#Johnny J> Blair

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SATURDAY MATINEE MUSIC VIDEO: Davy Jones & Micky Dolenz Live @ Disney Epcot May 7, 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLydK9B_EmA Starting in 1995, Davy Jones and band appeared annually at Disney Epcot, routinely booked for 3-5 days, 3 sets a day, with dates usually set around Mother’s Day (though I recall some as early as March). People from around the world attended, with some scheduling their vacations around it. Davy brought me in on keyboards for the 1997 series (I remember Sandy Gennaro winging broken drum sticks at me) then every year from 2005 to 2011. We had great food, fun, laughs, and good times, and the Disney staff treated us like royalty. For me it was an opportunity to catch up with Floridian family and friends. Sometimes guests such as Flo & Eddie would drop in, and on this occasion, Micky Dolenz literally rolled on to the stage. Hard to believe that 13 years has flown by since we were up on that hot stage by the lake—and it was the last time we did it. Immediately after wrapping up the Epcot shows, everyone got on a plane for England to begin the 2011 Monkees reunion tour… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLydK9B_EmA

#davyjones #monkees #mickydolenz #disneyepcot #disney #mothersday #johnnyjblair #floandeddie #sandygennaro #beyondo #ericbiondo #felipetorres #avivamaloney #davidrobicheau #daverobicheau #concert

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Del Varner was murdered on January 3, 2257. ("The Gathering" Babylon 5, TV Event)

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Chris Andrews SONG OF THE WEEK: “Love is All” https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/love-is-all —Dreamy synth-pop song-crafting + sublime vocal and keyboard work. On a cosmic jukebox this ballad would play next to Naked Eyes, Gerry Rafferty, and “Take My Breath Away” (Berlin). If this is your introduction to Chris Andrews, he’s a British singer-songwriter and recording artist whose songs have been covered by Roger Daltrey, David Essex, and Davy Jones (Monkees). Under the name Tim Andrews he was a champion of late 60s psychedelic pop scene and part of the seminal freakbeat band Fleur de Lys. In the 80s, under the name Kris Ryder, he released New Wave synthpop sides. Check out what Chris is up to now…

https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/love-is-all

#chrisandrews #synthpop #electronica #europop #britpop #poprock #singersongwriter #love #missingpersons #nakedeyes #berlin #popmusic #fleurdelys #krisryder #davyjones #monkees #rogerdaltrey #davidessex #gerryrafferty #johnnyjblair

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SONG OF THE WEEK “You Won’t Be Seeing Me Anymore” by Tim Andrews w/Gordon Haskell https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/you-wont-be-seeing-me-anymore  The late musician Gordon Haskell was often noted for his role in an early incarnation of King Crimson. However, beyond that he was a prolific singer-songwriter who, after years as a “starving folksinger,” found success in the 90s with the hit single “How Wonderful You Are” and the platinum album HARRY’S BAR. Before all those successes he worked with Chris Andrews (a.k.a. Tim Andrews) in the “freakbeat” band Fleur de Lys, springboard for the careers of Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship) and guitar hero Bryn Haworth.

In 1967 Gordon wrote and played bass and guitar on “You Won’t Be Seeing Me Anymore.” The track was recorded in London, but it has a folk-pop California sound that could’ve come from Laurel Canyon or San Francisco. On a cosmic jukebox this would play next to It’s A Beautiful Day (“White Bird”) and Love. The lyrics are aboutseasonal love, coming from a young man who travels for a long time and leaves his troubled sweetheart behind. The track was produced by Paul Clay (Ace Kefford, Sharon Tandy, early Yes) and Mike Noble (Joan Armatrading, Fleur de Lys, John Kongos). It was the B-side of “Sad Simon Lives Again,” Tim’s first solo single after he’d signed with renowned producer, promoter, and music executive Tony Hall (who’d plugged The Beatles, Carmen McRae, and inked Black Sabbath’s first record deal). Tim later reverted to his real name Chris and went on as a solo act and a collaborator with Roger Daltrey, David Essex, and Davy Jones (Monkees). Meanwhile, enjoy this rare track:

https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/you-wont-be-seeing-me-anymore

