Juan D'Arienzo · Tango By Year

1926

ChapterWhere D'Arienzo's Beat Really Came From
You know this sound. You've just never heard where it started.

1929

ChapterThe Secret Ingredient Was His Wife's Family
How did Juan D'Arienzo land his first record deal, years before he became tango's king of rhythm?
A record not yet identified
Fiorentino
A ranchera from D'Arienzo's little-known 1928-29 Electra-label recordings, years before his famous sound; audio quality is explicitly very poor, and Fiorentino (also a bandoneón player) sings.
Only in the episode
ChapterThe Beat That Taught D'Arienzo Everything
Before D'Arienzo had 'the beat,' Juan Maglio had it first.

1935

ChapterThe year tango lost its king, and found D'Arienzo
Argentina's biggest star dies in a plane crash. Weeks later, an unknown bandleader cuts his first record.
Desde el alma
D'Arienzo's very first recording, a waltz rather than a tango, played instrumentally as most bands did at the time.
Hotel Victoria
An old classic D'Arienzo would record three or four times; cut the same session as Desde el alma, a week after Gardel's death.
Only in the episode
ChapterThe pianist who showed up to drink champagne and changed tango forever
The regular pianist didn't turn up. So D'Arienzo asked the guy drinking at the bar.
Orillas de plata
Rodolfo Biagi's recording debut with D'Arienzo, cut on New Year's Eve; the waltz gives the piano less room to shine.
Only in the episode
9 de Julio
Biagi's other debut side, also cut December 31st; both host and guest hear new energy from his piano.
Sábado inglés
From Juan Maglio's old-guard repertoire; Lavocah points out the two distinct violin lines (Matos and Mancuso).
Only in the episode
Pabellón de las rosas
A sweet, energetic waltz, still from before Biagi joined the band.
Orillas del Plata
Rodolfo Biagi's first-ever recording session with D'Arienzo, played as the start of the orchestra's new rhythmic era, though it was not yet commercially successful.
9 de julio
The record that defines the D'Arienzo project: Biagi's piano pushes an insistent beat 'like a dripping tap'; two violinists, Mattioli's low and Mancuso's high.

1936

ChapterThe violinist who tuned himself like a cello
One of D'Arienzo's violinists made his instrument sound like something else entirely.
La Guitarrita
D'Arienzo's first record of 1936, chosen for the bubbling, understated backbeat Biagi plays on piano.
Only in the episode
Silueta Porteña
Walter Cabral
The one milonga D'Arienzo recorded this year, paired on the B-side with La Guitarrita.
La Payanca
One of D'Arienzo's fastest tangos of the period, with strong syncopation.
Only in the episode
Irene
Walter Cabral
A less-often-played D'Arienzo waltz, chosen deliberately instead of the usual top half-dozen; unusual for stressing the second beat of the bar.
La Viruta
D'Arienzo's final record of the year; an exciting, dust-kicking number with wild violin slides.
Visión Celeste
The B-side of D'Arienzo's last 1936 disc, quite fast though not his fastest.
ChapterTwo takes, one mistake
For decades, the world knew the wrong version of this D'Arienzo record.
El Flete
A famous D'Arienzo track used in the film The Tango Lesson; its 1936 date was confirmed live against discography sources after a listener question.
Don Esteban (take 2, issued version)
The conventional, tamer take, the one most collectors outside Argentina knew for decades.
Only in the episode
Don Esteban (take 1, original)
The looser, jazzier first take, actually the one issued on the original 78 but rarely heard outside Argentina until recently.
Only in the episode
Retintín
Praised by DJ Félix Picherna as a 1936 D'Arienzo track worth playing more often.
Only in the episode
Irresistible
The last tango before the closing waltz set, teased only as 'something irresistible'.
Only in the episode

