''The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado)'' is an album by the Argentinian musician

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements from ...

. It was released in 1988. The album was reissued by

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...

in the late 1990s.

Production

Recorded in New York City in 1987, the album was produced by

Kip Hanrahan Kip Hanrahan (born December 9, 1954) is an American jazz music impresario, record producer and percussionist. Personal life Hanrahan was born in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in the Bronx to an Irish-Jewish family. His father left when he was 6 m ...

and Piazzolla. Its music was originally developed as a theater performance about the history of the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

. Piazzolla, who played the

bandoneon The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held bet ...

, recorded the album with his Quinteto Tango Nuevo. Paquito D'Rivera played saxophone on ''Rough Dancer''.

Pablo Ziegler Pablo Ziegler (born September 2, 1944) is an Argentine composer, pianist, arranger based in New York City.Oteri, Frank J"Pablo Ziegler: Making the Music Dance" NewMusicBox, July 1, 2014; accessed July 9, 2014. He is currently the leading exponent ...

and Pablo Zinger played piano; Zinger had acted as the musical director for the stage production.

Horacio Malvicino Horacio Malvicino (born 20 October 1929 in Concordia, Entre Ríos Province, Argentina) is a jazz and tango electric guitarist and composer who played for many years with the tango musician Ástor Piazzolla in several of his ensembles. Biography T ...

played guitar. Piazzolla wrote in the liner notes of his desire to have the music sound as if it were played by "'half-drunk musicians in a bordello.'"

Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

noted that Piazzolla is "closer to Bartok the composer than to Ellington the orchestrator, and tends to limit improvisatory space." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' wrote that the music "retains—and embellishes—the not-quite-smoldering sensuality characteristic of traditional tango."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that, "unlike ''Zero Hour'' ... ''Rough Dancer'' has more of whimsical feel, with the often perilous shifts in tempo and mood of the earlier record being handled in smoother fashion here." Reviewing a reissue package, the ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

s Don McLeese opined that, "in a manner beyond form or category, this is some of the most sublimely mesmerizing music I've ever experienced." The ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''Dai ...

'' deemed it "a quiet gem" and "romantic, melodic and lush." ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' concluded that it "vividly documents the composer's deep roots in the traditional dance form and the edgy innovations of his nuevo tango."

Track listing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado) Astor Piazzolla albums 1988 albums