BENITEZ, BALTAZAR - guitar
MARCUCCI, ALFREDO - bandonen

ango, an Anthology

 P. Castellanos: La Puñalada
G.M. Rodrigues: La Cumparsita
J. de Caro: Guardia Vieja, A. Aieta: Palomita blanca
P. Laurenz: Milonga de mis amores 
A. Troilo: Garúa; Sur; La trampera 
M. Mores: Taquito militar 
A. Piazzolla: Jacinto Chiclana; Prepárense; Lo que vendrá; Buenos Aires Hora Cero; Café 1930; Night Club 1960

Channel Crossings

Marcucci first saw the light of day in 1930, in Buenos Aires, center of the tango's beating heart. Cafes, nightclubs, dance halls, patios, living rooms, every corner of the city was drenched in the melancholy of the Argentinian people, translated into sound. Every evening the numerous competing orchestras stood ready to offer their audiences danceable consolation or steamy oblivion. Any ensemble worthy of the name had four or even five bandoneon players, four violinists, a pianist, a bass player, and two singers who provided a clearly understandable text for the love and grief of the music. In the traditional tango, the singers were the stars of the show. The alternately languorous and biting rhythms and the predictable interludes were only the ground on which the poets could engrave their unhappy loves, unfulfilled desires, and burning homesickness.

In this environment, Marcucci succumbed completely to music. At an early age he already had a bandoneon on his lap, the German squeezebox that had been promoted to mouthpiece of Argentina. His uncle, the well-known orchestra leader Carlos Marcucci, taught him to play the instrument and formed the young Marcucci into a gifted bandoneonist. In order to absorb the atmosphere from the inside out, Marcucci played in various children's bands before making the leap to professional groups. "We often had only one score for the pieces that we played", Marcucci remembers. "We had to manage with that, there were no copiers at the time. The music was put on the pianist's stand and we tried to read along a little. That way I learned to play a lot of repertoire by heart." (liner notes ccs 10997)

(...) L’effetto di questa compolazione è eccellente e assucurato.(...)
Suonare, December 1995
(...) Dos extraordinarios músicos especializados en la materia nos regalan un magnífico y precioso disco. A no perdérselo (...)
Ritmo, December '93
(...) Wat de musici laten horen verdient zonder meer een schoonheidsprijs, een ongekende virtuositeit. Heerlijk (...)
Oor, October '93
(...) to produce one of the most fascinating and evocative discs that came my way for review in the last year(...)
Oxford Times, January '94
(...) samen aan het werk en was meteen onder de indruk van hun prachtige samenspel. Deze beide heren beheersen hun instrumenten perfekt, spelen met tempi, mineur-majeur, kontrapunt en gevoel.
Bourdonske, April 1994
(...) The two artist are the superb Baltazar Benítez (guitar) and Alfredo Marcucci (bandoneon) and the sound gives full appreciation of mood and atmosphere to the 15 pieces. (...)
Classical Collection, May 1994
(...) Prachtige versieringen, speels en met muzikale en technische vanzelfsprekendheid gespeeld. (...)
Gandalf, December 1997