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Gary and Astor Piazzolla

ed saindon 12 March 2009

Hi Gary,

I saw in the Shout Box that you had a tour coming up with the Piazzolla band. I'm a huge fan of Piazzolla and I know you are as well. His music is very deep and emotional. I have his book about his life. It seemed that he had very difficult times at various points throughout his lifetime. Also, it appears that he was very meticulous about his music and took his music very seriously.

It would be great if you could share with us any thoughts or stories about playing with Piazzolla. I'm sure it was to say the least a very memorable experience to play his music with him on the same stage.

Ed

Comments

Gary Burton Thu, 03/12/2009 - 11:45

Well, where to start? For the benefit of anyone unfamiliar with tango, Astor Piazzolla was the one-man star of contemporary tango. He was not only a major composer (wrote about 60 recordings worth of original music in his lifetime, including an opera and some symphonic works), but was considered the greatest virtuoso on the bandoneon, the lead instrument in tango ensembles. For comparison, that would make him kind of a combination of Duke Ellington, Aaron Copeland, and Bill Evans. A pretty amazing musician.

I met him first when I was touring with Stan Getz in 1965 and we shared the stage for a few nights in Buenos Aires with his group. I had never heard tango before and was blown away by the sophistication and complexity of their music. That was a lucky break for me, because he remembered me and twenty years later came to one of my concerts in Paris, where he was living at that time. He introduced himself and asked if I remembered him. And, went on to ask if I would be interested in doing some kind of project together. I heartily agreed, but then I didn't hear from him for a couple of years, so I thought he had lost interest.

One day as I was walking out of my building at Berklee, the phone operator stopped me to tell me I had a call from Paris. It was Astor, ready to start on our project. We were both going to be in Argentina a month or two later, so we agreed to meet and talk things over. I warned him not to write anything till we talked. People often try to write things for vibes thinking it's like a piano, and then I have to rearrange most of it to make it playable. When he showed up the first night of my gig in Buenos Aires, he was all excited and said he couldn't stop thinking about the music and he had gone ahead and written it all. Six pieces altogether. I shuddered at what lay ahead. Luckily, I didn't have to make many voicing adjustments. But it was very different music for me. No chord symbols, no choruses for improvising. 90% all written out.

Meanwhile, my agent had gone to work and lined up a tour of Europe, a tour of Japan and a record deal. So, we were kind of committed, and I hadn't seen a note of the music yet. He sent me my parts a month before the first tour. I couldn't really practice it very well because I had no idea what the rest of the band was going to be playing. We had two days to rehearse as a group before the tour started in Ravenna, Italy. It was a struggle for me and for the rest of the group, but we made it through the first concert. We recorded the fourth concert of the tour at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. At the time, I wasn't so sure we had done a good enough job for a record, but when I heard the tapes, I was thrilled. It's still one of my favorite records. (Called NEW TANGO, released in 1986 on Atlantic/WEA).

During the time I spent with Astor I learned a lot about music. Although jazz is by nature an expressive, dramatic music, I found tango to be even more passionate. And my jazz playing became stronger and more expressive after my tango experiences. He was a very intense, energetic guy. Kind of scary, too. He had a reputation for tantrums and was constantly at war with critics, record labels, promoters, etc. I even witnessed a few occasions where he lost it with a couple of promoters. But, he was terrific toward me and the other musicians. His group had been together for many years, and they played so very well together. It was a joy to be part of their scene for a while. I stayed in touch with Astor after that year of off and on playing, and we planned to do another project. He was working on another opera at the time, and spent some months in New York working with a lyricist. I went to see him a couple of times. We would have lunch and talk about his opera, and about what we might do next. But, then I got a phone call from his sister-in-law telling me that he had suffered a major stroke. Although he survived for about a year, in a nearly paralyzed state, he finally passed away as a result.

I figured that was the end of my tango experience, till a friend and promoter in Argentina suggested I get the original musicians together again to record a tribute to Astor. The group members had all gone their separate ways after Astor passed away, so it was a major thing to get them back together again. Word got out that the group had reunited and was making a record in Buenos Aires. The mayor's office called to ask if we would agree to do a free concert at the big city library. So, after the record dates were completed, we stayed on to do the concert. It was supposed to be for about 2000 people, but the turnout was overwhelming. So, they set up a large jumbo-tron on the lawn beside the libarary, and it was estimated there were 10,000 people watching the concert on the video screen. That was the power of Astor's music. He is a national hero for Argentina.

