifying the Tango small group (typically consisting of at least piano, violin, and bandoneon) to a jazz quintet featuring piano, sax, trumpet, bass, and drums. What this does is open up the somewhat restrictive, and, one must say, even hidebound, instrumentation of small-group Tango music, placing it directly in line with a more freeing jazz orientation. The results are nothing less that spectacular.
Special praise must go to this band, which seems perfectly at home in two, let us admit, rather disparate musical worlds, jazz and Tango. Let's start with drummer Daniel Piazzolla, grandson of Astor, himself a Tango innovator of the first water. Sounding as if he could easily fit in with any out-jazz Downtown NY group, he nevertheless brings an Argentinean sensibility that would be both lacking and inappropriate for a disc set in that rarified musical vibe. Thus, he brilliantly bridges two worlds--outish jazz, and traditional Tango. The rest of the players (Abel Rogantini, piano; Jorge Retamoza, tenor and baritone sax; Gustavo Gergalli, trumpet; and leader Aslan, bass) seem so at ease with an authentic jazz sensibility, that one could easily imagine them playing cutting-edge, 21st century out-jazz without skipping a beat. That they have dedicated their considerable skills to the reinterpretation--indeed, radical reconfiguration--of this venerable Argentinean music graces their project with a huge gravitas. If one were looking for an analogue, what the Fort Apache Band did for traditional Cuban forms might qualify.
In any case, this is a very special recording, capturing the inherent longing of Tango and contextualizing it in a completely up-to-date jazz idiom. Quite an accomplishment, and certainly one that yields huge rewards to the attentive listener."
Tango Jazz: The Art of Pablo Aslan
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 03/04/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Argentine bassist Pablo Aslan has succeeded in taking all the sultry essence of the Tango and, with the help of his collaborators Abel Rogantini, piano, Jorge Retamoza, sax, Gustavo Bergalli, trumpet, and Daniel 'Pipi' Piazzolla (yes, grandson of the legend!), drums, (though strangely without a bandoneon...) has a achieved a vital fusion with jazz concepts bringing new life to these well known compositions.
The well-engineered CD brings a true in-house sound to the 8 tangos that serve as takeoff points for Aslan and his confreres. The works included are by Aroias, Bardi, Fernandez, De Caro, Di Santi, Maffia, Salgan, and Laurenz. While the tunes of the tangos are the stuff of which variations are made, Aslan keeps the pulsating beat of the tango as the constant. Each of the instrumentalists are excellent and their playing off each other feels so natural you would think you were present on a fresh jam session instead of a recording! For those who love the tango and are willing to absorb the jazz variations this is a recording a high merit. Grady Harp, March 07"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1