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| Sun. May 13: Tango No. 9 plays the East Bay Tango No. 9, the Bay Area's premier Tango Nuevo ensemble, returns to Anna's Jazz Island in Berkeley on Sunday, May 13. The band--leader Catharine Clune on violin, trombonist Greg Stephens, pianist Joshua Raoul Brody, and Isabel Douglass on accordion and Bandoneon--returns after a brief vacation that saw Stephens off to Morocco, Douglass to India, Brody to France and Belgium, and Clune to her son's day-care. The intimate setting of Anna's Jazz Island is an ideal listening space for the ensemble's more adventurous repertoire, much of which will appear on their third album, to be recorded in May in Oakland's New & Improved Recording. Material will include traditional tangos, waltzes, and milongas; covers of maestro Astor Piazzolla's tango nuevo, from well-known pieces like "Libertango" to more obscure rarities; and original compositions by band members Stephens and Brody, as well as band familiar, Alejandro Oyuela, who composed the title track of the band's second CD, Radio Valencia. Tango No. 9 first began performing at Radio Valencia in 1998, when violinist Catharine Clune formed the quartet to explore the repertoire of composer Astor Piazzolla, father of modern Argentine tango nuevo. Using Piazzolla's driving, complex compositions as a foundation, Tango No. 9 created its own sound featuring sophisticated arrangements and improvisations, and released its first CD, All Them Cats in Recoleta in 2002. They gained a wide California following through popular performances at concert halls & festivals, and by embracing the musical and cultural phenomenon that is tango. In their second CD, Radio Valencia, they took traditional tango as a new inspiration. Tango No. 9 has become a hot ticket on the San Francisco tango dance circuit. The dancers themselves provide further inspiration: the band plays off the intricate, improvised footwork of the couples swirling on the dance floor, and the dancers' emotional response to their music. Tango No. 9 divides their time between concerts which emphasize their modern "tango nuevo, " often featuring choreographed dance exhibitions, and exercising the more traditional repertoire for tango dance parties, or milongas. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |