ANÍBAL TROILO   July 11, 1914 - May 18, 1975   Sandwiched by Di Sarli and wife Zita de Troilo.   Pichuco took Tango to new heights of sophistication. He showed how big the sound could be; he showed how sweet it could be. His bandoneon could make you feel so many emotions. He left a good-sized catalogue of recordings and one could easily say that they don't feel any great need to hear quite a bit of it - especially considering the audio quality. That doesn't negate his influence and art. There is an elusive, ephemeral quality to the work of Aní Troilo; not many have put their finger on an encompassing description of either his music or how they feel about them. This has put him sort of at the back of the room when the greats are gathered. But I wouldn't be surprised if he is advanced more to the front as time goes by. Because his rich and sensitive voicings are so complex, it might take a more complex listener than you and i (!) to actually hear what we was doing. Of course I know that is an odd statement to make. Pure intuition talking. More than any of the other greats, I find that Troilo cast a spell via an ENVIRONMENT. For being somewhat misty, he pays a price in accessability. But I'm not sure that barrier will remain as high as our environment changes our perceptions. These comments I make after years of searching out Troilo recordings that sound half-decent (the record companies treated him particularly badly when about capturing and keeping him properly). And listening to him with a realization in my mind that many people just never got moved by him as I had from the beginning - by certain cuts. I would make the point that there are a lot more of these cuts that move than people realize generally. I hope people keep coming back to take a listen to Troilo as they mature and collect. The more time goes by for me, the more I hear Piazzolla's nascent magic touch wowing and seducing Aníbal and causing him to gamble on invention. Their musical Environnment is subtle and way ahead of its time. Try 80 or a hundred years. These kids have a future! It is quite likely that Osvaldo Pugliese will always be seen as the "bravest" tango composer/leader. For obvious reasons. But I intuit that future generations will consider how much harder/braver it was for a man to cede direction to another - almost the ultimate risk - and throw his lot behind supporting him. One could say that Piazzolla screwed Troilo up. I say Troilo was the wisest of men to sponsor Astor and let him fashion his own destiny to such a large degree. I would have loved his music even without this monumental decision. His entry into the professional world came when he played in the Pugliese/Vardaro group as a young man. He then played with Julio De Caro (beside Laurenz - replacing Maffia). Troilo had a unique style, too - sweet is one word that comes to mind. Sweet, even when exhibiting power. His work with vocalists, especially Roberto Goyeneche, gave Tango a refined splendor. One of my most favourite recordings is Troilo's "Romance de Barrio" with vocalist Floreal Ruiz. He helped take Tango in a startling new direction by letting young Astor Piazzolla arrange for him. Imagine what (Para Lucirse   from CD)... and Para Lucirse  restored by Keith) must have sounded like in 1946! The revolution was coming. At the other end of the spectrum, his duos with Roberto Grela (guitar) are also beautiful in their revelation of what Tango music really is. I have restored some of his 40's recordings. We will never have so many original masters that were burned in that 1950 fire - but I've done my little bit to bring some of that magical playing out of the surface noise and distortion. Fortunately, Troilo also recorded many of his standards again in the 60's - and they sound great. His cuarteto with Grela on Radio Belgrano. Bassist is Kícho Diaz, who later became Piazzolla's favorite.   There is a massive amount of Troilo material available. You have to know your way around it - either because of the recording quality (much is awful) - or because in a particular period Troilo went in a direction where the music is more suitable for listening or choreography than social dancing. For this reason, there are a surprising number of dj's out there who have never discovered the good stuff and sadly don't play him. His breadth is astounding and unique. Great Tangos; great Vals; great Milongas; great Fantasia; great spare roots Tango. Of course, "Quejas de bandoneon" is his signature piece. He always claimed that he would die playing it. On May 18, 1975, after finishing it in a Copes Show, he walked off-stage and collapsed, never to recover. I'm told that every night after the show, he loved to get all the dancers and musicians and friends together to enjoy a meal. This could start as late as 5 AM and finish ... whenever. Lots of vino and good fun. And he ALWAYS picked up the tab. The feeling I get when hearing about him from people who worked with him is that he was truly a very special person. When I've walk past the house that was his, I picture those times and the happiness he showered on all around him. We get it today in his music. There are currently 3 ToTANGO CD's of Aníbal Troilo Restorations; but another 60 tracks are being readied for imminent inclusion.