FYC Pablo Ziegler’s “Jazz Tango”

"Ziegler continues to push the art form forward… nuevo tango's leading living exponent."

All About Jazz

"There's no question that Ziegler takes the tango to levels of sophistication and refinement probably undreamed of by Piazzolla."

The Chicago Tribune

"No one embodies the art of the tango better."

Lincoln Journal Star

"He is cool, understated and makes everything look easy and natural… just as a really suave tango dancer seems not to move with feet but on wheels, Ziegler skates the keyboard."

The Los Angeles Times 

"A trip to the heart of this music… [Ziegler] is a sort of musical brujo, a conjurer who can make all within earshot a believer in his message."
New York City Jazz Record

Pablo Ziegler Trio's "Jazz Tango" by Dodie Miller-Gould
May 12, 2017
 
With Pablo Ziegler’s new CD, “Jazz Tango,” the tango lives and breathes–a common theme in Ziegler’s work; to ordinary people, there seems only so much a person can do with a tango. On this release, the music moves as if it possessed its own blood and limbs, and renders the tango a sinewy and electric thing, a move that impresses old and new fans alike. 
 
Fortunately, all the songs are recorded live. There is something gratifying about hearing other people, faceless strangers in this case, applaud a performance that you, the listener, have also enjoyed. It is unclear whether the passion for Ziegler’s work comes from his approach—the task of making the tango new, or if it is the gravitas that comes with being a craftsman of his form. Maybe it is both. The music is enjoyable, and will teach listeners about music, about tango and about Ziegler. 
 
In this release, Ziegler, on piano, is joined by Hector del Curto playing bandoneon, and Claudio Ragazzi on guitar. The “bandoneon” is a type of concertina popular in Argentina, Uruguay and Lithuania. The effect the instrument has on this CD is an emotive quality brought about by willowy swells and long, pensive notes. The way all three parts work together for an evocative impression on songs like “Muchacha de Boedo” where listeners can hear the piano, guitar and bandoneon take turns rising and falling, until (seemingly) exhausted, they fade out at the end. This song, like many of Ziegler’s compositions, sound as though they are the movie scores without the accompanying film. 
 
“Libertango” is a frantic mash-up of piano and guitar, until, less than two minutes in, the piano begins a spirited motif that the other instruments begin to complement. Roughly a quarter of the way through, the song morphs again, into the tango that many listeners are used to. 
 
“Michelangelo 70” is spirited and moody, like an expressive dancer. The word “rollicking” comes to mind at times. The bandoneon is used to punctuate the twists and turns in the song. Listeners can envision the graceful but strong moves of tango dancers.
 
Since his debut album in 1990, “Cuarteto Para El Nuevo Tango,” Ziegler has crafted a career out of joining the traditional to the new and making an art out of it all.
 
Lemon Wire

 
A real cooker right out of the box, it makes you glad that Ziegler is the kind of muso that sends you records where the reviews just write themselves. A mostly original date with a few Piazzollas tossed in to appease the tourists, the piano ace justifies my decision to abandon piano lessons when I was eight because I must have instinctively known I could never play like this. A masterful work by a master that loves tango so much he'd rather use his energy and smarts to move the form forward in fine style rather than keep it embalmed in amber. Must hearing if you've got the slightest of tango bugs. 
 
Chris Spector Midwest Record

 
Pablo Ziegler Trio's "Jazz Tango" by George W. Harris
October 5, 2017
 
Pianist and composer Pablo Ziegler creates an intriguing trio with Hector Del Curto on bandoneon and Claudio Ragazzi on guitar through a mix of originals and pieces from Nuevo Tango icon Astor Piazzolla. The three Piazzolla pieces, “Michelangelo 70,” “Fuga y Mesterio” and “Libertango” are filled with complex moves, sensuality and drama as the strings are tapped, strummed and spliced. The dynamics rise and fall like a wave on “La Fundicion” and Old World charms are in abundance on “Elegante Canyenguito.” Ziegler is misty-eyed on “Milonga Del Adios” and the team plays a game of Peek-A-Boo on the clever “Blues Porteno.” Lots of thought mixed with heart.