Tango

Tango's two giants are light-years removed from each other. Carlos Gardel died at 45 in 1935, and Astor Piazzolla recorded right up until his death in 1992 at the age of 71. Their recordings encompass the alpha and omega of the tango form, and all others are in their debt.

If you are having difficulty getting your ears around the early recordings, check out the modern tracks by Patricia Noval, Rodolfo Mederos, and Anibal Arias & Osvaldo Montes. You'll still need to travel back to the '20s and '30s to complete your tango education, but these may facilitate the journey.

The movie Tango is a must see for aficionados, and composer Lalo Schifrin (best known for his Mission: Impossible theme) teamed with the master, Piazzolla, for the film's score. Jazz vibist Gary Burton's tribute to Piazzolla is also worthy of singling out as a laudable example of modern jazz tango.

The odds that a late 19th-century Argentina rural dance music would continue to hold us in thrall over 125 years later are miniscule, but the tango ain't nothin' ordinary. As it spread to Buenos Aires and then to Europe at the beginning of the 1900s, it morphed into many forms, some more academic, some more folky, all quite sultry. Though many of the classic recordings predate CDs (and LPs), their heat still radiates.