The Big Five

Francisco Canaro (1888-1964)

Born in and moved to when he was 10 years old. He was called Pirincho since birth. The midwife, while holding him in her arms, exclaimed when she saw so much hair and an upright tuft: "He looks like a pirincho!", alluding to a crested bird, related to the cuckoo, found in the River Plate area. His family was poor and he received no formal education. He started working at age 10 as a newspaper boy, a shoe shiner, and then as a painter. He later became an apprentice at a can factory. He learnt the guitar and mandolin under the direction of a neighbor; then at the factory, he built a violin out of wood and the remains of an oil can. He says: "The first I played by heart was El llorón of an unknown composer. The case was made by my mom; it was simply a cloth bag, and so I went out to get some money at dances in the vicinity." When he was 18 he bought his first real violin - a cheap and limited one - but nevertheless realizing his dream of owning one. Composed "Pinta Brava" in 1912. Composed the music for the 1915 film "Nobleza Gaucha". In 1924 he conceived the idea of incorporating a singer into the orchestra but only to sing the "estribillo" (bridge), the brief main section of each tango. So he started the "estribillistas" or "chansonniers" era, the first of these was Roberto Díaz. Several years later, Canaro also pioneered the introduction of the contrabass into the tango orchestra. He was romantically involved with singer/actress Ada Falcón. He performed in Paris in 1925 and remained in Europe for 10 years. He tried to introduce a new beat, the tangón, but it did not work. He also made an attempt with the milongón. In 1933 he made the first recording of a milonga by a tango orchestra: Milonga Sentimental (But what about Mercedes Simone's version - wasn't that 1932?). Perhaps the most popular and prolific tango artist ever, his discography weighs in at over 3700 entries. He was very successful and his fortune gave birth to a common saying: "He's got more money than Canaro" Active in the field of intellectual property he fought for composer's rights, culminating in the establishment of the Argentine Society of Composers and Songwriters (SADAIC), in 1935.

1927 El pollito 1930 Yo no se que me han hecho tus ojos - dialogue between bandoneons and violins. Plucked strings fill in behind singer (Charlo) 1933 Milonga sentimental - First recorded milonga. Features Ernesto Fama. 1932 La muchachada del centro - Ernesto Fama also sang with Di Sarli, Fresedo and OTV. Plucked strings after about 1:00 1934 Yo no sé porque te quiero - Gentler Fama piece. 1935 Poema - Classic romantic Maida. 1936 Que le importa al mundo - Maida's voice drags on a bit. 1935 No hay que hacerse mala sangre - Maida sounding a bit more upbeat with synchopation from the start. Trumpet near end. 1938 Corazón de oro - Clarinet at 1:30 followed by main melody as a duet/conversation between trumpet and clarinet. Playful bandoneon at end. 1943 Soñar y nada más - Another example of a lovely gals, also recorded by De Angelis and Troilo. 1938 Dónde hay un novio? - Ranchera with clarinet. Lively voice of Fama :) 1939 El rey del bosque - experimental with drums (and tangon rhythm?) 1941 El tigre - Strong marching beat. Trumpet does "side wipes" at 1:40 followed by similar by violins. Modulation at 2:15. 1946 Déjame, no quiero verte más - Oboe at 2:37. Example of "Cantor de la orquesta". 1951 Adiós, pampa mía - Almost anthemic example of "Cantor de la orquesta". (1903-1960)

Born in Bahía Blanca, Southern to a musical family. During childhood he began to study piano, oriented towards classical music. He suffered an eye injury at age 13 while working in his father's store, which cost him an eye and forced him to wear glasses all his life. He joined 's orchestra in 1926, and the tango "Viejo milonguero", which he composed around 1927-28 was dedicated to Fresedo. A talented piano player, he directed his orchestra from behind his own instrument. His reputation for musical elegance earned him the nickname "El Señor del Tango" (The gentleman of tango). He knew how to combine the rhythmic cadence of tango with a harmonic structure, apparently simple, but full of nuances and subtleties. His was neither a traditional orchestra, styled after Firpo or Canaro nor a follower of the De Caro renewal. Di Sarli imposed a seal of his own; a different musical profile, which remained, unaltered throughout his prolonged career. He followed his own musical path: elegant, emphasising the melody but without sacrificing the rhythm, with great subtlety and nuance, particularly in his own piano playing, something of a trademark for the orchestra, where the separation between the rhythmic bass of the left hand and the embellishment of the right exceeds anything that can be heard elsewhere in tango. Di Sarli's arrangements were slow, cool walking rhythms - he walks with distinction among the Tango Gods - still, like a panther.

