After some decades of forgetfulness Tango is experiencing a new period of splendor.
Young people have lately been getting involved with tango by Astor Piazzolla’s influence and his new approaches. There were debates about the tango to be listened and the tango to be danced, whether to play the accordion sitting or standing, the informality and the old structure. A whole post-piazzola generation presented new proposals that followed the “master’s” tendencies.
Nowadays we face a new stage where the old debates on traditional and avant-garde, the old and the new have been settled and now there is a lot to be said.
There is a broad range of proposals. A whole generation of young people is trying to rediscover old scores and to rescue the works of Guardia Vieja. On the other hand, the proposal of electronic tango (Gotan Project, bajofondo Tango Club) allowed it to reach unthinkable places such as the club dancefloors.
There are many young people in tango who are excellent musicians and who have high-quality works. There is a group that tries to bring back singing with guitars, that reminds of Gardel and of Corsi. Such is the case of Las Bordonas, of Cardenal Domínguez, of 34 Puñaladas (who propose a set of tango from jails that remind of the mythical stabbers and their universe), of Walter Chino Laborde and Dipi Kvitko, of Alfredo Piro, of Brian Chambouleyron, among others.
On the other hand there is a vindication of the typical orchestra, that legendary tango formation that performed tango meant to be danced. Among the orchestras, the following stand out: El Arranque , Vale Tango, la Fernández Fierro, la Orquesta Sans Souci, and de Rodolfo Mederos orchestra, who proposes to go back to the origins of tango after having tried new sounds.
Regarding the repertory, there is a search for old songs, many of which have never been recorded and that speak in a romantic way of an old Buenos Aires.
There are also tangos with current themes, such as Javier González’s work and the work of young poets as Alejandro Szwarcman sang by Patricia Barone in her romantic songs and her social critique songs, the work by the pianist José Ogivieki and of a group of new lyric writers as Juan Vattuone and Adela Balbín, among others.
Regarding instrumental tango, there is a whole generation that proposes a new sound without losing the genuine elements of tango. Many young talents are requested as directors and as arrangers such as Cristian Zárate (piano), César Angeleri (guitar), Pablo Mainetti (accordion), Pablo Agri (violin), Julian Vat (flute y sax), Andrés Linetzky (piano) y Nicolás Ledesma (piano), among the ones who stand out the most. Each of them lead their own orchestras.
The new voices of tango are also very interesting namely Esteban Riera, Noelia Moncada, Verónika Silva (who was the leading voice of the Gotan Project and who now presents her set of classical tangos), Rozana Fontan (who was the first Argentinian woman to sing at the Kremlin, with a unique and personal voice).
There are also fusion proposals: “Colonizados”, a fusion of tango and Cuban sounds; “La chicana”, a group with tangos of its own authorship with influences that range from rock to other genres; “Pablo Porcelli Ensemble” who mixes jazz and tango; “Orquesta de Pequeños Reincidentes” and Juan Carlos Cáceres (an Argentinian musician who lives in Paris) with his “Tango Negro”, a fusion of tangos, candombes and milongas that aims at bringing back the black origin of tango.