Monday, July 9, 2012

Another Vision of Ástor Piazzolla

Jazz educator Ed Tomassi defines new music styles as cohesive blends of past genres. Ástor Piazzolla's compositions capture this ideal. Using traditional tango as a backbone, Piazzolla infused elements of jazz and baroque music to create what has been coined nuevo tango. Carlos Kuri, author of Piazzolla: la música límite, notes that "Piazzolla's fusion of tango with this wide range of other recognizable Western musical elements was so successful that it produced a new individual style transcending these influences."
Piazzolla's compositional beauty has been noticed by listeners and performers. This success has influenced a variety of musicians to interpret Piazzolla's music. Notable albums include Al Di Meola's Di Meola Plays Piazzolla (1996), the Assad brothers' Sergio & Odair Assad Play Piazzolla (2001), Gary Burton's Astor Piazzolla Reunion (1998) and Libertango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla (2000). Musicians like Chick Corea and Gustavo Casenave have played Piazzolla's music at the Blue Note.



Nine-time GRAMMY award-winning clarinetist and composer, Paquito D'Rivera brings his tribute to Ástor Piazzolla next weekend at the Blue Note. D'Rivera will be performing from July 10 - 15.

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