Re: [TANGO-L] Community Growth - The Next Generation

[Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown @DAL.FRB.ORG>]

I think Dan Boccia had it exactly right when he suggested that the
golden-age music of tango should be supplemented by music that pushes the
boundaries.  Based on my personal experience, the gems for dancing from
all eras is what appeals to most tango dancers.

Personally, I think music should be selected on the basis of whether it is
good for dancing, not what era it is from.  In putting together a
collection of music to play at milongas, I selected music that has a dance
beat, is of sufficient high fidelity and above all has a compelling
quality that speaks to the heart.  I was willing to make some compromise
on sound quality for music that truly spoke to the heart.  But I was
unwilling to select music where the dance beat disappears altogether, even
if if was the absolutely wonderful Piazzolla melodies.

I put no categories on the music in selecting the music best for dancing,
but after looking at what I selected, I found the vast majority of the
music is from the golden age.

Before categorizing my comments as being traditionalist, lets examine why
I ended up with more music from the golden age than contemporary
orchestras.  First, many of the contemporary orchestras did not intend
their recordings for dancing.  It was only after the revival in social
tango dancing in the 1990s that modern orchestras begin to make recordings
with social dancers in mind.

In addition golden-age orchestras recorded much more music than the
contemporary dance orchestras.  Di Sarli had nearly 400 recordings;
D'Arienzo had around 900; Biagi almost 200.  In the collection of music
that I compiled to take to milongas I ended up with 38 Di Sarli tracks, 50
D'Arienzo tracks, and 26 Biagi  tracks.  In selecting three tracks from
Orquesta El Arranque, six from Orquesta Color Tango, five from various
incarnations of the New York Tango Trio, and three from the Gotan Project,
I end up with a higher percentage of those orchestras' recorded music--and
I have to recognize that the complexity of most of the modern recordings
can be challenging to the less experienced dancers.

I might also note noticeably few modern orchestras play milongas.  Dan
Diaz' Tango Camerata is one of the very few contemporary orchestras that
plays many milongas.

I am sure that some dancers find slavery in what they consider the bang,
bang, bang music of the golden age and freedom in dramatic contemporary
music.  I am also sure that some find slavery in contemporary music and
freedom in the subtle rhythms of golden age.  Personally I find freedom of
expression with good music from either era.

But, in hearing such comments, I begin wondering how well the DJ has done
the job of sorting through the music and finding the gems for dancing.
After attending many milongas, I know that there are DJs who play only
music from the golden age and for some reason have primarily selected duds
that only a have a bang, bang, bang rhythm and nothing else going for it.
The result is dull.  From the few milonga I have attended where th e DJ
relied heavily on modern tango music, it would seem as though the DJs who
play this music nearly exclusively do not have a sufficient grounding in
tango dancing or tango rhythms to pick out the gems that are suitable for
dancing.  They just seem to have large collections of relatively modern
tango music that they like to listen to.

With best regards,
Steve

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
http://www.tejastango.com/