#timandrews #chrisandrews #gordonhaskell #fleurdelys #kingcrimson #harrysbar #California #LaurelCanyon #SanFrancisco #Love #Itsabeautifulday #whitebird #tonyhall #London #Parlophone #singersongwriter #rogerdaltrey #davidessex #davyjones #monkees

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Happy Heavenly Birthday to Man Ray (1890-1976), the pioneer of visual art and “found objects.” He was born in American but spent most of his career in Paris, becoming an informal contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements surrounding him. His career intersected with Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, and a hit list of actors, artists, dancers, filmmakers, and musicians. Despite Ray tagging himself as “just a painter,” he produced major works in a variety of media and is best known for his pioneering photography—specially fashion and portrait photography. He is also noted for his work with photograms (photographic images made not with a camera but with light exposure) which he called “Rayographs.” In the 1920s he directed and appeared in a number of avant-garde films, including the 1924 urban fantasy ENTR’ACTE (directed by René Clair). Ray appears with Frances Picabia, playing chess on a chessboard that transforms into a city center with busses and cars. I used this scene in a video for my song “It’s In Your Hands,” with music that quotes heavily from Erik Satie (who also appeared in ENTR’ACTE). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxReq4Xr-U8 Meanwhile, thank you Man for getting us to see the art in everything.

#manray #birthday #visualart #foundobjects #foundthings #Paris #dadaism #surrealism #salvadordali #marcelduchamp #pablopicasso #painter #photography #photogram #rayograph #avantgarde #reneclair #francespicabia #eriksatie #entracte #art #johnnyjblair #gnosseinnes

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Adam22, Felice Allesandri, Clem Burke, Dale Carnegie, Billy Connolly, Denise Crosby, Candy Darling, Howard Duff, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Colin Hanks, the great American composer Scott Joplin, producer-songwriter Terry Lewis, Stanley Livingston, Lee Michaels, Charles Theodore Pachebel, Elvis Ramone, Dave Sinclair (Caravan, Hatfield & the North), Baruch Spinoza, Staind, Chad Taylor (Live), keyboardist Richard Tee, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Robin Williamson (Incredible String Band), Teddy Wilson, Jim Yester (The Association), and Pete Best, the original drummer for The Beatles. That’s him on the Decca audition tapes and other early recordings. Deep Beatlemaniacs know that, in 1962, Best was replaced by Ringo Starr, which led to the classic line-up of the Fab Four. That episode is shrouded in urban legend, including rumors that Best was sacked because he was a bigger “chick magnet” than Paul McCartney. The true reason was more prosaic—Ringo had more experienced chops. It was an emotionally-wrenching career move for both Best and the other Beatles as they’d grown up together in Liverpool.

Best retired from drumming in the late 60s and became a civil servant. Then the 1995 Beatles ANTHOLOGY restored him to the public eye. At the behest of family, fans, and friends, Best formed a band and hit the road. In 2005 I was playing keyboards for The Davy Jones Band at a music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, and The Pete Best Band opened with a raw, rowdy rave up show, replicating the Beatles Cavern Club rock’n’roll set from the early 60s. It was a blast to watch! I lost my photo of Pete and I at the catering tent, but in this video I’m watching sidestage w/family members. HB Pete and God bless your rock’n’roll heart!

