Argentina

djangoprodigy

Does anyone know why Argentina seems to be a gypsy jazz hot-spot?

blindjimmy

It is a land and a people ruled by the passions, just look at the argentinian tango, as opposed to , say, the country two step. They know great music when they hear it .

scot

Argentina has a long history with this music, basically it started during the war as a number of bands and musicians from France (Ray Ventura, Louis Vola etc) went to Argentina to get away from the Nazis. Since then there have been excellent bands like Blue Strings, and superb guitarists like the tragic Eduardo Ravera, and Ricardo Pellican and Walter Malosetti who are still playing. Not to mention Oscar Aleman, who returned there after the war and had a long and distinguished career - see the film "Vida Con Swing" to learn more.

djangoprodigy

Thanks for the information!

stubla

You have to remember that the guitar is the national instrument of Argentina and after Brazil is probably the South american country with the strongest guitar tradition.
The greatest tango guitarist of all time Roberto Grela was a huge fan of Django--and though its not jazz any of his sublime recordings with Anibal Troilo are worth checking out.
I was lucky enough to tour Argentina a few years ago and couldn't believe the popularity of the guitar over there--other great players are the late Cacho Tirao and the amazing Juanjo Dominguez who regularly includes pieces by Oscar Aleman in his concerts.