: El Chocio, Choral, La Cumparsita, Fracanapa, Il Sorriso Dámore, Los Praraguas de Buenos Aires, Chiquilin de Bacchin, Adios Nonino.

Hubert Winter – sax (leader), Bernhard Pichl, Wolfgang Kriener – bass, Hannes Nied – drums

About 130 years ago the capital cities of Argentina and Uruguay witnessed the development of a new form of music and dance: the tango. At the same time in the USA the first precursors of jazz were starting to emerge. What set it off in each case was the meeting of different cultures in the lower strata of society: here, the colourful mix brought about by the mingling of the indigenous urban populations of Buenos Aires and Montevideo with settlers from Europe - there the Africans deported to America as slaves and exposed to the culture of their white slave masters. In both cases the music served as an outlet for expression of the feelings of people forced to live under conditions of deprivation and oppression.

The history of musical development is marked by various reciprocities. When it was still in its infancy jazz was influenced by tango and its precursors such as habanera. Conversely, tango nuevo assimilated elements of jazz and, thanks to its most significant exponent Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992), found its way into the rarefied environment of serious concert halls.

It is the works of the Argentine-born composer - who had himself worked with jazz musicians, such as baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan on "Summit" - which form the centerpiece of Hubert Winter's outstanding homage:

ROUND ABOUT PIAZZOLLA – TANGO GOES JAZZ.

There can be no question that the four players on the album under review are eminent, award-winning jazz musicians. With a project such as this that aspires to transcend genre boundaries you might be afraid that the music would be reduced to an attempt, cliched before it even begins, to imitate the authentic sound of a Piazzolla ensemble, resulting in second-rate plagiarism.

Happily, listening to this you soon know better: tango compositions form the thematic basis for completely fresh arrangements, in which the jazz elements traditionally found within tango are given a louder voice and perpetuated using the vocabulary of a modern jazz formation. The melody remains easy to identify; however, each piece sounds refreshingly different from the original. The quartet adapts the compositions with an independence that overflows with spirit, at the same time never losing respect for the original. The warm, intimate overall sound, the playing style which is as heartfelt as it exudes power and the subtle and highly-attuned interaction of the four musicians convey sensuality and passion. In this way the completely personal interpretations of the pieces, whilst being fully original, still hark back strongly to the songs on which they are based. Virtuoso passages never degenerate into mere overblown self-importance. The spirited impetus is always accompanied by an underlying sensitivity.

Intelligently arranged with great variety and tastefully played by the quartet, the tangos clothed in jazzy garments gain a completely new appeal, which seduce the willing ear from the very first note to the very last. In this way it is as if the music and the listener enter into an intense, almost erotic liaison.


Luis Francini