#beatles #petebest #drums #drummer #britishinvasion #davyjones #monkees #anthology #ringostarr #paulmccartney #cavernclub #liverpool #rhodeisland #newport #musicfestival #keyboards #johnnyjblair

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Rowan Atkinson, David Bowie’s 1978 “Beauty & The Beast” single, Paul Brindley (The Sundays), Max Bruch, Capucine, Sandy Denny, Kahlil Gibran, the groovy HAPPENING ’68 TV show, Mickey Hargitay, Michael Houser (Widespread Panic), Van McCoy, Tom Mix, Nek, Sandra Oh, Laudir de Oliveira, the 1963 New York theatrical opening of the musical OLIVER! w/Davy Jones, singer Chris Pilcher (good to sing with you), Giuseppe Sammartini, Carl Sandburg, Franz Xaver Scharwenka, Alexander Scriabin, Earl Scruggs, bassist Andy Seal (good to play with you), John Singleton, Kathy Sledge, John Smith, Charles Sumner, Ebo Taylor, Nino Tempo, Danny Thomas, Doris Troy, Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Kim Wilson, Paul Wilson (The Flamingos), Loretta Young, Malcolm Young, Yukana, and Syd Barrett, the famously troubled musician, guitar pioneer, singer-songwriter, and co-founder of Pink Floyd. Syd was a poster boy for 60s psychedelia—an influential and fascinating madcap who wrote most of PF’s early touchstones (“See Emily Play). Meanwhile, in Syd’s short and stormy career, he set the tone for experimental and edgy pop music, inspiring David Bowie, Flaming Lips, Robyn Hitchcock, Paul McCartney, XTC, and many more. Here’s my take of “Remember a Day” from Floyd’s SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS album and one of the last songs Syd did with the band. HB Syd—Shine on you crazy diamond…

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbw4UpvBi8U

 

#birthday #sydbarrett #pinkfloyd #guitarist #rickwright #johnnyjblair #singeratlarge

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SUNDAY MATINEE MUSIC VIDEO “Daydream Believer” + “It’s Going to Be Different” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4biM3K_QCX8 Two songs I did as host of an Open Mic at San Francisco Lighthouse. I shared a memory about the many times I've played "Daydream Believer" with Davy Jones and The Monkees, and we’ll be playing it on my upcoming gig at Monkey House in Berkeley CA (Sat. 2/22). The second song (my original composition) is getting a lot of interest and will be released on my next album, WE’RE GETTING CLOSER TO THE SUN. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4biM3K_QCX8

#johnnyjblair #singeratlarge #monkees #davyjones #singersongwriter #sanfrancisco #powerpop #artrock #gospel #americana #lighthouse  #sanfranciscolighthouse #neilfinn #paulmccartney #beatles #monkeyhouse #berkeley

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PAUL WILLIAMS. In addition to his amazing run as an actor and singer-songwriter, he wrote or co-wrote (with Biff Rose and Roger Nichols) songs covered by David Bowie, The Carpenters (“Rainy Days & Mondays,” “We’ve Only Just Begun”), Jack Jones, The Muppets, Helen Reddy, 3 Dog Night (“Old Fashioned Love Song”—also covered by Micky Dolenz), and Dionne Warwick—not to mention award-winning film and TV scores. He’s been Chairman and President of ASCAP since 2009 and is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In recent years he’s had a resurgence, working with Richard Barone, Daft Punk, and The Scissor Sisters. Somewhere he’s found time to take up skydiving and become a UCLA certified Drug Rehabilitation Counselor, co-authoring the book GRATITUDE & TRUST: RECOVERY IS NOT JUST FOR ADDICTS. 

Paul wrote the confessional “Someday Man” as a single for The Monkees. Upon release in 1968, it under-performed and got lost as a “deep cut” + Paul’s own version didn’t do much better. However, as cream rises to the top, in time the sophisticated and art-y song grew in popularity, in part because Davy Jones revived it for his solo set in 2009. Now it’s considered to be a Jones/Monkees evergreen and (speaking as a former band member) it was one of our favorites to play. Here’s the song from the 2011 tour Davy did w/The Monkees. Meanwhile, HB PW and thank you for your many musical gems.

