Escualo

Beautiful music from Astor Piazzolla. Yet another great musician we have not thoroughly explored...

This Is Not a Tango

Although we never heard of The Juju Orchestra until recently, randomly encountering the above song was an interesting experience. The immediately recognizable sample of the bassist in "Olé Coltrane" plus Astor Piazzolla somehow works in a song. The song's use of funk and irresistible polyrhythmic drumming also meshes very well with Piazzolla and Coltrane. Is that an afrobeat sample played by the guitar?

Prepárense

A much younger Gato Barbieri recorded a rather free interpretation of this Astor Piazzolla composition on his The Third World. Featuring the unforgettable Charlie Haden, the incomparable Lonnie Liston Smith, and the unsurpassed Rosswell Rudd, we actually prefer the older cover. Nonetheless, this straight interpretation from Gato's later years is pure delight. His talent and unique voice cannot be denied. 

Boricua

"Boricua" is one of the interesting early attempts by Astor Piazzolla to fuse tango and jazz in a Jazz-Tango quintet.. As the title of the piece suggests, this early crossover attempt involved instrumentation typically associated with the Cuban and Puerto Rican influences in Latin jazz. Jason Borge mentions it as an interesting piece, and it certainly is. Perhaps one of the few from this group that is worth hearing. 

Milonga del Angel

Beauty is a rare thing. Bask in the pulchritude.