1937

ChapterThe Milonga That Wasn't Supposed to Exist
D'Arienzo promised to play a song exactly as written. His band broke that promise — and it made him famous.
Homero
One of D'Arienzo's two biggest 1937 hits, full of the hard 'síncopa a tierra' rhythm defining his new, modern sound.
La Puñalada
D'Arienzo's biggest 1937 hit and the recording that made him famous; written as a tango, turned into a milonga at Biagi's suggestion, and now underplayed compared to the 1951 remake.
El Cencerro
One of Michael's all-time favourite D'Arienzo tracks: an unusually laid-back walking pace with a backbeat section where the melody takes over.
ChapterThe Cowbell Tango
Why is Michael Lavocah's favourite D'Arienzo recording the one that just... strolls?
Alma Dolorida
A thrillingly fast waltz (about 73 bpm) where the bandoneón section audibly struggles to stay together; so well loved it's replayed later in the show.
La Cumparsita
The closing Cumparsita; Michael highlights Mazzeo's long fourth-string violin obbligato, the emotional touch D'Arienzo's sound otherwise lacks.
Only in the episode
Gallo Ciego
A tango classic from mid-1937, one of many versions recorded over the years; Michael says there isn't a bad D'Arienzo track from this period.
El Apronte
A bizarrely unusual instrumental introduction, prompting discussion of the band's two separate, non-harmonising violin lines.
Passione
One of Michael's favourite D'Arienzo waltzes, not too quick, good for opening a set.
Only in the episode
Mentiras
Prompts the reveal that Mazzeo plays his low violin lines with a heavier viola bow, for a richer but less agile tone.
Only in the episode
ChapterTwo Violins, Two Men, One Sound
That aching violin line under 1930s D'Arienzo is actually two different musicians doing two different jobs.
Valsecito Criollo
A fast waltz; by the end the band is audibly losing sync, and the violin solo is correctly identified as Domingo Mancuso's, not Mazzeo's.
Alma Dolorida
Replayed by popular demand from earlier in the show; Michael's own listening notes call it 'killer band of nuance just holding it together'.
Alma dolorida
A very fast waltz where the train nearly comes off the rails; the bandoneón section is 'dirty', not the clean fingering of 1950s D'Arienzo.

1938

Indiferencia
Alberto Echagüe
Echagüe's first recording with D'Arienzo, a Biagi composition; the band falls back to just comping when he enters so his voice is exposed.
El aeroplano
An old Creole waltz; about half of D'Arienzo's early recordings were Creole waltzes because they put people on the dance floor. Start time approximate.
Champagne tango
One of the last two sides with Biagi at the piano, on the other side of Pénsalo bien. Start time approximate.
Pénsalo bien
Alberto Echagüe
The only Echagüe-sung tango the two play of the last Biagi disc; Lavocah calls it two minutes twenty of simple perfection. Start time approximate.
ChapterFired in June, recording in August
D'Arienzo's pianist was out in June. By mid-August he had his own band on a rival label.
Nada más
Afterparty, Lavocah: a D'Arienzo version with Mazzeo's violin near the start, before Ada Falcón's.
Title unclear
Alberto Echagüe
Echagüe, a year in the band, finally records and sounds like 'the man next door who can sing well'.
Only in the episode

1939

Recuerdos de la Pampa
Alberto Echagüe
A waltz composed by the bassist Duclos, first recorded by Canaro in 1931; D'Arienzo's version is on fire.
Derecho viejo
Instrumental with a magnificent interaction between piano runs and the double bass.
Milonga del recuerdo
Alberto Echagüe
Lavocah notes the 'cadencia' that violinist Matzeo gives the milonga phrasing.
ChapterA record that predicted a walkout
The titles of D'Arienzo's last Polito session were a premonition.
Trago amargo
Alberto Echagüe
From the last session of the Polito-era band, whose titles read like a premonition ('bitter pill').
Por qué razón
More than three minutes of instrumental, unusually long for D'Arienzo, with a modulation of power; not on the Argentine CDs.
A record not yet identified
Lavocah starts the D'Arienzo run with one of the most exciting tracks.
Only in the episode
A record not yet identified
A D'Arienzo milonga with a guitar-serenade lyric, played before Mandria.
Only in the episode
Mandria
Alberto Echagüe
A tough-guy lyric ('lend me your poncho') at D'Arienzo's most intense.
Felicia
Lavocah's 'D'Arienzo obsession time'.
Santa milonguita
Alberto Echagüe
Played as a contrast to Donato's happy side of the same era.
Maipo
An instrumental to lower the energy slightly before the finale.
Pampero
Played to bring the energy down before the final tango.
Only in the episode
Por qué razón
The closing tango from the band's last session, Lavocah points to its six-note riff, violin counter-melody and a variation not at the end.
Title unclear (last session, instrumental)
On D'Arienzo's final session with his old band he recorded two tracks; rock-and-roll riffs, in Lavocah's phrase.
Only in the episode
Trago amargo
Alberto Echagüe
The 'bitter drink' D'Arienzo had to swallow when his band deserted him.