#monkees #davyjones #paulwilliams #somedayman #paulgilbert #biffrose #rogernichols #davidbowie #carpenters #jackjones #muppets #helenreddy #3dognight #mickydolenz #dionnewarwick #detroit #johnnyjblair #foxtheatre #richardbarone #daftpunk #scissorsisters #recovery #skydiving

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MONKEES + SATURDAY MATINEE MUSIC VIDEO – The Monkees “Porpoise Song” (live 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgV3KLUrhAw This week in 1966, THE MONKEES TV show premiered and changed everything in popular music, television, and multi-media. Someday I’m going to write out my “journey with The Monkees.” Like millions of other pre-teens in 1966-67, I caught on to their music and their cutting-edge show that was a form of rock’n’roll psychedelic vaudeville. Frank Zappa and The Beatles were amongst their fans, and John Lennon said he “never missed an episode.” Little did I imagine that one day I’d professionaly work with The Monkees. 

One day I was doing an interview and was asked, “What’s your favorite Monkees song?” My knee-jerk response is “Porpoise Song.” Besides being my #1 favorite Monkees song to perform and listen to, this was the only uncut footage I could find of us doing “Porpoise Song” on the American wing of the 2011 tour (thanks to Joey PGH1 for capturing this @ Merrillville IN 6-30-11). According to Monkees-authority/historian/manager Andrew Sandoval (who guided the 2011 international tour), the original recording was the most elaborate production in Monkees history. Cashbox magazine compared it to “I Am The Walrus,” and for me it felt like participating in a Pink Floyd set. Written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin (who created the porpoise theme), the song bookended the 1968 film HEAD, the deconstruction of The Monkees mythology.

Personnel on this performance: 

Micky Dolenz: drums & lead vocals 

Davy Jones: percussion & vocals 

Peter Tork: slide guitar & vocals 

Wayne Avers: lead slide guitar 

Eric Biondo: trumpet 

Johnny J. Blair: bass & vocals + video-enhancement (2023) 

Arnold Jacks: saxophone 

Aviva Maloney: keyboards, saxophone, & vocals 

Jimmy Riccitelli: keyboards & vocals 

David Robicheau: guitar & vocals 

Andrew Sandoval: visuals 

Felipe Torres: drums & vocals 

Chris von Sneidern: remastering (2023) 

#mickydolenz #themonkees #porpoisesong #headmovie #psychedelicrock #poprock #actor #director #producer #vocalist #singer #johnnyjblair #bassist #monkeestour #caroleking #gerrygoffin #andrewsandoval #birthday #davyjones #michaelnesmith #petertork

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NEW VIDEO! 

The Monkees "Randy Scouse Git" live @ The Greek Theatre, July 16, 2011

#mickydolenz #davyjones #petertork #themonkees #thebeatles #mikenesmith #johnlennon #paulmccartney #geoergeharrison #ringostarr #london #poprock #actor #director #producer #vocalist #singer #johnnyjblair #bassist #monkeestour #andrewsandoval #tympani #stanfreberg #bobbyhart #emittrhodes #nuritwilde #greektheatre

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PETER NOONE, the great singer/actor/musician and front man for the uber-successful British Invasion pop band, Herman’s Hermits. Their run included 3 feature films, countless TV appearances, tours with The Beatles and The Who, and 60 million records sold, with songs written by Sam Cooke, Ray Davies, Goffin-King, and Graham Gouldman. Originally from Manchester, Peter was 12 years old when he entered showbiz. Davy Jones (also from Manchester) told me that when Peter was a “teen idol” on magazines he still had to take the trash out as he was still living at home with his folks. Beyond the 60s, Peter kept on making records, intersecting with Bruce Johnston (Beach Boys), Tom Petty, Phil Seymour, and David Bowie—who produced and played on Peter’s cover of “Oh You Pretty Things.” I also recommend The Tremblers, Peter’s New Wave rock band from 1979. Meanwhile, Peter is still on the trail with the current Hermits line-up, crooning “Mrs. Brown,” “There’s a Kind of Hush” and his other hits. I crossed paths with Peter on the road many times, and I admire the way he avails himself to his fans. Meanwhile, here’s “Today’s the Day,” a Peter Noone/DavyJones collaboration from 1998. HB PN and thank you for the years of musical joy you’ve given to us.

