Rough Dancer And The Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado) CD

The follow-up to Astor Piazzolla's 1986 masterpiece TANGO: ZERO HOUR, THE ROUGH DANCER AND THE CYCLICAL NIGHT ranks alongside its predecessor as one of Piazzolla's finest achievements. With help from his proficient band (comprised of violin, piano, bass, and electric guitar), guest Paquito D'Rivera on alto sax and clarinet, and producer Kip Hanrahan (who helped craft TANGO: ZERO HOUR's soundscapes), Piazolla turns in another superior avant-tango outing.

THE ROUGH DANCER is somewhat different in feel than its precursor. As Piazzolla puts it in the liner notes, TANGO: ZERO HOUR "needed the clarity of a vision; this record need the darkness of a nostalgic dream. It's music meant to be played by half-drunk musicians in a bordello." There is, in fact, a strain of looseness and fun here, though the whole is still shot through with the lonely and bittersweet sound of Piazzolla's bandoneon. The compositions are among the master's best (and were used, incidentally, as part of TANGO APASIONADO, a stage production about the history of tango). Overall, this is an excellent album, and an essential purchase for Piazzolla fans.

Recorded at Radio City Studio, A&R Studio and Sorcerer Studio, New York, New York in August and September 1987. Includes liner notes by Fernando Gonzalez and Kip Hanrahan.

Personnel: Astor Piazzolla (bandoneon); Rodolfo Alchourrón (electric guitar); Fernando Suárez Paz (violin); Paquito d'Rivera (clarinet, alto saxophone); Pablo Zinger (piano).

Liner Note Author: Kip Hanrahan.

Recording information: A & R Studio; Radio City Studio; Sorcerer Studio, NY.

Photographer: Charles Reilly.

Arranger: Astor Piazzolla.

Personnel: Astor Piazzolla (bandoneon); Rodolfo Alchourron (electric guitar); Fernando Suarez Paz (violin); Paquito D'Rivera (clarinet, alto saxophone); Pablo Zinger (piano); Andy Gonzalez (bass).

Engineers: Don Hunerberg, David Baker, Roger Moutenot.

CMJ (4/17/00, p.18) - "...Hearkens back to the days when tango was played in brothels and bars, which is exactly what Piazzolla intended."