Modern Tango World N° 6 (Montreal, Quebec) | Page 24

Argentine singer Damian Nisenson accompanies them with
a voice that grew up in the heart
of Buenos Aires and tells stories
lived with legendary characters.
For great concerts, they present
a more modern repertoire, as
well as their own compositions.
“Quien toca, no baila “

At the beginning of the 2000s, Denis Plante also
formed the Ensemble Tango Vivo of Montreal, from
which comes the album Noche de Tango. In 2012, he
created the trio Tango Boréal, and recorded several
albums. He has also developed an innovative concept,
opera tangos that he is writing. It has a unique repertoire of tangos, waltzes and milongas sung in French,
including Carmen: Amour Boréal and Évita: Diva du
Tango! His career as a composer and performer has
made him an artist in great demand.
The pianist and composer Jose Maria Gianelli has
contributed a repertoire of tangos, milongas and
waltzes. He has two CDs under his belt, both produced by the Canada Council for the Arts: Tango
Loco, Tango Reo (2005) and Candombe de Montréal
(2008). He is also the founder of El Trio Argentino.
In the 1990s, they played a large repertoire of traditional dance tango, as well as original tangos, waltzes
and milongas composed by Jose Maria Gianelli.Pablo
Seib (double bass) and Andrée-Anne Tremblay (violin) form the rest of this trio which perform at milongas and music festivals in Canada and the United
States. Since 2007, Flavia Garcia has lent her voice to
the ensemble and participates in the composition of
lyrics, both in French and Spanish.

This old Argentine saying holds
that musicians are not dancers,
but is that still true? For musicians like Victor Simon, Denis
Plante, Mélanie Bergeron and
Damian Nisenson, to know
how to dance the tango adds
to their musical interpretation. It
helps them to adapt better to the dancers. Saxophonist Charles Papasoff, who only began dancing
in 2016, already considers it essential to be able to
understand the dance in order to properly interpret tango music.
As for dancers, some find it difficult to dance to
live music. But according to Damian Nisenson, it
is impor tant to develop an interaction between
musicians and dancers.
To do better, we need you, [the dancers].
— Damian Nisenson
He quotes the piece from Piazzolla’s Cierra Tus Ojos
y Escucha and tells us that we can dance to all the
tangos, nuevos or traditional. It’s just closing your eyes,
listening and getting carried away!

The opportunities to play are limited for tango
musicians because this music is not part of the primary Quebec culture.The audience is often limited
to tango dancers and it is the schools and owners of milongas who hire musicians for their special events. The majority of musicians, unfortunately,
struggle to develop solid repertoires or even to
create and innovate, because they must work on
Radiotango is a recently formed ensemble of four mu- other projects, or have other jobs to live. It is clear
sicians that are very active in Canada and internation- that the engine that feeds their passion for tango is
ally. They have beed inspired by the great classics of not the monetary gain.
the Golden Age intended for dance and use original
arrangements that can please the greatest of purists.
This music has its own rewards!

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