1958 Bahía Blanca - Titled after his town of birth. Example of what many dancers get introduced to in beginner classes. 1943 Verdemar - Rufino. Typical Di Sarli sound from 0:44. Intense lyrics (note reference to eyes...) 1953 version with Oscar Serpa is much slower (probably more fitting for lyrics?) 1940 Milonguero viejo - To show how 1951 & 1955 versions are "bigger" sounding. 1939 Corazón - Lively with synchopation. 1940 Rosamel - Vals, also with Rufino. 1944 Tú el cielo y tú - Podesta at his best. 1943 La viruta - Dark, heavy sound 1941 El recodo - Rhythmic 1930 Chau Pinela - Fama's bright voice

Verdemar... Verdemar... Se llenaron de silencio tus pupilas. Te perdí, Verdemar. Tus manos amarillas, tus labios sin color y el frío de la noche sobre tu corazón. Faltas tú, ya no estás, se apagaron tus pupilas, Verdemar. Juan D'Arienzo (1900-1976)

Born in the neighborhood of Congreso, Buenos Aires - the eldest of three children. Studied violin since he was 12 years old. He had angry disagreements with his father who wanted him to study law, whereas all he wanted was to follow his love of music. As a teenager he became a lifelong friend of Angel D'Agostino, who was the same age and played piano. He started playing (on violin), along with Angel D'Agostino (on piano), at a few insignificant theaters. D'Arienzo-D'Agostino replaced Firpo's orchestra in the famous play "El cabaret Montmartre" in the Nacional theater. He also played violin in the Frederickson jazz band. 1935 was a key year in D'Arienzo's career: Rodolfo Biagi joined on piano, which resulted in a change of time signature from 4x8 to 2x4 - the fast frolic beat of the primitive . D'Arienzo always kept the piano up-front in his sound, which gave his music the unique rhythm. There are many who consider that the Golden Era of tango is inextricably linked with D'Arienzo. The story goes like this: in 1935 the composer Pintin Castellanos brought a new tango to D'Arienzo called "La Puñalada". The orchestra - with its new pianist Rodolfo Biagi - recommended a change of beat from 4x8 to that of a milonga in 2x4. At first the maestro D'Arienzo disagreed: he didn't allow any divergent style, no change in rhythm. But one particular night, D'Arienzo was late and the orchestra began to play alone... and what occured next is nothing but phenomenal: the music was an instant, unmistakable hit! We are told that: "the public danced with such gusto that when the crowd, shouting and clapping, asked D'Arienzo to continue with that new style, the director had no other choice but to play it all night." So he departed from other orchestras of the golden age, returning to the 2x4 feel that characterized music of the old guard, but he used more modern arrangements and instrumentation. When Biagi left him in 1938 to assemble his own orchestra, D'Arienzo had already identified himself with the 2x4 definitively, and he became known as "El Rey del Compás" (The King of the Beat). Facing the martial rhythm of Canaro, the somewhat street band-like platitude of Francisco Lomuto, and De Caro's symphonic attempts, D'Arienzo contributed a fresh, juvenile, enlivening air to tango. When was generally becoming slower, more melancholic and the dance was being replaced by lyrics and the singers, D'Arienzo gave tango back to the dancers' feet and with that he rekindled interest in tango dancing among the youth. He expressed a hardcore "lunfardo" attitude that is the porteño way - his milongas are wicked and irresistible, his valses fly. He made more than 1000 recordings in his career - his recording of the milonga "La punalada" was the first million-selling tango recording and his rendition of La Cumparsita, which he recorded no less than 8 separate times (1928, 1929, 1937, 1943, 1951, 1963, and 1971) sold more than 14 million copies! For D'Arienzo, tango represented character, power, rhythm, and energy. He used to say that was in crisis by 1940, and that the main reason for that was that "the old school" tradition was forgotten. He also blamed tango orchestras, because their music had become merely a basis for the singers' voice. For him, the singer was just another instrument in the orchestra, and therefore he thought it wrong to dedicate music to the vocalist. He succeeded in restoring tango's life, masculine power, clear rhythm, and temperament. He created a pure Argentine tango, in which - if any vocalists - the singer served the orchestra and tango again became a music for dance. D'Arienzo said: "In 1937 there were gentlemen directors in the lineup: Osvaldo Fresedo, ; but the tango was completely un-memorable. Then I played at a different beat and returned it to the place it deserved." Among his better-known compositions are: "Nada más", "Paciencia" and the vals duet "Lo mismo que ayer". D'Arienzo's directing style was highly unorthodox: acrobatic, humorous on stage, going close up to the orchestra musicians, imploring them to be more lively, egging them on. His was, as they say, the "camp" style of directing: a most amusing thing to see on some of his vintage videos. In a magazine interview, a month before he died, he said: "Mine was always a tough orchestra, with a very swinging, much nervous, vibrant beat. And it was that way because tango, for me, has three things: beat, impact and nuances. An orchestra ought to have, above all, life. That is why mine lasted more than fifty years."

