Tango Masters: Juan D’Arienzo

In 1937, Juan D’Arienzo propelled an entire city to its feet with his irresistible beat, converting a generation of tango listeners into tango dancers. In so doing, he created the foundation for tango’s most glorious years, the golden decade of the 1940s.
The public loved his simple but modern style, buying his records in the millions, but the intelligentsia were scandalised, condemning his music as a return to the past. Despite performing until shortly before his death in 1976, D’Arienzo was written out of tango history. This is the first book about D’Arienzo in any language.
Tango Masters: Juan D’Arienzo takes the reader on a journey through D’Arienzo’s music and the successive transformations of his orchestra. Listening guides to over one hundred of his most important recordings help the reader to appreciate, love and dance to this enduringly popular music.

Michael Lavocah is the author of Tango Stories: Musical Secrets, the guide to tango dance music. This is the fourth volume of the series Tango Masters, which explores the music of the great orchestras of tango’s Golden Age in depth.

ISBN 978-1-9997551-2-6
312pp
Released: 6th September 2019

Go to the recommended albums. Many of these can be heard on spotify. For a complete D’Arienzo playlist, check the youtube channel of DJ Torotango.

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The book costs £16.99 + postage.

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Recommended mp3 albums

Sounds like an exact copy of CTA-304 to me!
buy on iTunes US | UK | DE |
amazon US | UK | DE
Spotify browser | app

This album (a CD on Euro Records, EU-17051) ) has no pretensions to being a complete release but it’s looking pretty good. This is the only place for example that one can hear a really good transfer of Sábado inglés. US | UK | DE
Spotify Browser | app.

History of Tango - D'Arienzo - El Rey del Compas 1 - 1935-1937A compilation of early recordings with nice transfers of e.g. Desde el alma. Please note that tracks 13 and 14, Que noché! and El apronte, have been switched by mistake, as have Tracks 18 and 19, El porteñito and Milonga vieja milonga.
amazon US | UK | DE
Spotify Browser | app.



The TangoTunes D’Arienzo Golden Ear editions are a must for DJs – often the best transfer of each song, but on many occasions you’ll need to use a bit of analogue filtering (and not the stupid filtering provided on a cheap mixing desk).


TTT1: Juan D'ArienzoThis superb release from Tango Time Travel may not be cheap, but it gives you D’Arienzo’s entire 1940s output, much of which is hard to find elsewhere. The fidelity is truly excellent. If you really can’t afford it, check out the next album.


Juan D'Arienzo - Vienna collectionTangoTunes Vienna Collection is not a complete release of the 1940s material but Echagüe’s voice sounds really natural.


This is a digital version of the original LP from 1966, of which there were four volumes – not of the CD reissues of the 1990s, of which there were three. It has only twelve tracks, but they are the ones you want: Gran Hotel Victoria, Pura trampa, El amanecer and 9 de julio.
amazon UK | DE
Apple music UK | DE (link to iTunes)
Spotify Browser | app.

Euro Records Colección 78 RPM albums

CTA copies (filtered) on RGS

Four have been published (so far), the first three and the twelfth. The first two are tolerable, but I cannot recommend them.

Licensing conditions vary from region to region. Most albums are not available everywhere.