Le Collectif Tango Negro Ensemble – Tribute to Juan Carlos Cáceres (Felmay Records, 2025)
Le Collectif Tango Negro Ensemble honors the legacy of Juan Carlos Cáceres (1936–2015) with a double album, Tribute to Juan Carlos Cáceres, that reinterprets his most iconic works alongside previously unreleased compositions. A pioneer of what he called “tango negro” (black tango), Cáceres traced the African roots of Río de la Plata music, fusing jazz, candombe, milonga, and murga into a singular Afro-Argentine aesthetic.
Cáceres developed a personal musical language informed not by ethnographic fidelity but by cultural reconstruction. His work situates tango within a broader narrative of social resistance, diasporic memory, and hybrid identity. Tracks such as “Toca Tango,” “Tango Negro,” and “Dársena Sur” evoke the pulse of Buenos Aires while foregrounding the continent’s long-denied African heritage. His lyrics, cited in academic theses across Europe, bear enduring sociopolitical relevance.
The album revisits these compositions through a modular ensemble format, trio, quartet, quintet, and beyond, echoing Cáceres’ own concept of “variable geometry.” Bassist and arranger Carlos “Tero” Buschini, a longtime member of the Tango Negro Trio, leads the project, which also includes works co-written with Cáceres, such as “La Maga,” inspired by Julio Cortázar’s Rayuela.
The ensemble features a wide network of international artists from tango, jazz, and world music spheres. Guests include Horacio Burgos, Sedef Arçetin, Daniel Melingo, Chino Laborde, Olivier Manoury, Minino Garay, and Natalio Mangalavite. Italian collaborators such as Flaco Biondini, Paolo Fresu, Peppe Servillo, Fausto Beccalossi, and Javier Girotto also contribute.
This tribute navigates the intertwined histories of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Montevideo (Uruguay), ports shaped by African slaves, Mediterranean immigrants, and creole traditions, offering a richly layered portrait of a musical visionary who reshaped tango’s past to imagine its future.
Le Collectif Tango Negro Ensemble: Ariel Tobio on vocals; Peppe Servillo on vocals; Walter “El Chino” Laborde on vocals; Rubén “El Mono” Izarrualde on vocals and flute; Paolo Fresu on trumpet and flicorno; Javier Girotto on saxes; Carlos “El Tero” Buschini on acoustic bass guitar, guitars, drums and percussion, and chorus; Natalio Mangalavite on piano and chorus; Horacio Burgos on guitars; Max Rosati on guitars; Juan Carlos “el flaco” Biondini on guitars; Martin Troncozo on guitars; Minino Garay on drums and percussion; Martin Bruhn on drums and percussion; Marcelo Russillo on drums and percussion; Juan Pablo “El Morrón” Miglionico on drums and percussion; Tomohiro Yahiro on drums and percussion; Alejandro Caraballo on drums and percussion; Sedef Arçetin on cello; Aska “Maret” Kaneko on violin; Lautaro Acosta on violin; Olivier Manoury on accordina; Fausto Beccalossi on accordion; Davide Pecetto on accordion and bandoneon; Martin Sued on bandoneon; Guido Bombardieri on clarinets; Francesco Pinetti on vibraphone; Paola Fernandez dell’Erba on chorus; Liliana Rodriguez on chorus; Marilin Miller on chorus; J.C. Caceres on voice off; Daniel Melingo on voice off; Grazz on voice off.
Recorded in: Argentina, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Turkey between 2020 and 2023
Mixed by: Fico Borgognone (La Falda, Córdoba, Argentina) 2024
Mastered by: Max Rosati (Civitavecchia, Italia) 2024
Pictures, paintings & photo: Juan Carlos Cáceres, Alicia Zadàn, Grazz, Walter Miglio
Buy Tribute to Juan Carlos Cáceres.
Author: Madison Quinn
