Orchestra El Arranque

he orchestra El Arranque started in 1996 as a quintet. Now is lined up by seven musicians and a singer, all them young and under 30 years old. Some of them as well played in the Orquesta Escuela de Tango led by maestro Emilio Balcarce.

They attempt to be in search of the musical essence of the genre. Their point of departure is a sound similar to De Caro with a strong influence of Osvaldo Pugliese’s style.

Between 1997 and now they recorded three compact discs. Their first disc, in which the singer Marcelo Barberis is featured, was under the auspices of Nelly Omar and maestro Leopoldo Federico. The second CD is titled “Cabulero”, as homage to this great bandoneonist, with their present singer Ariel Ardit. It includes two numbers written by two of its members “Gran Hotel Venos” by guitarist Alejandro Schwarz and “Jazmín”, by Ramiro Gallo, lead violin of the orchestra. According to critics, it is the best of the three CD’s. The last release is “Clásicos” and contains consecrated tangos in their own arrangements which strive for new paths.

With a strong support by the Secretaría de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, the group made several tours of Europe, including Germany, Italy and Switzerland. In May 2001 the group traveled to New York to appear along with the renowned jazz musician, the American trumpetist Wynton Marsalis at the Lincoln Center.

They also appeared at the Festival Buenos Aires Tango in París and at the Grec in Barcelona.

The contrabassist Ignacio Varchausky is the leader of the group. He studied with Daniel Buono and in the Escuela de Música Popular de Avellaneda.

Also El Arranque is an integral and vibrant part of the scene of tango in Buenos Aires, playing both in theatres and rooms as in the most popular milongas (dance rooms). During the first ten years, the group has travelled through more than 150 cities of Europe, Asia, USA and Latin America, it has published 6 cds and has obtained distinctions such as the Clarin Award, Carlos Gardel Award, Konex Award and a nomination to the Latin Grammy Awards.

In June 2004, El Arranque carried out a new European tour with the special participation of the Maestros Néstor Marconi, Julio Pane, Raúl Garello y Mauricio Marcelli as invited soloists. This extraordinary collaboration was registered in the album Maestros, also nominated to the Gardel Awards (2006).

During March 2007, El Arranque carried out its first Hong Kong tour, where it closed the 35º Scenic Art International Festival. Returning from its recent European tour, where the group performed in venues like Centre for Fine Arts, in Brussels and Cultural Centre in Belem, Lisboa, the Orchestra has presented a new album called Nuevos, which includes the original work of the members of the group and of other colleagues of the same generation.

In 2010, El Arranque was made with great success in the prestigious Auditorio Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil, it has reaped the public and local press, and again in Buenos Aires Tango Festival at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. That same year, El Arranque presented its seventh album, called Leopoldo Federico & El Arranque, in the collection Raras Partituras of the Biblioteca Nacional. This album, also released on vinyl, highlights the work of the great bandoneonist arranged by members of the orchestra and Maestro Federico participation as bandoneon soloist.

Already in 2011, El Arranque prepares his concert celebration for his 15 year career, they also following their performances at the Festival of Tango in Rio Gallegos, Baradero Music Festival (where they won the Dedication Award 2010) and the Ibirapuera Auditorium in São Paulo, Brazil.

Among its members also were Boero (bandoneon), Osiris Rodríguez (violin) and Noelia Moncada (voice).

Formation: Camilo Ferrero (First Bandoneon and arrengement), Marco Antonio Fernández (Second Bandoneon), Guillermo Rubino (First Violin), Gustavo Mulé (Second Violin), Martín Vázquez (Electric Guitar and arrangement), Ignacio Varchausky (Contrabass), Ariel Rodríguez (Piano and arrangement), Juan Pablo Villarreal (voice).