Simply put, this is the best book ever written about Tango music in the most practical manner (from a dancer's standpoint). The book is great reference. It is very educational yet entertaining. Great starting point for advanced understanding and appreciation for the classical Tango music.
The book chapters focus on a musician/band/topic. For example...
Excerpts from Summary for Part 1, which talked about the "Big Four" Tango bands. The way the author described them really captures their characters. Very insightful.
" D'Arienzo: the King of the beat. Irresistible, foot tapping beat, but a raw deal for the singer. Contrast: None!...
Troilo: best orchestra for the singers. Contrast: staccato-legato...
Pugliese: passionate and intense....Driving beat: la yumba (emphasis on 1 and 3 beats)..Contrast: hard-soft...
Di Sarli: great command of the melody, did everything with the strings. Always danceable..."
Even better. The author has a website where you can listen to the playlist.
http://www.tangomusicsecrets.co.uk/
I can easily imagine this book as a textbook for a college class for Tango music.
In this era of Googling, YouTubing and information overload, we may think we can find anything online. It may have a point, but more important ability than a simple Google-guided search is to know which information is valuable and useful (and which one is untrustworthy, trash or even harmful).
This book and the information about Tango music is a gem. Fully recommended.
