Bailemos Tango
The popularity of tango comes and goes, but the "vertical  expression of horizontal desire" has remained synonymous with passion,  unrequited love, and nostalgia for more than a century. Popularized byRudolph ValentinoandCarlos Gardel,  and more recently byMadonnaandJulio Iglesias, and often celebrated by  Hollywood and Broadway, the tango has been reinterpreted continuously  with less fanfare by old and young musicians in Buenos Aires and  beyond. Eschewing well-known tangos like "La Cumparsita" for more  obscure selections that illustrate the varied styles of tango,Bailemos Tango!elegantly demonstrates how tango music has  evolved from the 1920s through today. Compiled by a team of Argentine  tango dancers and aficionados, the 19-track CD has a rich sound that is  rootsy, not slick. It opens with a '20s instrumental number by  Uruguayan bandleaderMiguel Villasboasin the style ofcanyegue, a flamboyant rhythm danced with bent knees.Subsequent tracks highlight the disparate musical styles that make up  the tango: the Cuban-influencedmilonga, the African beat ofcandombé, and the tango ballad, orcanción, illustrated  here by "Yira-Yira," one of Gardel's more obscure recordings. Other  well-known talents included here are famed 1940s bandoleón  playerAníbal  Troilo, expressive pianistOsvaldo Pugliese, and tango modernistAstor Piazzolla.Bailemos Tango!ends with a contemporary tango played byTangata Rea, a  group of young Argentine musicians set on reviving the music and dance  for their generation. As its title suggests,Bailemos Tango!will enrich the repertoire of dedicated dancers. For nondancers, it  provides a sentimental education in the tango art, nice for quiet  evenings at home with loved ones, but more appropriate for evenings  spent yearning for them.--Judy Cantor