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Tangofied
This CD features the collaboration of Danish jazz bassist Westergaard and Argentine tango pianist Schissi. Although the playing has a cool texture, it is tinged with excitement. The finely honed sounds of the cello and bandoneon take turns delighting the ears.
DAYLY YOMIURI, Japan Feb 28th 2013.
Tangofied Album (2012)
What happens when the music of a Danish composer travels into the hands of a master Argentine arranger and pianist? What happens when music from northern Europe meets and melts into the tango-tradition and rich culture of Buenos Aires? One answer to these kind of questions could be the meeting of Diego Schissi and his extremely skilled musicians and danish composer and bassplayer Torben Westergaard.
¿Qué sucede cuando la música de un compositor danés viaja hasta las manos de un maestro argentino, arreglista y pianista? ¿Qué sucede cuando música del norte de Europa se reúne y funde con la tradición del tango y la riqueza cultural de Buenos Aires? Una respuesta a este tipo de preguntas es el encuentro entre Diego Schissi y sus expertos musicos porteños y el compositor y bajista danés Torben Westergaard, tal como documenta este nuevo CD!
Selected Reviews
The sense of tension, unique to tango blends beautifully with the serenity of nordic jazz. Passionate and yet melodic and melancholic. (#14 on the list of best foreign albums of 2013)
Tagaki, Jazz Critique Magazine, Japan Apr 25th 2014.
– Is it possible that a Danish musician is able to tackle the music light years away from its roots in a manner so lucid and essential? Yes, when it comes to Torben Westergaard, bassist with an excellent technique. – The distance between Denmark and Argentina vanish as if by magic, and joy and melancholy embrace and provide exactly the location, that enhances the qualities of Westergaard, perfectly at ease with his traveling companions. – A brilliant album that will further the goal of increasing the admirers of Westergaard.
AllAboutJazz.com Feb 8th 2013.
(…) captured the essence of the Argentine tango. (…) In the imaginary concert-hall chair of your living-room all you have to do is to sit back and follow the journey that awaits your presence.
Lira (Sweden) Sep 28th 2012
★★★★★ Headline: Never waste a waltz – the medium-sized orchestras advances with original ideas and headstrong sound. Among the year’s most successful are Torben Westergaard’s vibrant tango project. (…) Never waste a waltz, with its immediate beauty, recalls how precious 4 minutes can be. (…) the whole record keeps high level and is a pleasure to listen to.
Politken Sep 17th 2012
★★★★★ The vast majority of publications which jazzstjerner.dk receives is of very high quality. Slightly fewer are on top of this also original and moving. And then there are those, which imprison you from the very first note and leave not only a strong but also a lasting impression on the listener. Torben Westergaard’s crossover project “Tangofied” where he has teamed up with the Argentine arranger and pianist Diego Schissi and his quintet is one of those kind of cd’s. (…) Themes such as “Connecting Flights”, the danceable “Scandilonga”, “Hope And Fear” and, not the least, the beautiful ballads “What’s In A Dream” and “Femme Vidala” testify that Westergaard is a composer who manages to make his songs moving and accessible, without hitting the banal. (…) The musicians on the release are all absolutely excellent and you sense that they not only have a very stable anchorage in the Argentine tango and its universe, but also manage to meet the Nordic material. (…) The release’s title “Tangofied” may be interpreted in various ways – either as a description of the Westergaard’s Nordic material has been “tangoficated” or perhaps as a description of a state of mind, where you have been infected by the soul of the tango. I, the reviewer, am certainly infected by this unique bid on a crossover release, and am not afraid to proclaim the cd as one of the year’s absolute very best.
Jazzstjerner.dk Aug 15th 2012
A stranger comes to town, it’s summer in Buenos Aires and sizzling hot, but the baggage is all right for our Torben Westergaard, experienced bassist, composer and song-maker and a merciless traveler. By the southern cross’ intervention, he has teamed up with award-winning pianist Diego Schissi and his tango ensemble, one of today’s sharpest. Ten substantial “distilled” songs are placed in the hands and tangofied by the same Schissi. The result is music of a high urgency, a magnificent view overlooking the vibrant Argentine music history, from tango to milonga, waltz, and the inevitable Astor Piazzolla. … listen to songs like Connecting Flights, Hope and Fear and Earth Matters, in that order, hear how the death and blood and slum prophecies must give way to music’s great moments. It’s tango nuevo, if that is what it is, at its best. Everywhere hovers Guillermo Rubinos violin, Santiago Segrets bandoneon and Westergaard’s bass, that ties everything together and then Diego Schissi’s excellent arrangements and formidable piano.
JazzSpecial Finn Nielsen, 2012
… This is how good Torben Westergaard’s unique project has turned out. Highly recommendable.
★★★★ Great tango album with Argentinian participation takes it startingpoint in a beautiful Nordic sound-picture. (…) Tangofied has thus become a CD that (…) is grappling with the Argentinean heritage in both a traditional and innovative fashion. It clearly stands out that Westergaard’s own bass – along with Schissi’s piano – magically connects the two traditions tone images. Both the North and Argentina is voiced in the two musicians’ interplay. With songs like What’s In A Dream, Hope And Fear and Open Up My Heart connects the traditions absolutely clear, and thus gives the actual music a boost in a new, interesting direction that smells of pain and pride, melancholia and joy. (…) that the rest of the crew consists of sublime musicians should not be neglected. (…)
Gaffa May 31st 2012
Westergaard’s compositions are brilliantly and virtuosic translated by the Argentine musicians. His Nordic heritage shines through in his compositions, where the arrangements wear temper and feelings on the outside. Fittingly Torben Westergaard takes a bath on the album cover. There is little doubt that the sweat has jumped from his forehead during the recording. This is Nordic tango at high level and incidentally miles away from what one knows from Westergaard’s Oktober project.
jazznyt.blogspot.com May 7th 2012
“loaded with gorgeous, insistent, sensual, warm and sensuous tracks”
Tidens Kvinder (DK) Mar 29th 2012
“A brilliant album that will not miss the goal of further increasing Westergaard’s admirers”
Allaboutjazz.com, Italy staff.
Credits
Guillermo Rubino: Violin
Paula Pomeraniec: Cello
Santiago Segret: Bandoneón
Ismael Grossman: Acoustic guitar
Diego Schissi: Piano
Torben Westergaard: Bass
© 2012
Released in Scandinavia, April, 2012.
All music composed by Torben Westergaard.
All new music arranged by Diego Schissi.
Performed by Torben Westergaard & The Tangofied Ensemble.
Printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper.T