#peternoone #hermanshermits #thetremblers #raydavies #grahamgouldman #manchester #davyjones #monkees #brucejohnston #beachboys #tompetty #philseymour #davidbowie #prettythings #seanmcguire #phillipthornalley

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MONDAY MATINEE MUSIC VIDEO “Gentle Harp” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRPQYrQE6hI …When Chris Andrews isn’t creating musicals, rock’n’roll, or funky pop songs, he composes ambient instrumental music to soothe the ears and mind. "Gentle Harp" began as an easeful lullaby, but the video expands into a tribute to the lighthearted genius of Harpo Marx. It also pays tribute to the diverse people and characters who play the harp. On a cosmic jukebox this would play somewhere between Enya and Vangelis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRPQYrQE6hI

#HarpoMarx #MarxBrothers #harp #harpmusic #harpist #gentleharp #chrisandrews #composer #ambientmusic #neoclassical #vangelis #enya #newagemusic #hoveUK

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HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY to the legendary Nico: Actress, model, musician, and singer-songwriter. Born in Germany as Christa Päffgen, her career is well documented—from being cast in Fellini’s LA DOLCE VITA and singing on the landmark first Velvet Underground album, then embarking on a long career as a Teutonic chanteuse. Her reputation as “Andy Warhol’s eye candy” couldn’t limit her as she went on to create music with a compelling future-primitive goth-folk quality—eerie and gauzy yet somehow endearing. Her best-known albums were produced by John Cale and Eno, but her 80s recordings are well-worth seeking out as well. She died suddenly and tragically at age 49 after a bicycle accident. 

In late 1978 she performed a series of shows at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco. It was just her voice and her harmonium— an enigmatic set considering The Mab mostly staged rowdy punk/New Wave bands. I met her briefly, recorded her shows for my own enjoyment, then uploaded them on reel-to-reel tapes. A few years later I loaned the tapes to an associate who never returned them. Many years after that, my recordings mysteriously appeared on a French bootleg series. Those tapes got a lot of mileage. HB Nico and thank you for your spirit. This video approximates what we saw at the Mab...

#nico #christapaffgen #velvetunderground #singersongwriter #johnnyjblair #harmonium #mabuhaygardens #sanfrancisco #birthdays

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HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY to Greg Lake, legendary singer-songwriter, pioneering influencer of bass and guitar, co-founder of King Crimson, and lead vocalist for Emerson Lake & Palmer. 

To celebrate Greg’s storied career, one could make a long list of deep cuts and hit songs that are now touchstones of classic rock, from “Lucky Man” to “From the Beginning.” The music of ELP and KC are pivotal to my early development as a musician, and in my solo set I do “Cat Food” and “I Talk to the Wind.” I video’d a version with little preparation, raw-recording it at home on 21 January 2021 (1-21-21). I forsook the solos, not daring to replicate Ian McDonald’s sublime flute work on the original, but I did sing it after Lake’s original evocative model. Pete Sinfield’s lyrics seem to be about a person (straight man) trying to communicate with someone who is self-absorbed or narcissistic (late man), and it’s better to move on and be done with discouragement. Pop Matters called it “a stunning tone-poem of melancholy (that) somehow manages to be somber and gorgeous.” Meanwhile, HB to GL…”Welcome back my friend to the show that never ends…”

#KingCrimson #IanMcDonald #petesinfield #GregLake #JudyDyble #wind #progressiverock #jazzrock #folkrock #Britishrock #classicrock #johnnyjblair #singeratlarge #pianist #sanfrancisco #courtofthecrimsonking

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MY HERO & MUSIC GAME-CHANGER: ASTOR PIAZZOLLA

Birthday tribute to the revolutionary fusioneer of tango, jazz, classical, pop, and soundtracks

When I listen to tango music, I am drawn into a vast and disconnected world, layered in comedy, heartache, profanity, reverence, romance, and tragedy. You can smell and taste it like fresh, velvety blood after a punch in the nose.

