La Historia del Tango (Disc 1)
Astor Piazzolla
Nominated by Juan Ganduglia

Astor Piazzolla is so big in Argentina there’s an airport named after him. He revolutionised tango in the 1950s, bringing in new instruments and musical structures, to create Tango Nuevo.

(Last Tango in Paris? Tango and Cash? I don’t know anything about tango and I’m a little adrift without lyrics to write about, but I’ll give it my best shot.)

On Strictly Come Dancing, the Argentine Tango is all about sexual frustration and fierce expressions. There are many more emotions and feelings here – joy, sadness, hope and excitement – and the pace is less, hmm, melodramatic?

This music is jazzy and free-form, without being free-form jazz. It could be a film soundtrack, a backdrop for scenes of love, escape and danger.

To pick a few tracks:
Caliente is lively and cheery, getting faster and faster, like a merry-go-round, which then slows to a halt.

Resurection del Angel is a mournful mood that gradually picks up and decides the day isn’t so bad after all.

And Adios Nonino starts as the jazziest of the lot, before melting into a lovely romantic ripple of piano and violins.

I’ve been well and truly tango’d!

#Ichallengems