Astor Piazzolla - Adios Nonino (CD)

All Music Guide

Astor Piazzolla opened the ears of many listeners to a more progressive form of the tango, and the Adios Nonino session from 1969 features the bandoneon player leading one of his strongest quintets. It is impossible to listen to any of this album's seven tracks without feeling the emotion that went into the writing and performing of each of them. One of his bestknown pieces, "Adios Nonino," was reorchestrated by the leader for the occasion, beginning with a stunning solo by pianist Dante Amicarelli prior to the entry of the full group. The piece reaches a feverish pitch at the height of Piazzolla's solo. "Michelangelo 70" is an intriguing piece that is centered on a repeated threenote theme, composed as a sort of musical exercise. "Fugata" is just what its title indicates, an intricate fugue where the instruments are interested one at a time as this intense miniature builds to a surprisingly subdued conclusion. Highly recommended.

- Ken Dryden, All Music Guide