“The tango creates a murky, unreal past / that somehow becomes true, an impossible memory of having died / fighting, on a suburban street corner”— Jorge Luis Borges from his poem Tango.

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was the unlikely champion of tango, revisioning it despite itself. He led a life of artistic and personal liberty—the freedom to think outside of the box. Born lame, living trans-nationally as a constant immigrant, reared simultaneously in Catholic school and inner-city gangs, as one who loved Bach, Gershwin, and jazz as much as tango, Piazzolla became a soldier of artistry. 

“I always thought there was someone in back of me in life, just pushing me. He is always telling me what to do.”— Piazzolla.

To paraphrase Robert Fripp, tango is to Argentina what blues and jazz are to America. Like tango, blues and jazz came from shameful and ugly places in history. Yet blues and jazz have become indispensable treasures, able to communicate on many wavelengths. It is as though God, who made all things, can transform that which is debased and hideous into something glorious and beautiful.

“Tango is a music of paradoxes…a porridge of African, European and indigenous cultures. Its quintessential instrument is the bandoneón, a button squeezebox invented in Germany as a poor man’s organ. It was created to play sacred music, but it flourished in the whorehouses of Buenos Aires…the dance might be understood as a macho ritual, but in the first step, the man backs down.”—from Fernando Gonzalez’ Introduction to Piazzolla’s memoir.

Tango dancers move like statues coming to life. The exaggerated stiffness, kicks, flicks, and deliberate pauses of the dance are Afro-Argentine in origin. Tango music has roots in Cuba (the habanera), Argentinian vidalitas (sad songs), and Africa. Slaves brought cadombe rhythms and the tambor (an African drum). Some believe “tango” originally meant “a place where black people gather to dance.” In its primal years (1870-1910), tango was the music of the low class arrabales (suburbs of Buenos Aires), a blend of gaucho (Argentine cowboys) verse and lunfardo (Italian reverse slang) with Spanish music, Italian tarantellas, and German/Polish waltzes (later known as milangos).

“Tango is a hybrid of a hybrid people.”—Ernesto Sabato

Happy, frisky Afro-European folk dances became menacing in the vulgar hands of dirty, homesick men and treacherous prostitutes who’d as soon rob you as befriend you. The original tango dances were man-on-man, as there was a shortage of women. As more females entered the population, the dance became the personification of man and woman.

The dance is improvised rather than standardized, consisting of long walks and intertwined movements, usually in eight steps. A Buenos Aires tourist brochure states, “The man and woman glide across the floor as an exquisitely orchestrated duo with early flirtatious movements, giving way to dramatic leads and heartfelt turns. Depending on the music, the dance might proceed slowly and sensually, or with furious splendor.”

“It is a dense lament that quickly turned into violently carnal words, in proclamations of imprecise desires.”—Horacio Vazquez-Rial 

Early tangos were played on flute, guitar, violin, and piano. The old lyrics spoke of grift, novelty, sports, and the war between the sexes—men as brutes, women as animals. InHistoria del Arrabal (1910), Manuel Galvez wrote, “it was a sensual, swinish, fringe music, mixing insolence and baseness, voluptuousness and toughness, secular sadness and the coarse happiness of brothels.”

“The tango is a sad thought that is danced,” said songwriter Enrique Santos Discepolo, who created the fictional Pipstrela, a slum girl who acts stupid so she could scam unsuspecting men. Yet she yearns for a rich boy to take her away.

