Combining the familiar with ‘something new and exciting’
APQ’s music seeks to open people’s ears
Head-spinning music may be just what the doctor ordered in the current zeitgeist, however counter-intuitive that sounds.
Try APQ and you could find calm in the chaos. Let it put a smile on your face before the melancholic ending forces a tear.
The Austin Piazzolla Quintet — offering nuevo tango submerged in a compote of jazz, folk and classical — brings its “strange kind of chamber music” to The GiG in Santa Fe on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s very surprising music, very creative … because it does have these very abrupt changes,” said pianist Jonathan Geer, who also composes
for the group. “Light juxtaposed with darkness. It’s very emotional music.”
Named after tango rebel Argentinian Astor Piazzolla and for the quintet’s Austin birthplace (there’s also a bit of a pun — Austin subbing for Astor before Piazzola), APQ’s performance has roots in the strict confines of the dance. But sit down to enjoy it, Geer said.
“People don’t really like to dance to it. It’s very different than old tango. (Piazzolla) made a lot of people angry,” he said.
Traditional tango involves steady beats and short pieces lasting two or three minutes. The late Piazzolla took it to another level, bringing in avant-garde sounds like “weird crazy cluster chords” and going “all over the map,” with ideas drawn from Vivaldi and other classical composers, Geer said.
Longer, complicated pieces ensued with a distinct impro-
visational twist.
The quintet of violin, piano, accordion/bandoneon, cello and bass has produced three albums: “Libertango” in 2010; “Lo Que Vendrá” in 2013; and “APQ” in 2015.
Love of Piazzolla’s music spurred APQ founder, violinist and composer James Anderson, to organize the quintet in 2009. While Piazzolla is gaining popularity among classical musicians and aficionados for his jazzy bent, Anderson said he didn’t want APQ to be just another classical ensemble pretending to be a jazz quintet.
“It’s difficult music to perform and takes some serious technique, but it has the freedom of improvisation in it and the earthiness of folk music, too,” Anderson said in written response to emailed questions.
Piazzolla’s “Tango: Zero Hour” album captured his imagination while Anderson was in music school in 2003.
“There were so many sounds and textures, and, as a new music student, it really opened up my perception of musical possibilities,” Anderson wrote.
Geer’s interest in Piazzolla drew him to the group. He had moved to Austin in 2008 and was looking for other musicians. Geer’s garage was APQ’s rehearsal space and the quintet enjoyed an early push of encouragement from Austin’s large tango community. They played at the performance space of the Esquina Tango Cultural Society of Austin, but the fit wasn’t quite right.
“We kind of struggled with our identity,” Geer said.
Plus, no one in the group can tango, according to Geer, half-jokingly.
“We’re all very white,” he said.
The group’s musical diversity has likely contributed to its success, Anderson wrote. He’s hoping listeners representing a wide range of tastes will find something to enjoy at APQ’s performance on Saturday.
“I hope the music opens people’s ears like it did mine and, although there’s something familiar about it, that they hear something new and exciting in it,” he wrote.