1937 Paciencia - Piano by Biagi. 1938 Nada más - Piano by Juan Polito.

1936 Rawson - Synchopation. Build-up and release of tension. Violin solo melody. and off-beat, sweeping violin. Playful bandoneon near end. 1936 El flete - Irresistible foot-tapping song. Biagi's piano "bridges" between phrases. Synchopation, Violin melody. Playful bandoneon near end. 1937 Melodía porteña - Lots of arrastre. Piano bridges as well as "conversation" with bandoneons and violins. Piano also takes on a non-bridging role at times. 1939 Mandria - Piano by Juan Polito. Synchopation. 1936 Lágrimas y sonrisas - Vals with Biagi, who would later record his own interpretation. 1939 Ay Aurora! - Vals with Juan Polito 1935 De pura cepa - Pre-Biagi milonga with only a few background piano "bridges" by Lidio Fasoli (piano mostly provides milonga rhythm), but still features violin solos. 1937 La puñalada - Milonga with Biagi. Playful piano phrases as well as some "bridges" further into song. 1938 Estampa de varón - Milonga with Juan Polito. Very nice piano "bridges" and extensive piano piece at end. Osvaldo Fresedo (1897-1984)

Born into a middle-class family in La Paternal, Buenos Aires, he was Nicknamed El pibe de La Paternal ("the kid from La Paternal"). His mother gave him his first music lessons. He learned to play the bandoneon and as a teenager joined several of the most famous orchestras during the era of the "Guardia Vieja" (Old Guard). In 1917, he played bandoneón in Francisco Canaro's orchestra. In 1920 he traveled to the United States where he recorded a few albums with a quartet. Fresedo was one of the innovators of tango in the early 1920s, bringing a high level of musical technique with his trademark style displaying true elegance, which became very popular, especially among the more affluent, obligating him to divide his orchestra into four groups and place each in a different nightclub. In the 1930's he fronted a larger orchestra and began what we might call his second era as maestro, with a new orchestral style and, above all, the vocal participation of Roberto Ray. He composed "El espiante" ("The Rejected One"), "Vida mía" ("My Life"), "El Once" (the name of a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires), "Pimienta" ("Pepper"), among others. He had the longest recording career in tango, from 1925 to 1980 and made over 1,200 recordings. The tango music of Osvaldo Fresedo has a gentle, classy sound to it and is a handy "mood transitioner" in a milonga.

1927 El espiante - Winding up and release of tension in playful, experimental manner. Small but charming little piano "bridges". 1932 version is faster and more energetic. 1933 Vida mia - Lyrical tango featuring Roberto Ray. 1952 version shows "big sound" of later recordings. 1956 version with Dizzy Gillespie is interesting. 1937 Sollozos - Features some harp. 1952 version again sounds "big". 1937 Siempre es carnival - Lovely, charming Fresedo sound with harp. First song that I asked DJ what it was. 1940 Rosarina linda - Features Ricardo Ruiz on vocals.

1940 Amor - Rare example of a Fresedo gals. Cheesy sound.