Osvaldo Pugliese - 1985
Tango music - where to find it
Tango music is a blend of salon, European, African and Native American music originated in the immigrant barrios in Buenos Aires at the end of the 1800’s. (more) and (more)
There are thousands of tango tracks recorded since the beginning of commercial music recording; however, most of the tango music played today belongs to the "Golden Age", which is the period from about 1935 to 1952, roughly contemporaneous with the big band era in the United States.
Given the size of the tango music collection, selecting music for listening or dancing can be quite time consuming. Fortunately, there are guides to tango music available on line; for example here and here.
Tango music is available on the web for free downloads and also to order on
line from commercial vendors.
Todotango.com is a website
sponsored by the City of Buenos Aires, featuring hundreds of songs available for
unlimited free downloads. Go to the home page, click on The Music, then Index by
Orchestra. More tracks are available for free downloads
here, along with tango lyrics
in English.
To order music on line from commercial vendors, click here
or here.
Restored Golden Age recordings are available
here.
Music recorded by contemporary West Coast tango bands is available
here and
here.
Juan D'Arienzo on TV, early '60s
Los Reyes del Tango - February 2007