“You gave me stormy weather / with just the shadow of your hand / across my face /

You gave me the cold, the distance, / the bitter midnight coffee / among empty tables /

It always started raining / in the middle of the movie, / and waiting amid the petals /

of the flower I brought you: a spider /…I was a tango lyric / to your indifferent tune”

—from MAYBE THE MOST BELOVED by Julio Cortezar (author of BLOW UP)

The tango lyric explores the mystery that separates man from woman. In the 2001Tango de los Pistoleros episode of the cult-TV show, THE LONE GUNMEN, the dance became a metaphorical discourse on the universal battle between male and female. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJZToUQQbj0 Jorge Luis Borges wrote, “The tango is a direct expression of something that poets have often tried to state in words: The belief that a fight may be a celebration.” It is not unlike the New Testament depiction of the bridegroom (Christ) who rescues the bride (the church).

Tango music moves and resounds like exotic birds crying out after flying astray into a big city. It’s no wonder that Piazzolla drew comparisons to Gershwin. Piazzolla meant Buenos Aires. Gershwin meant New York City.

“Tango shocked him, and yet despite himself he felt moved: it was the cry of his land, of his sad city.”—the painter Tomas in the novel Calles de Buenos Aires by Silvino Bullrich.

By 1900 (when Argentina was a larger world power than America), the Gran Aldea (Great Village) of Buenos Aires was becoming an immigrant city where frustrated and melancholy Europeans were displacing the rowdy, rustic gauchos. German sailors brought in the bandoneón. Children of this generation became the first porteños (people of a port city), and the tango cancion (tango song) became the new expression of urban experience, bittersweet nostalgia and unifying myths. It was the “get me out” voice of lost love and lost by the wayside.

“The tango is the grumble of Buenos Aires and its outsiders, its musical tribulations, its sentimental death-throe, its neurotic tremor, its sensual snore, its exclusive rainbow.”—Ramon Gomez de la Serna

Between 1890 and 1920, tango went through a laundering. It became art and entertainment for polite society. Hollywood and Paris became tango epicenters. Agents of these changes were singer-songwriter-actor Carlos Gardel and actor-dancer Rudolph Valentino. In silent film classic THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE, Valentino appeared with his little smile and gaucho hat, dancing in a mix of gypsy and Spanish flamenco. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4ELzf0u7Q8 By 1925 (the year of Gardel’s first European tour), Parisian fashion triumphed and tango became an international craze. Fans and musicians became known as tangueros.

The real hero is Gardel, El Zorzal Criollo, the songbird of Buenos Aires. America has Frank Sinatra. Latin America has Carlos Gardel. He is the icon of tango culture; the master of the tango cancion, with songs of depth and mystique that resonated with millions of people. Though born in France, Gardel epitomized the South American porteño. He was internationally successful as a radio and recording artist before he branched into movies. By no coincidence, a young Piazzolla appeared in a film with Gardel. His untimely demise in 1935 only contributed to the mythology of the era (in the Latin World, the magnitude of Gardel’s death would compare to the aftereffects of John Lennon’s death).

From the 1920’s until the early 1950s, it was The First Golden Age of Tango, with big bands led by Juan D’Arienzo (“the King of Rhythm”), Osvaldo Pugliese, and Anibal Troilo (names now spoken in reverence). Unfortunately, in the mid-50s, economic, political and social changes in Argentina (complicated by the Peron regime) brought a sharp decline in tango’s fortunes. Then Elvis Presley and The Beatles hit, seizing the minds of young Argentine musicians just like the rest of the world. Tango became the music of cartoons, old folks, and tourists.

Not for Piazzolla. Even in the 1940s, Piazzolla served notice that he’d be reworking the rules for tango. In the early 1950s, he went to Paris to study under renowned composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. He said he “wanted to be Stravinsky,” but Boulanger told him to seek the soul of the tango. One night in Paris, after hearing a concert by jazz saxophonist/composer Gerry Mulligan, Piazzolla had a revelation. He now had all the information to save tango from caricature, if not extinction.

