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ZAMA 003CD
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Award-winning Frankfurt-based tango nuevo quartet Mi Loco Tango pay tribute to Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla with Del Diablo Y Del Angel (trans. "About Devils And Angels"). This magnificent tango-innovator dedicated an entire range of original compositions to the devil and the angels and scattered them in many of his publications and compositions. Now these little stories are combined and confronted. In the middle are the two cycles "Del Diablo" and "Del Angel" -- rarely played Piazzolla pieces. The four musicians, consisting of a bayanist (chromatic button accordion player) from Russia, a violinist and a pianist from Germany and a German-French double-bass player, have already proven their virtuosity with Piazzolla's works, for which they were awarded the World Music Prize Creole 2007 & Laureate 2 at the Astor Piazzolla Festival. Through the use of their instruments, they show how devious an angel is and how magically appealing the devil can be. The violin howls like a werewolf, the double bass becomes a percussive, slashing instrument of torture, the piano is heavenly, and the bayan, at the top of its mastery, produces the deepest registers to the highest. Mi Loco Tango creates a contrasting rainbow of sounds through the work of Astor Piazzolla and is not afraid of the unexpected. For example, for the melodramic "El Tango," the quartet had the lyrics translated from the original Spanish (by the great Argentinean author Jorge Luis Borges) and invited the performer and director Willy Praml (he is the father of the double-bass player Gregor Praml) to their studio-sessions to work with him to achieve an absolutely new interpretation. Alberto Mompellio is responsible for refining the arrangements to "Adios Nonino" and "Mumuki," which, through his Italian origins, have given a completely new meaning to the genre of tango nuevo. With Del Diablo Y Del Angel, Mi Loco Tango present sweeping, quixotic theatrical amusements that clearly show that the tango they play comes from deep inside their hearts and souls.
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ZAMA 004CD
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Film soundtracks evoke strong emotions but often stand back in favor of performers and stage direction. However, the music created for big orchestras remains in the memory of the viewer -- it leaves its mark, even when the movie has long finished. But what is left if one tries to dissect a complex piece of orchestral score music into its components in an effort to take every individual part seriously? The international ensemble Mi Loco Tango dared to do so. The four musicians, fascinated by the "secret" power of Italian film soundtracks, experimented with their own instruments. Is it possible to play just four instruments and create a sound experience equal to the quality of the big orchestras, and even further, to add to it? The answer is "yes," because the various possibilities of playing the instruments within the quartet, consisting of an accordion, a violin, a piano and a double bass, are taken to the limit. The soundtracks of the great Italian composers are taken further by this reduction. Special guest Franco De Gemini (harmonica) did for the harmonica what Anton Karas did for the zither with the theme from The Third Man. Nearly 40 years ago, De Gemini played "The Man With The Harmonica" for Sergio Leone's classic Western Once Upon A Time In The West, probably the most famous harmonica tune in movie history. This in-demand studio musician and composer of the virtuoso harmonica has played a part in more than 800 soundtracks. The arrangements of the pieces played by Mi Loco Tango were created with the help of Alberto Mompellio, one of the most in-demand studio musicians in Italy. Among others, he has worked with Fabrizio De Andre and Milva. His commissions for compositions and orchestral arrangements of soundtracks led him to Hollywood (e.g. Igby Goes Down, All The Queen's Men). Mi Loco Tango interpret music from Amarcord, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West, The Mass Is Over, 8½, Rocco And His Brothers, Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion, Life Is Beautiful, Cinema Paradiso, The Vikings, A Fistful Of Dynamite, The Godfather, Two Women, and The Orchestra Rehearsal.
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