AMG Review of New Tango

Adam Greenberg
All Music Guide

Recorded at the ~Montreux Festival of 1986, The New Tango is an album of collaboration between the undisputed leader of the nuevo tango movement, Astor Piazzolla, and American vibe master Gary Burton. All of the pieces on the album were written by Piazzolla over the course of some 40 years of work, along with one special composition, "Vibraphonissimo," written expressly for Burton's usage. Surprisingly enough -- given the virtuosity and coherence that one receives on the album -- there were a mere three rehearsals prior to the recorded performance. As the listener finds out, the vibraphone is perfectly suited to the tango; or at the very least, that Gary Burton is fully capable of the job. As with all of Piazzolla's albums, the chances of disappointment are quite slim, with a special amount of attention given here to details by all musicians involved. Any fan of the nuevo tango or Piazzolla will be pleased as usual. Fans of Gary Burton or jazz vibes may find the album surprisingly good as it shows the versatility of the vibraphonist. As Fernando Gonzalez once said, "this music knows many dialects. And listens. There are no lines drawn and no sides to defend. This is new tango."