“The tanguero is a strange animal.”—Piazzolla

Piazzolla retained tango’s poignancy and lyricism, but he rejected tango’s penchant towards sentimentality and morbid self-pity. He revised the language to include influences of Bartok, Debussy, Puccini, Ravel and Stravinsky, as well as jazz and pop/rock. He introduced complex harmonics, dissonances, and modalities. Like Miles Davis and Bob Dylan, Piazzolla enraged the purists. In doing so, he would barely draw an audience in his spiritual home of Buenos Aires. What was worse, Pizzolla had perfect tango credentials, having played with the legendary Troilo (originator of the perfect bandoneón method). Yet Piazzolla was an outsider who dared to play Bach and Mozart on the bandoneon. Piazzolla’s big band gave solos to a cello, reeds, and other instruments that were unorthodox to tango traditionalists.

“He was considered a heretic.”—Horacio Ferrar, president of the Tango Academy in Buenos Aires.

Piazzolla did not sell many records in Argentina, but around the world he drew a loyal following. His music has been performed by the Assad Brothers, Emmanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, the Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma, not to mention orchestras and small groups. Piazzolla scored numerous films and his career intersected with Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Alberto Ginestera, and Lalo Schifrin.

During the 1980s, Piazzolla’s mission was aided, in part, by films and Broadway musicals that used tango as the theme. Today, Nuevo Tango has a substantial following in Europe and Japan (where there is a Second Golden Age; Japan and Scandanavia have whole tango subcultures). Groups like The Gotan Project mix tango with rock, soul and techno.

“Who sets the limits of artistic revolution?”—Piazzolla

It was the late 80s when I first heard Piazzolla, via his collaborations with jazz vibraphone prodigy Gary Burton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IklOVOXvK7Q&list=PLymqsf0tm2Ztr3af9lcitF0Pe0mEsE-Ax However, I assumed Piazzolla was just some oddball playing jazz on a squeeze box. Little did I know...

The turning point for me was seeing THE TANGO LESSON, a 1997 film (now out of print) by Sally Potter, a filmmaker, dramatist, dancer-choreographer, writer and composer. She “started out trying to make a film about the joy of dance and ended up making a story about the complexity of love.” Potter (playing herself) discovers tango. She finds the reigning Prince of Tango Dancing, Pablo Veron (playing himself) in Paris. She offers to make him a movie star if he makes her a tango dancer. The centerpiece of the soundtrack was Piazzolla’s “Libertango.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sGTPTZY5yM

“…It was all first-rate art…bohemian, confidential, delicate, porteno, rioplatense, universal…superfriend and supratanguero…that tango future so seductive and triumphant, sensed so many times…a creation immortal and luminous…like a star that has become substance in the sound of souls.”—Natalio Gorin, Piazzolla biographer

For me, “Libertango” is a soundtrack about discovery, exploration and pioneering your craft, be it music or something else. Tango music has forever changed my approach to composition and songwriting. The first time I heard “Libertango” and more essential Piazzolla compositions: “Adios Nonino,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTPec8z5vdY

“Oblivion,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF-IMQzd_Jo

“Resurrecion del Angel,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IScmTZPFQOs

“Verano Porteno,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaP0P8YDIsQ

... and many more, it was like putting my finger into a still pool of water only to find out, once I lifted my head and looked, that it is not a pool, but a sea.

I have yet to take on covering a Piazzolla composition, but his influence can be heard in my song “It’s In Your Hands” (based on a melody by Erik Satie). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyjtzLwv6uU

Meanwhile, Happy Heavenly Birthday to AP—thank you for challenging us with your gifts and for never being afraid.

#piazzolla #astorpiazzolla #tango #nuevotango #libertango #birthday #johnnyjblair