5 Key Recordings No Collection Should Overlook

The last few years have been good for tango in the United States, judging from the number of quality recordings released. Here are five albums that would make a perfect start to a comprehensive tango collection:

* “The Story of Tango,” various artists, Hemisphere/Metro Blue. This superb compilation of classic and contemporary tunes makes a great entry point to the world of tango. Included are tango legend Carlos Gardel’s greatest hits (“Mi Buenos Aires Querido” and “El Dia Que Me Quieras”), tangos with great bandoneon player Anibal Troilo and such modern gems as “Margarita de Agosto,” bandleader Raul Garello’s tribute to his daughter Margarita.

* “Women of Tango,” various artists, Hemisphere/Metro Blue. Great-sounding tangos from the ‘60s and ‘70s underscore the importance of the genre’s female singers. Tango divas including Tita Merello and Elsa Rivas are accompanied by standout orchestras led by Osvaldo Pugliese, Raul Garello and others.

* “Maria de Buenos Aires,” Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Musica, Teldec. An ambitious, dazzling and convoluted work, “Maria de Buenos Aires” is a musical (or tango operita [little opera], as its creators called it) composed in 1968 by Astor Piazzolla and poet Horacio Ferrer. This excellent rerecording by violinist Kremer enlists vocalists Julia Zenco and Jairo, while allowing Ferrer to perform his original role of the Goblin. The impressionistic story follows the birth of the tango out of immigrants’ bitter nostalgia for home, through its blossoming, decline, death and rebirth.

* “Asfalto--Street Tango,” Pablo Ziegler & His Quintet for New Tango, RCA Victor. A Piazzolla protege, Ziegler continues the master’s legacy with a quintet that includes bandoneon, guitar, double bass, drums and his own virtuoso piano. Intent on capturing the arrogant, quarrelsome spirit of street tango, the program includes a few Piazzolla classics (among them two variations on the heart-wrenching “Adios Nonino”) and a few Ziegler originals. The presence of the Carlos Gardel classic “Soledad” (Loneliness) adds depth to a recording that brims with dynamism.

* “Cite de la Musique,” Dino Saluzzi, ECM. Tango purists would reject Saluzzi because he is a composer of abstract music, but he is a tanguero at heart. On this 1997 recording, his bandoneon is accompanied by double bass and guitar in extended compositions that bring forward the unique sadness of tango. Nobody has stretched the genre’s boundaries to such a degree, while maintaining a remarkable clarity of purpose.