Bajo Cero (Khaeon World Music, Inc., 2003)
It’s easy to understand why Argentinian pianist Pablo Ziegler has been described at the successor to the phenomenal Astor Piazzolla. His latest venture, with guitarist Quique Sinesi and bandoneon virtuoso Walter Castro, Bajo Cero, based on their tour, leaves little doubt of his remarkable contribution to Tango Nuevo.
The music is smart with just enough of a jazz flair to appeal to tango fans and to make it accessible to listeners unfamiliar with traditional tangos and milongas. Milonga “La Rayuela” opens the CD and wows the listener with fast paced piano and bandoneon work. “Flor de Lino,” one of three traditional tangos on this CD, slows the pace and charms with its interplay between guitar and piano. “Chin Chin,” a piece written by Piazzolla, exudes passion and demonstrates the improvisational skills of these three talented musicians. Ziegler’s composition “Milonga del Adios” walks the listener through the passion and melancholy of the Argentinian soul in this slower piece. Quique Sinesi’s composition entitled “Planufer Milonga” is a stunning track with a little Candombe-inspired rhythm tossed in for interest.
Bajo Cero illustrates the talents of this remarkable trio. One could only hope that Pablo Ziegler, Quique Sinesi and Walter Castro continue touring and come up with another CD as sharp and delightful as this recording
Buy Bajo Cero
Author: TJ Nelson
TJ Nelson is a regular CD reviewer and editor at World Music Central. She is also a fiction writer. Check out her latest book, Chasing Athena’s Shadow.
Set in Pineboro, North Carolina, Chasing Athena’s Shadow follows the adventures of Grace, an adult literacy teacher, as she seeks to solve a long forgotten family mystery. Her charmingly dysfunctional family is of little help in her quest. Along with her best friends, an attractive Mexican teacher and an amiable gay chef, Grace must find the one fading memory that holds the key to why Grace’s great-grandmother, Athena, shot her husband on the courthouse steps in 1931.
Traversing the line between the Old South and New South, Grace will have to dig into the past to uncover Athena’s true crime.
