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ASTOR PIAZZOLLA
Astor piazzolla was born on 11 March 1921 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. He
begins to study bandoneon in 1930 and then piano with Serge Rachmaninov
with the aim of adapting works written for piano to bandoneon. Carlos
Gardel invites him to play for him in his film EL DIA QUE ME QUIERAS and
in 1937 he returns to Argentina and starts his career as bandoneon
player in Anibal Troilo’s famous orchestra. Astor tries to take
bandoneon out of tango and give the instrument its classic identity
back.
In 1952 he wins the first Composition Prize in France and the
French Government honours him with a scholarship to study with Nadia
Boulanger. She encourages him to continue with his own particular style,
Known as the PIAZZOLLA music. After this French period, Astor forms two
groups : THE BUENOS AIRES OCTET AND THE STRING ORCHESTRA and they both
revolutionize the urban music even though they receive ruthless
criticism. Recording companies and the media boycott his work and so he
returns to New York in 1958. Two years later he is back in Argentina and
forms a quintet being convinced as he is, that tango is a music genre to
be listened to and not to be danced. He gives several concerts, records
and goes on a tour of Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
In 1965 the cooperates with JORGE LUIS BORGES and creates music to many of his
poems. His record “EL TANGO” comes out this year. In 1967 he writes
“MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES “ together with Horacio Ferrer and then composes
“TANGAZO” on request from Maestro Calderon, the director of the Musical
Ansamble of Buenos Aires and
who plays it during his tour of the United States. After working with
Ferrer, Piazzolla starts a new experience called “TANGO-CANCION”.
In 1969 the new BALADA PARA UN LOCO becomes a great world success and this
event brings him closer to great public. The appreciating public grows
and recognizes in Piazzolla the authentic expression of the music of
Buenos Aires. His fame soon spreads to the rest of Latin America.
On 17 August 1972 Piazzolla plays at the famous Colon Theatre; this event
prevents him from writing the music for Bernardo Bertolucci’s film Last
Tango in Paris for which he ends up writing only two themes “JEANNE &
PAUL” and “EL PENULTIMO”. In 1974 Gerry Mulligan the great jazz player
and Piazzolla work together and create SUMMIT. In 1968 he records with
Gary Burton at the Montreaux Jazz Festival the “SUIT FOR VIBRAPHONE AND
NEW TANGO QUINTET” which awakens the admiration of many great Jazz solo
players like Pat Metheny, Keith Jarret, Chick Corea, who would ask him
to produce new works.
In 1989 the Jazz magazine Down Beat names Piazzolla as one of the best
instrumental players in the world.
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