I toured some more with the Piazzolla musicians, we made two CD's of Astor's music, in '97 and 2000, and now I am returning to reunite the group one more time for a tour and DVD live concert recording. It's been one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling experiences in my career to become a part of Astor's legacy. His music is so melodic and passionate. His virtuosity was breaktaking. As a person, he was inspirational. Definitely one of the most important musical figures of his time, and I was very lucky to get to play with him. Gary B.

Gustavo (not verified) Thu, 03/12/2009 - 14:05

Hi Gary,

It's very touching to hear your feelings about Astor and the time you shared with him and his music.
The Suite for Vibraphone & New Tango Quintet was a very important recording for me. I was living in Argentina back in 1986. One day my mother came back home with a brand new cassette tape of it (very rare in those days) and I was mesmerized. I knew a bit about Piazzolla, as my mother was a pianist/educator and my folks always fished for rarities at the record stores, but that recording really made an impact on me. I got fixated with an instrument I wouldn't get to play for another ten years...

A few years later I left Argentina and sadly found it very hard to listen to certain things, like Piazzolla, Gismonti and other things I grew up listening to at home. When I started to teach myself the instrument back in London I went looking for that CD and ended up transcribing the whole vibe part. It was the only way I could face that music again...
I never knew if you had improvised sections on that recording. I think years later you told me most of it was written out. Yet, it is hard to tell what's written and what's not, as your improvisations are as great as Astor's pen. I once saw and interview in which Astor talks about improvisation in his music and he said he said something like " I like to write the parts for other musicians, but I improvise a lot of it"

Astor really had to fight (sometimes literally) to get people to accept his music as "the new tango" back in Argentina. He was very little known at the time I lived there. There was a late night TV debate, sort of like Charlie Rose, for which the opening music was Fuga y Misterio, but that was about it. You never heard Piazzolla on the radio. The argentinean tango traditionalists did the best they could to suppress his music. He was far better known and admired in Europe and in the US. Finally, after his death, his music gradually started to gain more acceptance and today he has become a hero to most of the younger generations of musicians in Argentina.

Some of my favorite Piazzolla records (apart from the Suite for Vibraphone) are from around that time, "La Camorra", "Hora Cero" (both recorded in NYC) and the "Central Park Concert". But of course, all of his music is great... "Pulsación" (1968) and many more.
I love all you have done with the quintet as well. You really capture the spirit of the music, and so does Makoto.

Thanks for talking about all this.

Gustavo

Joe Locke Thu, 03/12/2009 - 12:52

Gary,

Thank you for reflecting on on your relationship w/ Astor Piazzola. I was touched to read your words .... could feel the affinity you shared for one another. NEW TANGO is a beautiful, powerful and moving recording. You honored him with your playing. He must have been overjoyed with what you brought to his writing! It is apparent that the friendship meant alot to you both. Thanks for sharing it here.

-JL

johndaly Thu, 03/12/2009 - 22:02

Gary got to hear you play some Piazzolla with Richard Galliano at the Cork Jazz Festival when was that 2 years ago? it was a most enjoyable concert with some great arrangements, are you coming back soon to Ireland? I have admired your playing for some many years you are a wonderful ambassador for the vibes. I have a fond memory of when I was attending Berklee of seeing you do a free concert in Copley Square with Tiger Okoshi Steve Swallow Bob Moses in 1979.I have only been playing vibes 3 years(I play drums) under the watchful eye of Tony Miceli a truly humble but gifted teacher and player, great to see you on the site.

John Daly Ireland

Marie-Noëlle Sun, 10/25/2009 - 15:20

Hi all,

Thanks to Gustavo, I came across a few youtube vids of the 86 concert of Astor Piazzo & Co with Gary. Just thought some of you might not have seen and would enjoy them.

On this link you will find 7 videos: Piazzola introduction (in Italian) plus 6 tunes:
- Milonga is coming,
- Laura's Dream,
- Adios Nonino,
- Vibraphonissimo,
- Little Italy,
- Nuevo Tango.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=piazzola+burton+86&search_t…

Enjoy!

- M

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