1940

ChapterThe Orchestra Rebuilt in a Month
D'Arienzo's whole band quit on him. He had a new one recording within weeks.
Entre Dos Fuegos
The first recording of D'Arienzo's brand-new, Varela-arranged orchestra.
Salí de Perdedor
Alberto Reynal
A milonga about gambling and love, with the title itself, 'I came out a loser,' noted as fitting.
Río Paiso
Carlos Casares
Shown as an example of Casares struggling to keep pace with the new, much faster band, prompting the move to Mauré.
Only in the episode
Miedo
Héctor Mauré
Mauré's debut recording with D'Arienzo, cut on New Year's Eve, opening a four-year partnership.
Quién Será
Advertised as the 'super, super, super fast' D'Arienzo waltz version of a tune better known via Donato.
Only in the episode
Miedo
Héctor Mauré
A very fast New Year's Eve vals from D'Arienzo's fastest period, introducing Mauré as the voice that would later pull the orchestra toward a more lyrical style.

1941

Ya lo ves
Héctor Mauré
The first recording with D'Arienzo's new singer Héctor Mauré, whose rich, creamy voice would shape the band for the next couple of years.
El resero
Picked for violinist Cayetano Puglisi's solo in the final 30 seconds, which Lavocah compares in his book to the sound of a bee.
ChapterThe pianist who got fired and landed on his feet
D'Arienzo's star pianist got fired in June. By August he had his own band.
Dime mi amor
Héctor Mauré
A high-octane tango; Mauré holds the vowel in 'amor' for about five seconds.
A record not yet identified
A bit of joy from D'Arienzo to lift the mood; heard as 'Tirita'.
Only in the episode
La típica
Alberto Reynal
Reynal was a forgotten vocalist who didn't stay long; the lyric introduces the band, and the arrangement has 3-3-2 marcato and triplets, unlike the straight 1930s beat.
Only in the episode
Bolada de aficionado
After-after party: a milonga Lavocah did not play, with fantastic energy and a detailed Tango Time Travel transfer.

1942

Seguime corazón
Juan Carlos Lamas
One of three D'Arienzo singers this year; Dag plays this before the instrumental Loca.
Loca
An old instrumental that Lavocah suspects actually dates from D'Arienzo's pre-1940 band.
Barranca abajo
Héctor Mauré
D'Arienzo's main 1942 singer, called by Lavocah the best of his three that year.
Tu pañuelo
Héctor Mauré
Paired waltz, same session as Barranca abajo.
ChapterThe Gold Disc Before D'Arienzo
Before D'Arienzo. Before Di Sarli. Tango's first gold-disc star played the accordion.
Mírame en la cara
Héctor Mauré
First of a short closing D'Arienzo/Mauré run.
Clarinete
Héctor Mauré
Announced straight after Mírame en la cara; the lyrics that follow don't clearly match this title.
Only in the episode
Judas
Héctor Mauré
Third of the closing D'Arienzo run, also unconfirmed by the audible lyrics.

1943

Es inútil que llores
Héctor Mauré
D'Arienzo's lyrical peak with Mauré.
Only in the episode
Se fue
Héctor Mauré
A great waltz with Mauré.
Only in the episode
Uno
Héctor Mauré
Perhaps the most important composition of 1943, with about eight versions; Mauré's voice soars in this version, one of his top three lyrical songs.

1944

Amarras
Héctor Mauré
Mauré's last recording with D'Arienzo, and Michael's pick for the high-water mark of lyricism in D'Arienzo's orchestra.
Color cielo
Alberto Laborde
Written for Mauré but recorded by his replacement Laborde, who had three days to learn it before the band sailed for Uruguay.
El Huracán
An instrumental with pianist Fulvio Salamanca, contrasted against Biagi's piano style; the tune was already well known from Donato's version over a decade earlier.
Only in the episode
Lilián
Héctor Mauré
A D'Arienzo-Mauré side chosen to hear pianist Fulvio Salamanca solo.
No nos veremos nunca
Alberto Echagüe
Part of building the case that Echagüe sings with new nuance in 1944.
La madrugada
Alberto Echagüe
Chosen partly to hear Héctor Varela's bandoneón counter-melody under Echagüe.
La mañana
Alberto Echagüe
Introduced as one of two lighter, less intense D'Arienzo-Echagüe milongas from 1944, less played than the orchestra's 1930s milongas.
Color Cielo
Armando Laborde
Laborde's first recording, learned and cut in only three days before the band left for Montevideo.

