By
Nicolás Lefcovich

Orquesta Típica Carlos Di Sarli

is early groups were sextets with which he recorded 48 numbers from November 26, 1928 to August 14, 1931. Previously he had played piano in a large number of movie theaters as background music for silent movies. In 1923 he joined the group led by Anselmo Aieta. The following year he played with the outfit fronted by Juan Pedro Castillo and, also, in a trio along with Alejandro Scarpino (bandoneon) and Lorenzo Olivari (violin) to back up the singers that appear on the LOX Radio Cultura radio station.

In the mid- 1926 Osvaldo Fresedo summoned him to perform as piano player of a second orchestra he had put together to appear at the same time of his main aggregation in which the pianist was José María Rizzuti.



As for the sextets he put together from the late 1927 until the mid- years of the next decade, their line-ups and changes of personnel, you should see Chronicle Tango Sextets and their members (1919-1973).

In 1938 he put together his own orchestra: Di Sarli (piano); Roberto Guisado, Ángel Goicoechea and Alfredo Pérez (violins); Roberto Gianitelli, Domingo Sánchez and Roberto Mititieri (bandoneons); Domingo Capurro (double bass) and Ignacio Murillo (vocals). They appeared on LR1 Radio El Mundo and at the Salón Imperio. In 1939 Roberto Rufino replaced Murillo. In December 1939 he recorded the first two tangos with his orchestra: “Corazón” and “Retirao”.

1940. Carlos Di Sarli (piano); Roberto Guisado, Ángel Goicoechea, Alfredo Pérez and Antonio Rossi (violins); Roberto Gianitelli, Félix Verdi, Domingo Sánchez, Roberto Mititieri and Luis Porcell (bandoneons); Domingo Capurro (double bass) and Roberto Rufino (vocals).

1942. Di Sarli (piano); Roberto Guisado, Ángel Goicoechea, Alfredo Pérez, Antonio Rossi and Claudio González (violins); Félix Verdi, Domingo Sánchez, Roberto Gianitelli, Roberto Mititieri and Luis Porcell (bandoneons); Domingo Capurro (double bass); Roberto Rufino (vocals) and Alberto Podestá was included.

1944. Di Sarli (piano); Roberto Guisado, Ángel Goicoechea, Alfredo Pérez and Antonio Rossi (violins); Félix Verdi, Domingo Sánchez and Federico Scorticati (bandoneons); Domingo Capurro (double bass) and Alberto Podestá (vocals). In 1945 the singer Jorge Durán joined them.

1946. Di Sarli (piano); same violin section; Roberto Mititieri and Ángel Ramos are added in the bandoneon section and Hamlet Greco replaced Domingo Capurro (double bass)

1947. Di Sarli (piano); same violin section; Félix Verdi is replaced by Leopoldo Federico in the bandoneon section. In 1949 the orchestra is dismembered and Di Sarli devoted to real estate business.

1951. A new orchestra and Di Sarli resumes his piano playing and conduction; Roberto Guisado, Bernardo Weber, Ángel Goicoechea, Simón Bajour, Claudio González and Alfredo Pérez (violins); Félix Verdi, Federico Scorticati, Ángel Ramos, Luis Masturini and Juan Carlos Matino (bandoneons); Alfredo Sciarretta (double bass) and the vocalist Oscar Serpa and Mario Pomar (Corrales).

1956. Di Sarli (piano); Simón Bajour, Elvino Vardaro, Elías Slon, Alfredo Rouco and Antonio Rossi (violins); José Libertella, Julián Plaza, Alfredo Marcucci and Domingo Sánchez (bandoneons); Alfredo Sciarretta (double bass); Rodolfo Galé and Argentino Ledesma (vocalists). Announcer: Antonio Cantó. In 1957 Jorge Durán joined the orchestra again.

1958. His last orchestra: Di Sarli (piano); Roberto Guisado, Elvino Vardaro, Alfredo Rouco, Simón Bajour, Carlos Arnaiz, Claudio González, Antonio Rossi and Juan Schiaffino (violins); Félix Verdi, José Libertella, Julián Plaza, Alfredo Marcucci and Domingo Sánchez (bandoneons); Alfredo Sciarretta (double bass); Horacio Casares and Jorge Durán (singers), with the same announcer.

Besides the above vocalists, the following also appeared with the orchestra: Agustín Volpe (recorded one number), Carlos Acuña (also only one track), Osvaldo Cabrera (no recordings), Raúl Posadas (no recordings), Osvaldo Cordó (no recordings) and Roberto Florio. The one who recorded most was Roberto Rufino with 45 numbers, followed by Jorge Durán with 41, Oscar Serpa with 32, Alberto Podestá with 28 and Mario Pomar (Corrales) with 27.

When he led his sextet he accompanied the female singer Mercedes Carné in a series of recordings for the Brunswick label. His named was not mentioned on the record labels because he was hired by the Victor Company. He also backed up Tania and the same thing happened because she had signed for Columbia.



From December 1939 until November 1958 the recordings add up to 382, including those by the sextet. In this figure it is not taken into account a fourth rendition of the tango “Nido gaucho” that, in 1945, he recorded as a non-commercial release which had the peculiarity that a section was sung in Spanish by Jorge Durán and another in English by Bob Toledo, vocalist of the then well-known Argentine jazz band led by Ken Hamilton.

It was the first orchestra in our country that launched its new recordings in vinyl. His latter recordings for Philips were cut only by the orchestra (as tracks) to later overdub the vocal tracks by Jorge Durán and Horacio Casares. When the leader died the record company decided to replace the four renditions by Durán by others with Edmundo Rivero on vocals. It was only a commercial trick because Rivero was never member of the orchestra. The numbers were: “Nubes de humo”, “Si nos queremos todavía”, “Por quererla así” and “Dónde estás”. The latter was removed from the market due to a Jorge Durán’s request.