n his blood there is tango ancestry: his father, Gerardo Quilici, is a renowned tango broadcaster in the city of Rosario, with his legendary radio program A Todo Tango. Furthermore, Carlos is the grandnephew of our unforgettable friend, the great violinist Nito Farace. He honors such worthy lineage, with his musical talent and his beautiful compositions.

Not long ago, in October 2014, thanks to information that Graciela Figari gave me, I had the chance to listen to the Carlos Quilici orchestra and his quintet Los Tauras in two concerts in the same evening at the Teatro del Parque de España, a wonderful venue on the banks of the Río Paraná. We had been visiting our son Francisco (a would-be bandoneonist) and we went with him to the show, which was introduced by the writer, researcher and contributor to Todo Tango, Lautaro Kaller.

It was a rainy evening, but with much tango, in which the quintet was showcased with “De nuevo a la pista”, a tango by the orchestra leader and also the title of one of the two albums they were presenting. Other pieces by the same composer followed: “Besos robados” and “Crespón”, a waltz co-written with Andrés Pierucci and sung by Noelia Moncada as guest artist; “Bulinazo”, “Alivia” and the milonga “Linda y sensual”, in collaboration with Omar Fernández and with Gustavo Pérez on vocals. Some others followed and the quintet closed with Noelia Moncada and a premiere, “Milonguerita candombera”, a song dedicated to the members of Las Milongueritas, a female sextet from Norway.

In the second section of the show a nine-piece orchestra and a singer appeared. They created a mood with high level tango in which pieces written by its leader alternated with classics of the genre, which are included on his album En vivo en Oslo. So they played “Arrabal vikingo” (dedicated to Sweden), “Aquel candor”, “Gauchita sueca”, “Domingueando” (all of them written by Quilici), “Retintín”, “Yo soy el tango”, “Toda mi vida” (as homage to the Aníbal Troilo’s centennial), “Milonga para Fidel” by Osvaldo Pugliese, sung with a great effort by Leonel Capitano who was then with flu. The grand finale was with “La yumba”. It was a splendid evening and typical of Rosario.

Carlos was born in Arroyo Seco, south of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe. He performed on a few occasions, teaming up in a duo with a guitarist, either Martín Tessa or Javier Fioramonti.

In 1995 he put together his quintet Los Tauras and, from 2010 on, his own orchestra. He has made over thirty international tours, mainly in Europe and the American continent, and every year he travels to the Scandinavian countries. He joined the Orquesta Juvenil de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario under the direction of Domingo Federico and the Quinteto Camandulaje.

With Los Tauras he recorded five albums and one with his orchestra. The quintet personnel is: Martín Tessa (guitar), Simón Lagier (violin), Lucas Querini (piano), Domingo Porta (double bass) and Quilici (bandoneonist and leader).

The orchestra members are: Sofía Cardi Bonfil (piano), Briseida Alejo Ortega, María Bice Gambandé and Luisa Torres Zambrano (violins), Marina Giandomenico (viola), Cecilia Zabala (double bass), Ignacio Claramonte, Carlos Becú and Quilici (bandoneons) and Leonel Capitano (vocalist).

His work includes workshops on technical elements of tango and tango interpretation, chats about the instrumental evolution of tango and musicality for dancers. And as if this were not enough, he tunes and repairs bandoneons.

We shall finish this short portrayal with a listing of his compositions.

Instrumentals: “Milonga pa’l flaco Tell”, “Dulce voz”, “A Mario Gómez”, “Tatán”, “Gorro bandera y vincha”, “Corazón de calesita”, “Domingueando”, “Milongacita”, “La sexta”, “Alunada”, “Aquel candor”, “Prontuario”, “La nona”, “Arrabal vikingo”, “Rango reo” and “Sanating” —both in collaboration with Javier Fioramonti—, “Medio chapita”, “Josefin”, “Diosa perdida”, “Gauchita sueca”, “La gran Montironi”, “Malenita”, “Mojada”, “Bulinazo”, “Besos robados”, “Cancha barrosa”, “Ya pasó el vagón naranja”, “Alivia”, “Togasorres”, “De nuevo a la pista”, “Tanguiño”, “Nandy”, “Mercí vieja” and, in collaboration with Fioramonti and Mariano Braun, “Verano en Rosario”, “Locro”, “Relojeao” and El fueye de Londres”.

His pieces with lyrics: “Milonguerita candombera”, “No tan angelito” (with his own lyrics), “Lavate el aserrín”, “La misma sombra”, “El mismo bar”, “De crespón” (these four in collaboration with Andrés Pierucci), “Bandoneón” (with Rogel de Niz), “Geriátrico” (with Armando Del Fabro), “Linda y sensual” (with Omar Fernández), “Celebremos”, “Río de la Plata” (with Gastón Carrano, Ben Brooke, Jermaine Foster), “Milongueros”, “Cadenas frías”, “Adentro”, “Canciones perdidas”, “Tierra”, “Crece” (with Gastón Carrano, Ben Brooke) and “En un rincón de La Sexta” (with Lautaro Kaller).

Our Todo Tango portal welcomes this notable musician and, in doing so, also recognizes one of the best tango figures of his generation.