Tango and jazz have much in common. They emerged from the low dives of port cities (Buenos Aires and New Orleans respectively) towards the end of the 19th century. Over the years, both went through changes, growing sophisticated and somewhat tamer in the process. Unlike jazz, tango music retained its close connection with dancing, but had its fine players and composers too. In recent times the greatest of these was Astor Piazzolla, who did for tango roughly what Miles Davis did for jazz. He revitalised the musical language without destroying its essence, vastly broadening its appeal in the process.
The new genre took its name from the 1975 album that launched it, Tango Nuevo. In revisiting it, the Argentinian baritone saxophonist Javier Girotto treats the original 10 pieces as jazz musicians treat well-loved standards, with respect but not undue reverence. His improvisations are robust, almost brusque in places, in contrast to Gerry Mulligan’s smooth playing on the original record. The trio is completed by Alessandro Gwis on keyboards and Gianni Iorio playing the bandoneon, a kind of giant concertina, indispensable in tango bands, on which Piazzolla himself was a virtuoso performer.
