Miguel Caló

Bandoneonist, Leader and Composer

(1907 October 28 - 1972 May 24)

Place of Birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Notes: Miguel Caló

Era

1. 1933-38. Raúl Kaplún first violin, Miguel Caló first bandoneón, piano Miguel Nijensohn; 4 bando + 4 violin

   1a: piano was Luis Brighenti; the conjunto was a sexteto.

   1b: one guitar in the forefront can be heard.

   • Sources indicate that Salgán (1935) and Pugliese (1936) might have been the arranger or pianists on some occasions, whereas the recordings always suggest Nijensohn on the piano, at least in the studio.

2. 1941-43. Enrique Francini first violin, Domingo Federico first bandoneón, piano Osmar Maderna, Ariel Pedernera double bass; 4 bando + 4 violin

   2b: Eduardo Del Piano replaced Federico as first bandoneón; Armando Pontier second bandoneón.

   • Domingo Federico’s departure happened possibly around April/May 1943. This is evidenced by:

     • When Raúl Iriarte (Podestá replacement) debuted in the orquesta, Federico was still leading the bandoneón section.

     • Federico’s own orquesta debuted in 1943 June.

   • Eduardo Del Piano left Caló for Angel D’Agostino’s orquesta in 1943 June or July, to replace Alfredo Attadía.

3. 1943-1945. Enrique Francini first violin, Armando Pontier first bando, piano Osmar Maderna; 4/5 bando + 4 violin

   3b: a viola added; bandoneón section expanded to 5, including the young Eduardo Rovira and Carlos Lazzari.

   • Different sources mentioned August, October, even December 1945 as the rebirth of Caló’s orquesta. However, in various testimonies, Maderna, Francini, Pontier and some musicians left Caló after an event happened in April, and they were instantly replaced by Caló’s old folks, with whom Caló went on a tour in May and continued making records after returned. Therefore, Yo (1945-04-20) is the last recording of the original “Orquesta de las Estrellas.”

   • Interestingly, Odeón started a new numbering system on Caló’s discs after this fatal break-up.

4. 1945-46. Antonio Rodio first violin, Ismael Spitalnik first bando, Miguel Nijensohn piano; 4 bando + 4 violin

   4b: the viola was replaced by a cello.

   • The texture of the sound changed so much that it is almost a brand-new orquesta. Of course, the three leads are great musicians, and their styles are drastically different from the runaway kids.

   • Antonio Rodio quit after the 1946 tour in Chile; the same year, Spitalnik took Piazzolla’s director position in Fiorentino’s orquesta. The last recording of this era is El Cuatrero (1946-04-04)

5. 1946-53. Nito Farace or Julián Ortiz first violin, Julián Plaza first bando, Miguel Nijensohn piano; 5 bando + 4 violin

   5a/5b: Julián Ortiz first violin when Nito Farace was not with Caló. An interesting video (1946?) from this era.

   • Some source said Plaza joined in 1949 and stayed for almost 10 years was obviously wrong, as Plaza was clearly in a 1946/7 group photo, and he left Caló for Di Sarli in 1955. Intriguingly, there is a performance of Plaza in 1948 but not with Caló.

6. 1954-56. Plaza bandoneón, Nijensohn piano; 5/4 bando + 4 violin

   6a: Miguel Auteri first violin in 1954. This excellent violinist’s name was mentioned in an interview.

   6b: First violin unidentified. Cello was deleted, bando section was downsized to 4.

   • Julián Plaza’s Sensiblero (1955-06-07) is the last recording of his own era with Caló, before joining Di Sarli.

   6c: Simón Bajour first violin in 1956 (absent in 1956-10-19). Plaza left and Víctor Lavallén became the first bando.

   • Simón Bajour resigned from the Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra in 1955 for Di Sarli, while he alternated in other orquestas including Caló’s in 1956, lesser in 1957.

7. 1957-61. Orlando Trípodi piano, replacing Nijensohn who devoted to his own OT. 4 bando + 4 violin

   • Orlando Trípodi was alternating between OT Símbolo Maderna and his own OT (with Florio and Durán, 59-60) with Caló during this era. He did not join Caló’s 1959 tour to Brazil (the pianist was Osvaldo Tarantino).

   • Fernando Suárez Paz was said to have joined Caló in 1957 but cannot identify his solos in the recordings from this era (except for the 1959 Brazil tracks).

   • Osvaldo Rizzo was possibly the first bandoneón, as Víctor Lavallén left for Nijensohn orquesta in 1957.

8. 1963. Federico, Pontier lead bandoneóns, Francini, Suárez Paz, Baralis violins, piano Orlando Trípodi. Reunion of “Orquesta de las Estrellas” except for the demised Osmar Maderna. 5 bando + 5 violin

9. 1963-69. Fernando Suárez Paz first violin, José Libertella first bandoneón, piano Trípodi. 4 bando + 6 violin

10. 1972. Trípodi piano. 4 bando + 4 (or 5) violin

Date

• Carlos Puente firmly believes that the first two recordings of the label Splendid were recorded in 1933 June or July, whereas 1932 is mostly mentioned in various sources and discographies. Exact date unknown.

• Usually with temporary musicians, recordings made during tours are not listed, including 1959 in Brazil, 1962 in Perú, and 1965 in Colombia/Chile. Worth mentioning is the 1959 Brazil tour has a stellar line-up of pianist Osvaldo Tarantino and lead bandoneonist Alberto Garralda, both from Alfredo Gobbi’s orquesta, plus possibly the young talented violinist Fernando Suárez Paz. Twelve wonderful instrumental tracks were laid down in São Paulo.

• The exact recording dates of the 1972 sessions are uncertain.

Genre

• Pasodoble, Ranchera, FoxTrot, Polka, and Pasillo recordings are not listed.

• Caló’s valses in the 1930s are slow traditional waltzes rather than the fast vals criollo.

Singer

• Similar to Fresedo and Di Sarli, Caló fits best with lyrical singers.

• Ranko Fujisawa toured and recorded in Buenos Aires in 1964.

• 1962/65 sessions were made outside Argentina hence unlisted, including Lucho Gatica, Raúl del Mar, Marga Fontana, and most Roberto Luque tracks.

Masters

• Tech transition for Miguel Caló’s recording career in Odeón was smooth. In the transient microgroove era, Odeón was either using a parallel system or some other way for editing.

• Curiously, the 1963 sessions, including the reunion of “Orquesta de la Estrellas”, appeared to be mono in all available records. Since the stereo system has been applied since 1959 in Odeón Argentina, do (did) the stereo masters and products exist?

Pitch

• Researches by the TTT team suggest that the Odeón studio piano was updated to 440hz in Dec.1943. Marión (1943-12-27) would be the first song with the modern tuning on piano.

• The piano in the Embassy studio was conservatively tuned at 440hz (1972).

Speed

• In contrast to his peers who sprint to the extremes at the end of their careers, Caló sticks to a moderate speed (122-128bpm) and never fluctuates much.