Di Sarli Discography

Notes

We have tried our best to make these discographies correct and complete, but with any project of this scale there are guaranteed to be errors. If you find any, please let us know (can email us at NotasDeOro@gmail.com or by filling out the feedback form here).

Feel free to use these discographies however you see fit. We would love to hear if you find them useful. If, you do, make sure to let your friends know about this resource. Also please visit the sites provided in the references provided below. All of the people there did a lot of work to move the state of knowledge of tango history forward.   

Master Column

The Master column denotes the type of recording technology used for the original record. For many of the discographies, this is based on the work by Frank Jin and TangoSparks. Options are

• Acoustic: pre-electrical era recordings

• 78rpm: 78rpm Shellac records (coarse-groove metal)

• Micro: microgroove lacquer, or other pre-tape transitional methods

• Tape: reel-to-reel

• Tape-S: stereo tapes  

Grouping

The Grouping column is an attempt to separate the orchestra recording history into distinct periods. These separations are based on changes in orchestra composition (often a change in the Piano player causes the orchestra to sound different), change in label, change in recording technology, and large change in tone or approach. These breaks are subjective but hopefully helpful for understanding the orchestra recording arc. 

For Di Sarli, the groupings are as follows: 

• Sexteto (1928-1931): Early period where Di Sarli led a Sextet

• Initial Típica (1939-1941): Di Sarli first records with his típica December 1939. The initial lineup is 3 violins, 3 bandoneons, standup bass, and El Señor de Tango behind the keys. This expands to 5 bandoneons and 4 violins shortly after. The large bandoneon section points to the more driving 'D'Arienzo style' of the initial típica

• 5 Violins (1942-1943): In a mark towards more melody, Di Sarli adds a 5th violin to the lineup at the beginning of 1942.

• 3 Bandoneons, 4 Violins (1944-1945): The orchestra reduces size in 1944-1945, with violins now outnumbering bandoneons.

• Greco on Bass (1946-1948): At the end of 1945, Hamlet Greco replaces Domingo Capurro on bass, adding a different flavor to the music.

• Music Hall (1951-54): In 1948, Di Sarli disbands the orchestra and temporarily goes into real estate. (This is why there are no recordings in 1949 or 1950. In 1951 he comes back to the recording studio with the new company Music Hall and makes the first recordings in Argentina on reel to reel tape. 

• Return to Victor (1954-1956): Di Sarli returns to Victor, his original record label. 

• New Orchestra (1956-1958): In 1956 all the member of the orchestra except bassist Alfredo Sciarretta and violinist Simón Bajour left to start their own orchestra, Los Señores de Tango. A new group of young virtuosos joined. 

• Final Orchestra (1958-60): In 1960 several members who had left reunited to form a super orchestra with an astounding 8 violins!

References

The discographies presented here were built on top of the work of several people and groups who deserve mention and credit. Below is only a subset of the valuable resources available today

• The Discographies provided by TangoSparks served as an invaluable starting place. Tango Sparks delivers some of the highest quality tango sound available today.  

• Tango Time Travel Provides meticulously researched discographies of artists for select periods of their recording careers. The TTT transfers are of the highest quality and are available for purchase on their website.

• TangoTunes provides an incredible collection of high quality tango transfers and has done extensive work compiling discography information.

• TodoTango is the go-to site for anyone wanting to know about the history of tango artists and tango music. They provide Composer and Author information and provide orchestra histories which include orchestra members. 

• Gabriel Valiente's  Encyclopedia of Tango is a valuable reference for tango discographies and orchestra composition.

• Michael Lavocah's books on the tango orchestras are must reads for anyone interested in understanding tango music. The books also provide invaluable and highly researched discography information. 

• El Recodo provides artist discography information along with an extensive suite of tools useful to tango DJs and tango music lovers. Many of the discographies presented were cross referenced with information from El Recodo to check for completeness and accuracy

• Tango-DJ.at provides a vast database of tango information which has been essential for checking and validating.  Tango-DJ.at is especially useful for DJs who want to compare different versions of a given recording to select the highest quality release.