Emilio Solla: Tributango

By DAN MCCLENAGHAN
December 13, 2016
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There's nothing quite so romantic and life-affirming, in its exuberantly dance-able way, than the tango. It's a sensuous, sinuous sound that bubbled up from the streets of Argentina where bandoneonist/composer Astor Piazzolla found it, and refined it and took it to the concert halls. And in the tradition of all great music, assimilations occur, hand-offs to oncoming artists willing to take the baton on run with it. Grammy-Nominated Argentine Composer/pianist Emilio Solla is one top purveyors of tango in the new millennium, a journey that can be traced to his superb Suite Piazzolla (Blue Moon, 2002), a lively mid-sized ensemble jazz suite that glowed with the joy of the jazz tango mixture.

With Tributano, Solla adapts eight traditional tango tunes to his vision, and adds four of his own compositions in the style on his homeland's music.

With a working band that plays weekly tango gigs in New York City, Solla felt it was time to record a tribute to the sound. He has crafted a music that is at once elegant and salacious, jaunty and vivacious. Solla has deepened the harmonies of these beautiful tunes; the blending of bandoneon, violin, piano and bass meld into magic on Piazzolla's "Libertango," L. Fernandez' El Pollo Ricardo," on A. Villodo's "El Choclo," and on three of his original compositions.

The mood throughout is one of a refined and timeless joy of life, evoking the sassiness and grace of tango dancers. Seductive and sophisticated, these updated takes on classic tango tunes serve as musical slices of the universal human condition.

Track Listing: El Entrerriano; Libertango; Casmusi De Pincho; El Choclo; Miloga De Mis Amores; Sol La; La Novena; El Marne; El Pollo Ricardo; Soledad; El Pollo Ricardo ( Pablo Aslan remix)

Personnel: Emilio Solla: piano; Pablo Aslan: bass; Raul Jaurena: bandoneon; Nick Danielson: violin.

Title: Tributango | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Avantango Records