Jarosław Bester – accordion
Dawid Lubowicz – violin, mandolin
Maciej Adamczak – double bass
Ryszard Pałka – drums, percussion

All compositions by Astor Piazzolla, except [09] by Carlos Gardel.
All arrangements by Jarosław Bester.

Angels…
Astor Piazzolla and his tangos: most probably everything has already been discovered, recounted, described, and recorded. Over the years, this charismatic person, and particularly his music has been and still is a vast source of inspiration for many. Ever new and more interesting arrangement and performance concepts appear, some very different from the original created by the Maestro himself, others simply new interpretations. Sometimes Piazzolla’s music becomes a starting point for creative searches for one’s own original musical language. But regardless of how we look at his legacy, we have to admit that it affects listeners, performers and creative artists in a very similar way, the common denominator being a wealth of colours and emotions, sparkling with all kinds of tones depending on the composition or its interpretation. To understand the origins of the present record, we need to go back in time a little bit. In the year 1992 (the year Astor Piazzolla died), at one of Kraków’s music shops, I bought a cassette with two very interesting compositions: "Concierto para bandoneón" and "Tres tangos", in the brilliant interpretation of the Maestro accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s conducted by a friend from his youth, Lalo Schifrin. It was my first contact with Piazzolla’s music, and it was then that I was involuntarily drawn forever into a magical world of sounds and phrases, music that was angelic on the one hand while awakening completely opposite, sometimes almost demonic emotions on the other. Over a period of many years, my mind came up with lots of musical concepts that were inspired – indirectly or directly, consciously or unconsciously – by the compositions of Astor Piazzolla, but unfortunately there was never an opportunity to tackle his actual works in a creative way. The angels kept flying about and fluttering their wings, never letting me forget his milongas, tangos, fugues. Then, a time of trial unexpectedly came upon us, or, rather, a demonic plague that forced us to explore completely different modes of presenting music. This was the baggage with which we entered the year 2021, the centenary of Astor Piazzolla’s birth. An angel fluttered its wings this time, too. Jacek Hawryluk proposed that I arrange and perform several of the Maestro’s compositions for Polish Radio Programme 2. My surprise was enormous, but I took on the task with unreserved joy. Today, thanks to the For Tune record label, you can listen to Astor Piazzolla’s wonderful music in our interpretation invoking his early explorations and inspirations. (Jarosław Bester)