THE VANCOUVER SUN, TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2007

CHASING THE TANGO HIGH
Tangissimo
Aldrico Records
★★★★★

Many musicians would kill to tango and many – even the great ones – do little more than clunk around on two left feet. Or, to stick to the metaphor, they do exhibitionistic ballroom dancing, which is a world away from true tango. The most sublime and subtlest of dances doesn’t reveal its sectrets to just anybody with it’s little thefts of time and, for lack of a more concrete word, duende, or soul. You don’t learn – you either have it or you don’t.

As many know, Vancouver has a superb tango trio known as Tangissimo: pianist Linda Lee Thomas, guitarist Edward Henderson and bassist Miles Foxx Hill. Exactly a year ago, Infinity Films had the inspiriation to send them to Buenos Aires for footage of them interacting with some of the city’s legendary tango heroes. What came of it was a wonderful film and now, this gem of a recording, every track perfection as engineered by Hill, the bassist.

Thomas, after many trips to Buenos Aires to play the piano and to experience the palatial but seedy tango bars, has herself become something of a hero among the greats there who, on this recording, include violinist Fernando Suárez Paz, bandonéonist Néstor Marconi and saxophonist Arturo Schneider.

The tango isn’t just about drawing perfect sounds from an instrument. Few classical violinists, for example, would dare to extract a “speaking” quality such as Paz does so tellingly in Otoño Porteño and Tango del Angel. You haven’t quite lived until you’ve heard Schneider’s wailing saxophone in the heart-breaking Astor Piazzolla classic, Años de Soledad.
Everything on this disc is the last word in tango. If it doesn’t win a Juno, give up on awards.

Lloyd Dykk, Vancouver Sun

"UN GRUPO DIVINO" Fernando Suarez Paz

From Buenos Aires to Oliver, B.C. shouts of "BRAVISSIMO TANGISSIMO" can be
heard.

"The musicians - a closely-knit group who work wonderfully together - were
splendid in every way".

"Their program was filled with unbridled passion and grace of rhythm".

"Large audience was enthralled".

"Audience went crazy"