Astor Piazzolla lived and died as tango's bad boy, having almost single handedly invented the music's vanguard, the form known as tango nuevo. It took Piazzolla decades to reach his unequivocal apex, which is captured flawlessly on Tango Zero Hour. When this recording was cut in 1986, some of the compositions Piazzolla and his quintet cued up were standards for the band. Whether it was an epiphanic period or not, the recording captures an ensemble alchemically transforming seriously complex works into goose-bump-inducing electricity. Pianist Pablo Ziegler brings his jazz background into the mix with jarring urgency, just as violinist Fernando Suárez Paz makes quavering classical inflections sing amid Piazzolla's here tender and there blistering bandoneon. For a peak experience in music that challenges the ear to dance and the body to fully listen, look no further than this recording. --Andrew Bartlett
