Tango Magic Mixes Sensual Dance, Uneven Music at Bowl

Tango music is the voice of Argentina, as intimately identified with the national character as jazz is for the United States. And there are similarities between both types of music: Each is the musical manifestation of melting-pot societies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, simmering up from a social netherworld to emerge as rich, complex cultural expressions.

Given the extraordinary tapestry of tango music available, Tango Magic at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday night held the promise of an appealing evening of entertainment.

And, for perhaps half the program, there was much to praise. Maria Grana, replacing the originally scheduled Meacedes Sosa, sang an appealing, if brief, set of tangos in an unusually eclectic style--a kind of Argentine version of both Edith Piaf and Judy Garland. But the evening’s true high point was the second-half arrival of four talented pairs of dancers, sensuously illustrating the linkages between the infectious tango rhythms and the deceptively complex movements of the dance.

The balance of the program left considerably more to be desired. John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra made one gesture toward the abundance of tango with a performance of the legendary Astor Piazzolla’s “Adios Nonino,” highlighted by a stunning bandoneon solo by Raul Jaurena. Beyond that, the selections ranged from inadequate to absurd--from Leroy Anderson’s ‘50s hit “Blue Tango” to music from the films “Addams Family Values” and “The Mask of Zorro.” The choices were not unlike, say, enlivening a jazz concert with something like Boots Randolph’s “Yakety Sax” or Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk.”

Finally, with an entire catalog of Piazzolla (among others) from which to choose, Mauceri elected to go with a broader Argentine perspective and include three pieces by Alberto Ginastera for the fireworks display, and--in an utterly un-tango-like decision--close with Lalo Schifrin’s “Mission Impossible.”

Very strange.