This new book has recently been reviewed by Anthony Cronin DJ:”I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. This book tackles twenty of the more popular tango orquestras and sub divided them into 4 categories.

The Simple: Canaro, Lomuto, Firpo, Donato and OTV

The Rhytmic: D’Arienzo, Biagi, Tanturi, Rodriguez and Malerba

The Lyrical: Fresedo, Di Sarli, Caló, Demare, D’Agostino and De Angelis

The Complex: De Caro, Laurenz, Pugliese, Troilo

It is in the approach to the treatment of each orquestra that this book is a winner. It has a parallel You Tube channel so you can listen to the songs and hear exactly the point the author is making about the signature sound as you read about each Orquestra.

The approach is refreshing and the book has enough detail to last you for several readings as your understanding of the wide domain of tango music and it’s history grows.

The approach is as follows. Each orquestra starts with a personal story about the leader, then a section on their signature sounds throughout their career. Then the singers are discussed and finally the key musicians and a summary. These are not laced with long lists of single release dates that make pages look like a balance sheet. There is a charming balance of detail and flow, to make a light and readable story that helps you grow in your understanding. The movement of key people, especially singers across orquestras is also tracked in a nice way.

This is a book for you if you are now dancing and starting to recognise the different orquestas, If you already know them well and their songs but never got into the background.

Remember, when you were a teenager and how reading about the band members and where they came from and their influences helped you connect more with them and thus enjoy them more, this book will assist you in your journey with tango.

Still it has something else to offer, it is not a read and forget book, it has sufficient detail and solid research behind it that it will be often taken off your shelf when listening to music to find little more details as you develop as a lover of all things tango. It will become one of your go to books when looking up about music.”