I was first introduced to the music of Astor Piazzolla on a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, back in 2005. Almost instantly, I realized that I had stumbled upon something incredibly powerful. Filled with melancholy, and while rooted firmly in the traditional Argentine tango genre, Piazzolla’s work is at the same time intensely influenced by North-American jazz and modern classical music. As with Frank Zappa, Astor Piazzolla’s music defies categorization.
I still remember the exact circumstances of that discovery. My travel companion, who spent most of our downtime checking football fixtures on international betting sites or mapping out our next meal, had dragged me into a cramped neighborhood record shop. A live album happened to be playing over the store’s battered speakers, and that was all it took to get me completely hooked.
