This powerful concert was recorded live in New York City on September
6, 1987. Piazzolla was playing with his best ensemble: a quintet
consisting of himself on bandoneon, Pablo Ziegler on piano, Fernando
Suarez Paz on violin, Horacio Malvicino on electric guitar, and Hector
Console on bass. Piazzolla plays some of his finest material -- about
half of Tango: Zero Hour surfaces, for example. Two of the most
paradigmatic Piazzolla pieces show up too: "La Camorra," with its
alternating moments of tense dance rhythms and creepy atmosphere, and
"Verano Porteño," with its dancing-bear rhythms. The concert closes with
"Concierto Para Quinteto," one of those long pieces that Piazzolla
favored that visits many styles and moods -- almost many eras. It would
be very easy to lose the thread on such an epic composition in live
performance, but the quintet keeps it together admirably. The live
recording is of surprisingly high quality; there is an appropriate echo
and the balance is nearly perfect. The audience is completely
unobtrusive -- inaudible except when they applaud. And the instruments
are very clear, especially when the musicians coax those "zings" and
"pops" out of them that Piazzolla loved. For someone new to his work,
the "special effects" on this recording can be a revelation. There is
also a wonderful spoken track, with Piazzolla talking about himself, the
tango, and the mysterious bandoneon. This album is a wonderful place to
start -- or finish -- with this charismatic composer of nuevo tango
music. Kurt Keefner
Tracklist
1 Verano Porteño 6:54
2 Lunfardo 5:56
3 Milonga Del Angel 6:32
4 Muerte Del Angel 3:20
5 Astor's Speech 2:20
6 La Camorra 4:27
7 Mumuki 9:09
8 Adios Nonino 8:12
9 Contra Bajissmo 10:10
10 Michelangelo 3:24
11 Concierto Para Quinteto 9:45
Credits
Bandoneon – Astor Piazzolla
Bass – Hector Console
Electric Guitar – Horacio Malvicino
Piano – Pablo Ziegler
Violin – Fernando Suarez Paz 
