¿Who the heck is …? is an intent to talk about some artists I like in Tango, and maybe get you to discover some new stuff. A bit of Tango culture, but nothing too serious 🙂
Nickname : El Rey Del Compás
Style : Staccato, rhythmical
A good starting point : Pensalo bien
An album to discover : Bien pulenta
His acolytes : Rodolfo Biagi, Alberto Echaguë, Hector Maure (among many others)
Juan D’Arienzo, alias El Rey Del Compás (The King Of The Beat). Some kind of a GOD for some dancers and for the argentinians ! His frenetic rhythmic pieces attract you inexorably to the dance floor … Very powerful orchestra, Juan D’Arienzo revolutionised the tango at a time where the Tango was more melodic, sometimes complex, and less for the dance. He brought the inhabitants of Buenos Aires back in the milongas.
Together with his mad pianist Rodolfo Biagi (called Manos Brujas, Enchanted Hands) and his very dynamic touch, and the crooky singer Alberto Echaguë, they interpreted some unforgettable pieces as Pensalo Bien or Paciencia. And SO many others, with or without his acolytes : La cumparsita, El Choclo, La Puñalada, etc.
The career of Juan D’Arienzo is difficult to sum up, his orquestra, which changed a lot during the years, lasted until 1975 and D’Arienzo was smart enough to adapt his style to the taste of the moment, but without ever losing his trademark, an unstoppable staccato rhythm with strong syncopations, a crying violin (sometimes called ”La vaca”, the cow) and a powerful rank of bandoneons !
References :
Los estilos fundamentales del tango, Ignacio Varchausky
Musical Secrets, Michael Lavocah (Book)
Todo Tango about Rodolfo Biagi, http://www.todotango.com/creadores/ficha/104/Rodolfo-Biagi
Translations in English of Pensalo bien : https://letrasdetango.wordpress.com
PENSALO BIEN
before taking that step,
that perhaps tomorrow maybe
you may not go back.
Think it well,
I have loved you so much
and you have sent me into the past
perhaps for another love.
Avant de faire ce pas,
Car peut-être demain,
Tu ne pourras plus revenir en arrière.
Réfléchis bien,
Je t’ai tant aimé,
Et tu m’as relégué dans le passé,
Peut-être pour un autre amour.
antes de dar ese paso,
que tal vez mañana acaso
no puedas retroceder.
Pensalo bien,
yo que tanto te he querido,
y me has echado al olvido
tal vez por otro querer.
