Tango Fado Duo

Fusion album of the very best kind; two virtuosos steeped in their own cultural traditions find the commonalities between Portuguese guitar-based fado and Argentine bandoneon-based tango; using no other instruments Binelli and Da Silva exploit the bandoneon and guitar respectively by using them percussively as well as melodically and harmonically; every track is beautiful

NO FCC's (all instrumental); Very favorite tracks (all are good) – 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10

*1-(5:04) – Quiero ser tu sombra – Argentine waltz starts out slowly and gradually picks up speed; guitar and bandoneon trade off melody; bandoneon kind of sneaks up on you; lovely dynamic and tempo range; gets very fast before halfway point; fabulous virtuoso harmony duets

**2-(6:21) –Cancao “Verdes Anos” – famous Portuguese melody; a little melancholy and evocative at the beginning and then they pick it up with riffs and improvisations

3—(3:46) –El Choclo – one of most popular tangos in Argentina about a nightclub owner called El Choclo “The Corn Cob”

4—(2:59) – Lisboa antiga – popular Portuguese song transformed into a light and bouncy tango

*5-- (6:38) –Lachrymae – composed by Da Silva when he was 17; lovely modulations; a little reminiscent of “Verdes Anos”-- impressive guitar technique

6—(4:01) Maria Lisboa –famous fado in an upbeat up-tempo rendition with bandoneon as the “voice”

*7—(4:57) Oblivion-- Astor Piazzolo milonga – pensive and beautiful

8—(2:43) Paris desde aqui-- evocation of Paris in a bygone era, composed by Binelli; starts slow and stays that way

**9—(6:45) Leyenda (Asturias)– beautiful rendition of classic Albeniz piece; intricate arrangement more faithful to original piano version than to more familiar guitar arrangements

*10—(9:26) Preludio y Candombe-- two part piece composed by Daniel Binelli; first part is more lyrical and languid while second is quite rhythmic; Da Silva uses Ebow on Portuguese guitar