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The Tango Kings are a stunning group of world class musicians that combine a unique mixture of styles, including Finnish Tango, Astor Piazzolla's "Tango Nueva," european classical and jazz.
Musicians
Iiro Rantala piano
Gil Goldstein accordion
Mark Feldman violin
Mike Richmond bass
Special Guests
Bireli Lagrene acoustic guitar
Toninho Horta acoustic guitar
Romero Lubambo acoustic guitar
Adam Rogers acoustic & electric guitars
Charley Drayton drums
Jodok vocal
Ruben Rada vocal
Tracks (audio)
01. Tango Mechanique 4:00 
02. Nuages 5:13
03. The Polka 4:25
04. Loro 4:36
05. Astorale 8:12
06. Danny's Dream 4:56
07. Decarisimo 3:34
08. Tango Dada 4:32
09. Tangonator 4:50
10. Waltz 3:42
11. Caliente 5:06
12. Antonia 6:43
Founded by Finnish pianist-composer Iiro Rantala and New York accordionist-arranger Gil Goldstein, this is the first recording project of this adventurous new ensemble. IIro began his studies taking classical piano lessons at age 11, his development as a musician has been a phenomenon in the Finnish music world.
Gil Goldstein is best known for his activities as a keyboardist, producer, composer and arranger. He has arranged for Milton Nascimento, Wallace Roney, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Michael Franks and David Sanborn, and is a leading interpreter of the works of Gil Evans and Jaco Pastorius. Gil began playing accordion at age 5, switched to piano at age 10, and rediscovered the accordion in 1987. He has performed and/or recorded on accordion with many, including Ruyichi Sakamoto, Pat Metheny, Jim Hall and Dave Liebman.
Mark Feldman is widely recognized as a master of the violin. In 1994 and 1995 he received first place award from Downbeat Magazine for "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition". He has toured extensively with Bill Frisell, Ray Anderson, John Zorn, Billy Hart, Pharoah Sanders, Trilok Gurtu and Jack Bruce, among others. He has recorded with many artists including Lee Konitz, Arcado String Quartet, The Manhattan Transfer, Diana Ross, Carol King and Bette Midler. As a studio musician in Nashville he has over 200 recordings to his credit, including sessions for WIllie Nelson, Johnny Cash and George Jones.
Mike Richmond on acoustic bass has spent many years on the road and in the studio with such giants as Stan Getz. Horace Silver, Jack DeJohnette, Dizzie Gillespie, Hubert Laws, Chet Baker, Kenny Baron, Phil Woods, Sonny Stitt, Toots Thielmans, Michael and Randy Brecker and Roland Kirk.
Also featured on The Tango Kings project are four world renown guitarists; Toninho Horta, Romero Lubambo, Bireli Lagrene and Adam Rogers, as well as features by drummer Charley Drayton and stunning vocal performances by Jodok, an African Grey parrot, and Ruben Rada.
Reviews
The Tango Kings includes two Piazzolla works among its 12 tracks but ranges far from the tango's home on the Rio de la Plata to find striking ways of marrying the idiom to disparate sources. Iiro Rantala, the group's leader, pianist and primary composer exemplifies the tango's ability to transcend its Argentine roots. Rantala is from Finland, where the tango culture has been embraced more passionately than perhaps anywhere outside Argentina.
Rantala and his chief collaborator, Gil Goldstein-a pianist/accordionist with keen improvisational and arranging sensibilities and a penchant for Latin American idioms-complement an ensemble including a violinist, a bassist and four renowned guitarists, among them Brazilians Toninho Horta and Romero Lubambo, and French Gypsy Bireli Lagrene. In addion to the six works by Rantala, the album includes lovely standards by Brazilian avant-gardist Egberto Gismonti, Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and American guitarist Pat Metheny. The Tango Kings captures tango's bracing edge and embellishes it with sophisticated touches. With references to Argentina's heritage, European classics and jazz, the album has a sound that's equally at home in Greenwich Village, Helsinki or Buenos Aires. -Mark Holston/Rhythm Music Magazine
This adventurous new group combines classical, jazz and Argentinean tango into a lilting, satisfying blend. Between Rantala's writing and the singular ensemble sound, this is easily one of the most unique and uncompromising projects of the year. -Bill Milkowski/JazzTimes Magazine
