During the presentation of The Pugliese Story at Steve & Debbie Morrall’s studio, I was asked a question I could not answer. The question arose when I was talking about Pugliese’s semi-retirement in 1957. Osvaldo Manzi was hired as a replacement pianist. I showed a photograph of a publicity card from October 1957, in which Manzi’s image has been overprinted.
Well, that was the image I had meant to show. I showed this image by mistake:
A keen eyed audience member pointed out that Manzi’s picture was not the one overprinted: he is second from the left, and is named. What’s going on?
Well, this second image comes from a publicity card from May 1958. Compare the two cards, and look whose picture was where Manzi’s is now: it’s that of Enrique Camerano, Pugliese’s first violin.
It’s known that Camerano retired in 1958 for personal reasons, but the exact date was not known. (Oscar del Priore says November). It’s thought that Camerano played on the recording session of 23rd July, but this card suggests that in May he was already not playing in the band’s public performances.
And the identity of the new man? It’s probably the cellist Adriano Fanelli. Camerano’s tone was so full and rich that the band managed without a cello as long as he was playing. (The viola players unfortunately were not famous enough to be included; perhaps they only played on the recordings).
So, please keep those awkward questions coming – they’re really helpful.
Edición castellano disponible en amazon / createspace
La versión castellano de “Tango Stories” está editado fuera de Argentina con ISBN 978-09573276-6-5.
El libro está disponible en todos los sitios web amazon y en createspace. Les ofrecemes un código descuento en createspace, FG7T6VZB, lo que les da un descuento de 15%.
Histoires de tango en ToutTango
Une corte critique de Histoires de tango dans le magazine de tango ToutTango.
Version française disponible sur amazon
Maintenant – en français!
The French version of Tango Stories is here!
The book will be presented in Paris on 31st January at Milonga Florida (the milonga of the Association Baïres de retour
). The book has gone to the printers and we are now accepting pre-orders.
La version française de Tango Stories est ici!
Il y aura une presentation à Milonga Florida de l’association Baïres de retour à Paris le 31 Janvier. Le livre a été envoyé à l’imprimerie et nous acceptons maintenant les pré-commandes.
Fería del Libro, April 2015
Historías de tango: la música nos lleva was recently presented at Buenos Aires’s Feria del Libro, one of the largest book fairs in the world. This presentation was made possible by the Argentine Tango Society (ATS), who also sponsored the translation. As I was unable to attend, the book was presented by the poet Bebe Ponti and Ricardo García Blaya, the man behind the website todotango, who was also presenting his new work “Tango Argentino: Memoria y Testimonio”.
We were fortunate to have the presence of the wonderful dancers and teachers Gustavo Benzecry Saba & María Olivera, who danced for a delighted audience.
I’m very grateful to the ATS for supporting my work and making this evening possible.
Contame una historia (Tell me a story)
A new review of Historias de tango in the Argentine print magazine Revista Veintitrés.
‘Historias de tango – La música nos lleva’ es el intenso y completo resultado de años de escucha, análisis y suelos de milongas gastados: un recorte personal sobre las orquestas y grupos que forjaron, enriquecieron y revolucionaron el género haciendo foco en el tango danza durante la época de oro que atravesó la década del ’40.
‘Historias de tango – La música nos lleva’ is the intense and complete result of years of listening, analysis and worn-out milonga floors: a personal review of orchestras and groups which forged, enriched and revolutionised the genre, focussing on tango as a dance during the golden age that spanned the 40s.
– Nicolás Russo, Revista 23
See the full review below. The opening quote in the review – You have who lips, tell me a story… a beautiful mess which invites one to dream
– come from the tango Contame una historia of Eladia Blazquez.
CN23
Michael Lavocah on CN23, 17-04-2015
La 2×4
with Luis Tarantino on ‘La 2×4’, 17-04-2015
El Argentino Zona Norte
‘El Argentino’ is a free newspaper that is distributed on the Subte in Buenos Aires, a bit like the ‘Evening Standard’ in London. We got this excellent coverage in the Zona Norte edition, which covers all the stations on the North side of town. Click on the picture to view the pdf of the whole page. In case you don’t speak Spanish, ‘Destacado’ here means something like ‘Pick of the week’.