''Summit'' is an album by Argentinean

bandoneon The bandoneon () or bandonion is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, it is held between the hands, and played ...

ist

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...

and jazz saxophonist

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

. The original LP was recorded and released in Italy in 1974.Original Italian release of

Background

The album was born from the meeting, which took place in Italy in 1974, between the Argentinean bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla and the North American saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, considered among the most prominent members of the world music scene. The album was recorded in Milan and includes eight compositions, seven written by Piazzolla and one by Mulligan. The fusion of the

nuevo tango Nuevo tango (''New tango'') is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s. Dance Origins Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango wa ...

of Astor Piazzolla with the jazz influences of Gerry Mulligan, backed by an orchestra of Italian and Argentinian musicians, has been described as "a memorable disc of rare beauty" and "a one-off event, wholly successful". Again, as with Astor Piazzolla's ''

Libertango ''Libertango'' is a composition by tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla, recorded and published in 1974 in Milan. The title is a portmanteau merging " Libertad" (Spanish for "liberty") and "tango", symbolizing Piazzolla's break fr ...

'', the

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...

consists of

Pino Presti Giuseppe Prestipino Giarritta (born 23 August 1943), professionally known by his pseudonym Pino Presti, is an Italian conductor, arranger, bassist, composer and record producer from Milan. He is a 5th-dan black belt in Shotokan Karate. Pres ...

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

and

Tullio De Piscopo Tullio De Piscopo (born 24 February 1946 in Naples, Italy) is an Italian drummer, percussionist and singer-songwriter. De Piscopo was born in Naples. His father was an orchestra percussionist. In 1969 he moved to Turin and two years later he moved ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Recording

The album was recorded on 24–26 September and 1–4 October 1974 at Mondial Sound Studio in Milan, Italy, by sound engineer Tonino Paolillo.

Release history

The release history of ''Summit'' appears somewhat loose. The LP was originally released in 1974 on the Italian label Erre T.V. Besides a release on the short-lived label of the German chemical company

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

the album was re-released the following year by the German

WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...

on the

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

label as ''Tango Nuevo''. In Latin America the album was released as ''Reunión cumbre'' on the Argentinian label Trova and (without further title) in Brazil on Pick Jazz. Although several times reissued on CD since the late 1980s the album was not digitally remastered yet.Cf.

Track listing

All songs written, arranged and conducted by

, except track 6, "Aire de Buenos Aires" was written by

. # "20 Years Ago" - 6:26 # "Close Your Eyes and Listen" - 4:32 # "Years of Solitude" - 4:07 # "Deus Xango" - 3:45 # "20 Years After" - 4:10 # "Aire de Buenos Aires" - 4:37 # "Reminiscence" - 6:30 # "Summit" - 3:35

Personnel

Musicians

- bandoneon *

- baritone saxophone * Angel 'Pocho' Gatti - piano,

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

73 electric piano, organ *

- drums, percussion *

- electric bass * Alberto Baldan, Gianni Zilioli - marimba * Filippo Daccò, Bruno De Filippi - electric guitar * String section with ** Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli - 1st violin ** Renato Riccio - 1st viola ** Enio Miori - 1st cello

Production

* Producers - Aldo Pagani, Mario Fattori, Fabio Belotti * Executive Producer - Aldo Pagani * Sound engineer - Tonino Paolillo * Original cover design - Roberto Carra, Marco Cambieri * Original cover photos - Alberto Rizzo

References

{{Authority control 1974 albums Gerry Mulligan albums Astor Piazzolla albums Jazz albums by Argentine artists Tango albums Atlantic Records albums BASF (record label) albums