1945

Pájaro sin luz
Armando Laborde
Laborde's darker voice and an arrangement with unusual space, phrases that end softly in an almost Di Sarli way instead of D'Arienzo's big stop.
A record not yet identified
A D'Arienzo instrumental from the softer, more decorated second-half-of-the-40s style, which Lavocah says DJs rarely pick.
Only in the episode
A record not yet identified
Alberto Echagüe
A powerful, macho Echagüe vocal; Dag prefers Laborde to Echagüe in this period, though Echagüe was probably the more popular singer then.
Only in the episode
Del pasado
Alberto Echagüe and Armando Laborde
A rare D'Arienzo vocal duet (Echagüe and Laborde); the first of such duets was Aparcero, and both singers' presence makes the milonga heavy on lyrics for dancing.

1946

ChapterThe reissue that rewrote D'Arienzo's 1940s
A 230-track reissue landed the same week as this show.
Sin Amor
Armando Laborde
First track showcased from the new Tango Time Travel reissue; praised for how Laborde stretches the vowels.
No sé llorar
Armando Laborde & Alberto Echagüe
A rare D'Arienzo duet; the hosts note duets were uncommon for the orchestra, and remark on how well the two different voices combine.
Only in the episode
Sábado Inglés
An old standard from the mid-1930s given the Héctor Varela arranging treatment, including a new bass line not in the original.
Con Todo Mi Corazón
Alberto Echagüe
A classic paired with Sábado Inglés to close out this stretch of the D'Arienzo reissue.
Lo Mismo Que Ayer
Armando Laborde & Alberto Echagüe
A waltz duet from the new reissue, paired with the milonga La Espuela to close the D'Arienzo set.
La Espuela
Called 'the killer instrumental milonga'; many D'Arienzo milongas carry the feel of a galloping horse, like this one.
La Loca
D'Arienzo recorded La Loca three times (1942, 1946, 1955); this 1946 version is more spacious and restrained than the famous 1955 take.
Only in the episode

1947

Y entonces jurarás
Armando Laborde
Picked to showcase Laborde, Dag's favourite D'Arienzo vocalist of the decade.
Only in the episode
Contra Luz
An instrumental that, as far as Dag could find, was only ever recorded in this one 1947 session.
El viento me cuenta cosas
Armando Laborde and Alberto Echagüe
A rare duo between D'Arienzo's two singers of the era.
El Pollo Ricardo
A tune from Carlos Di Sarli's own repertoire, rearranged by Héctor Varela for D'Arienzo's very different, rhythm-first band.
Only in the episode
Y entonces llorarás
Armando Laborde
Shows unusual-for-D'Arienzo sophistication: stop-time pauses, echoing Troilo, drop Laborde into a hushed half-voice before the band returns at full power.
Dos Amores
Armando Laborde
A second Laborde number in the same more dynamic, Varela-arranged vein.

1948

Hotel Victoria
From the new Tango Time Travel transfers; a reworked 1930s arrangement with more punch, already hinting at the 1950 style, about 5 bpm slower than usual.
Only in the episode
El choclo
The second of two D'Arienzo instrumentals with the old 1930s arrangement, with Fulvio Salamanca's left hand clearly audible.
Olga
Instrumental waltz, played with the year's only D'Arienzo milonga.
El rajá
Alberto Echagüe
A galloping milonga, 'like a racehorse', that is unusually long at 3:07, where Echagüe's street voice and Salamanca's improvised piano stand out.
Only in the episode
Una y mil noches
Armando Laborde
A nice D'Arienzo-Laborde track; Lavocah prefers Laborde in the second half of the 1940s.
Puff puff
An instrumental not recorded as often as other D'Arienzo repertoire like Felicia or Hotel Victoria.
Only in the episode

1949

Milonga (title unclear)
Alberto Echagüe
A milonga whose lyric gives sharp but friendly advice to a girl who wants to be rich; Lavocah prefers D'Arienzo's earlier milongas.
Only in the episode
La maleva
A restrained instrumental with lots of detail, chosen to show the change of style that is coming.
Yuyo brujo
Armando Laborde
The big hit of the year for D'Arienzo; Laborde has begun to sound a little like Echagüe, with more edge to his voice.
La payanca
An arrangement few will know, more natural and acoustic than his 1950s sound.
Delfino
A tribute to Enrique Delfino with an unexpected left-hand solo by Héctor Varela on the bandoneón.

1950

Seguime si podés
A second recording (after 1945) of an instrumental Dag cannot tell apart from the first, likely made again after the switch to tape masters.
Desencanto
Roberto Lemos
A waltz, not the Desencanto tango, apparently the only recording of this piece, sung by Lemos with a very fine vibrato.
Canaro en París
First of three D'Arienzo instrumentals; the chromatic opening scale shows where the 1950s style is heading.
Don Juan
Second of the three D'Arienzo instrumentals played as a small set.
Tucumán
A less known third D'Arienzo instrumental that mixes well with the other two; Dag mentions listeners in Belgium play it.

