Remixed

If the mark of true musical genius is a potent combination of timelessness and universality, then the late Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla stands near the summit with other, more celebrated, masters. Before his death in 1992, the classically-trained, jazz-influenced Piazzolla was known for revolutionizing tango, reinventing a largely provincial dance music and spreading it at concert halls worldwide. Little wonder that since his death a wide variety of jazz and classical performers (Yo-Yo Ma, Gidon Kramer, Emmanuel Ax, and Al DiMeola) have recorded albums devoted to Piazzolla's music. Perhaps more surprising, but fitting in its own way, is the recent embrace of nuevo tango by a global army of dance-club deejays, many of whom appear on Astor Piazzolla Remixed. After all, tango was originally born as a dance between two men in the bordellos of Buenos Aires, and the deejays on Remixed--hailing from New York, London, Paris, Stockholm, and Helsinki--are simply reclaiming the music's past while simultaneously propelling it into the future. Thankfully, all fifteen interpreters are respectful without lapsing into the reverential; they cut and paste the primary elements of Piazzolla's music -bandoneon, violin, piano, contrabass, and guitar—into new sonic shapes, adding dance beats and a polyglot range of vocals that often meld together seamlessly. Particularly good are the soul-infused take on "Milonga" by New York deejay and ordained African priest Osunlade; the Detroit techno-Latin hybrid of "Revirado" by John Beltran; and the symphonic scat jazz of "Verano Porteno" by Nuspirit Helsinki. Not all the tracks will win instant acceptance from long-time Piazzolla fans: London drum 'n' bass duo 4Hero turn "El Viaje" into four-on-the-floor disco that edges closer to Donna Summer than anything the late composer might recognize. But then, such complaints probably sound similar to the opposition Piazzolla faced when he first pulled traditional tango apart and refashioned it to his own liking in the mid-'50s. All told, Astor Piazzolla Remixed is a worthy tribute to a great composer. --Keith Moerer