Group shares love affair with tango

If you’re part of the local tango scene, Quartango’s fourth concert at St. Albert’s Arden Theatre this coming Thursday promises to be a sizzling antidote to the winter blahs.

This time around the classically trained Montreal-based group is sporting a fresh face. With the exception of double bass player Rene Gosselin, a fixture since 1987, there has been a complete line change.

Richard Hunt, the group’s pianist since 1983 and the primary arranger for Quartango’s unique blend of tango, opera, jazz, ragtime and Celtic, retired recently. Replacing him is StĂ©phan Aubin.

“This past year he worked as the musical director for the Aznavour tour and as musical director for Michel Tremblay’s Les Belle-Soeurs. He comes to Quartango with a different vision. Improvisation is part of his way and the improvisation gives the music a lot of freedom,” says Gosselin, the ensemble’s spokesman.

After Charles-Ă©tienne Marchand departed, violinist Antoine Bareil, a gifted musician with a passion for arranging and performing Frank Zappa’s rock and roll, was added to the mix. “With Antoine, we still have the Quartango style. The tango still shines, but at the same time we are not afraid to take music from the outside.”

And finally, after Douglas Schmidt left a vacant spot, bandoneon player Denis Plante, a former Quartango musician who had recorded with the ensemble in 2007, returned to the fold.

“His whole family are classical musicians and he has a large collection of instruments. He is one of those rare musicians that taught himself to play the bandoneon by listening to Piazzolla.”

Together these four prodigious musicians work as a unit to lay the foundation of their playful tangos interwoven with a tapestry of other musical elements. Gosselin confirms the set list combines selections from El Fuego (2009), their sixth and last release with older pieces.

But this time they will explore a Cuban mode with the milonga’s fast-paced rhythms, jazz improvisations and of course the sultry tango. In all, it is a concert with a slightly edgier tone. “The music will not be like the recordings. They will be in a different style. In a recording you freeze the music, but live you have a great deal more freedom to improvise.”

Quartango is also showcasing special guest percussionist Chantal Simard. “His contribution is to give subtle colour to the music, to add emotion instead of beating the music, to make the music more beautiful.

“We want to give lots of emotion, lots of joy and we will give everything to make a great evening.”