1951

A record not yet identified
Chosen to showcase the loud double-bass 'snapping' technique (plucking the string off the fingerboard so it rebounds percussively), audible as early as 1943 but very prominent here.
Only in the episode
La Cumparsita
The year's best-selling record, discussed earlier: a million copies in Argentina, a quarter million in Japan.
La Pugnalada
New 1951 recording of the B-side of D'Arienzo's biggest-selling single (A-side La Cumparsita); fast and tight, called 'rock and roll' by the hosts.
Only in the episode
El Simpatico
A less well-known 1951 D'Arienzo tango chosen for its wild violin slides near the beginning and near the end.
De Vuelta
This waltz, best known from Carlos Di Sarli, was actually composed by bandoneonist Carlos Lazzari, who had just joined D'Arienzo and brought the piece with him; here it's played as simple joy rather than Di Sarli's tenderness.

1952

El agente de la esquina
Armando Laborde
Dag picked this from a brand-new reissue; it opens with an unusually long spoken introduction, and the bandoneón imitates the whistling signal old-time street policemen used at night.
[title unclear]
Alberto Echagüe
A tango the hosts picked to show Echagüe's street-edged voice, played right before the instrumental that closes the D'Arienzo set.
Only in the episode
El Puntazo
Called the explosive instrumental closer of the night's D'Arienzo set, with the whole band "on fire" and a rhythmic triplet trick Michael treats almost as an etude.

1953

Independencia
An energetic instrumental, in better fidelity than before because D'Arienzo is now on tape masters; has the Puglisi one-note violin solo.
Mucho mucho
Played as the opposite end of the milonga spectrum from Di Sarli's: it 'rattles along like a racehorse'.
Independencia
An instrumental chosen to show D'Arienzo's 1950s return to his 1930s hard-beat, mostly-instrumental repertoire with a stronger four-bandoneón section.

1954

Tristeza criolla
Armando Laborde
A waltz composed by Ignacio Corsini that Stenvoll had not heard at milongas; used to show D'Arienzo repeating himself.
El internado
After-party: Lavocah points out that on this tape master you can hear the bandoneonists snapping their instruments shut after running out of air in the first 10 seconds.

1955

Pero te sigo queriendo
Alberto Laborde
A late discovery for Stenvoll this week, picked for the extra colour and melodic hold Laborde brings compared with Echagüe.

1958

Adiós Chanteclér
Jorge Valdéz
Chosen to tie in with the Chanteclerc Cabaret's 1958 closure: lyricist Enrique Cadícamo, who used to hang out there, wrote it in grief when the club shut, and D'Arienzo is named in the lyric as one of its glories.
El Tigre Millán
Mario Bustos
An old Canaro composition sung with real venom and anger by Bustos, arguably its strongest version.
Baldosa Floja
Jorge Valdéz and Mario Bustos
A duet milonga about being as unpredictable as a loose paving slab, with the two contrasting voices arranged so one climbs while the other descends.
A record not yet identified
Praised afterward as Dag's favourite 1950s D'Arienzo instrumental and, in his view, inexplicably never used by show dancers.
Only in the episode
A record not yet identified
Jorge Valdéz
Played to show a gentler, tender side of Valdéz, far from his usual high-octane delivery.
Only in the episode
Un Vals para Mamá
Jorge Valdéz
A sincere tribute to mothers, offered as further proof that Bustos (and here Valdéz) had more emotional range than their tough-guy reputations suggest.

1959

Llamarada pasional
Mario Bustos
A power tango with Bustos, the darker, sneering voice that delivers nasty lyrics with punch.
Only in the episode
ChapterThe tango with a stop you have to count
D'Arienzo made dancers count.

1960

Un solo minuto de amor
Jorge Valdez
Valdez, young in the band, begs for a single minute of love, in a party-piece vowel stretch like his Remembranza.

1964

El último café
Jorge Valdez
One of the great tangos of the 60s: two people breaking up over a cup of coffee, with Valdez as the high-drama voice. Lavocah asks why there is no Troilo version.

1966

Gran Hotel Victoria
From the 1966 'for export' album, in Lavocah's view by far the best; the stops get so long that dancers must count to know when to restart.

Year not known

ChapterGetting Salamanca out of jail
D'Arienzo missed a rehearsal to bail out his pianist.