Athens Tango Project Explained

Athens Tango Project
Origin:Athens, Georgia, United States
Genre:Tango, Argentine Tango, milonga
Years Active:2012 - present
Website:Official website
Current Members:Laura Camacho
John Cooper
David Marcus
Monique Osorio
John Phillips
Matt Vu

Athens Tango Project is an Argentine tango music band founded in 2012 in the city of Athens, Georgia by Laura Camacho, a Double bass musician from Buenos Aires,[1] featuring Monique Osorio on vocals, John Phillips on drums, John Cooper on violin, and Matt M Vu, David Marcus, on piano. The extended lineup includes Keiko Ishibashi, Franziska Brunner, Teresa Grynia, Curran Pendergrast, Bill Oglesby, Daniel Allen, James Perkins, Jaime Antonio Cardenas Espana, Serena Scibelli, Fernando Deddos, and Ricardo Hurtado.[2] [3]

History

The group has been a prominent member of the Latin music community of Athens and has won several awards for best Jazz and World music group, winning the local Flagpole Magazine Athens Music Awards in 2014[4] and 2016[5] as well as performed on the local TedxUGA program.[6] [7] The group's members have collaborated with musicians from tango including David Alsina,[8] Las Del Abasto, Mariano Mores, Sexteto Mayor, Tanghetto,[9] Alejandro Ziegler Tango Quartet[10] as well as music from different genres including Béla Fleck, Ben Folds, Catupecu Machu, CeeLo Green, Deerhunter, members of Drive-By Truckers, members of The Olivia Tremor Control and Circulatory System (band), Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Layma Azur, Matisyahu, Christian McBride, and Universal Sigh.[11]

The group has also appeared in documentary films, which include the upcoming Athens, Georgia: 30 Years On (sequel to)[12] and Athens Rising: The Sicyon Project: Volume One.[13] The group contributed cover songs of Neutral Milk Hotel[14] and R.E.M.,[15] as well as a collaboration with Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers[16] to the documentaries.

Recently, the band has performed renditions of local Athens music by Kishi Bashi, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Pylon (band), and R.E.M. as live performances while working with Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Jason NeSmith of Pylon Reenactment Society.[17] The group recorded a cover of Olivia Tremor Control's song, I Have Been Floated, with backup vocals from Will Cullen Hart[18] from the compilation album release, An Enthusiast's Fanfare for Elephant 6.[19] Athens Tango Project members played with members of Tanghetto onstage for the Astor Piazzolla piece, Libertango, at the 2019 Argentina Food Wine and Culture Festival.[20] [21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Athens Tango Project imports traditional Argentine tunes. OnlineAthens. 2016-09-11.
  2. Web site: About. Athens Tango Project. 2016-09-11.
  3. Web site: Athens Tango Project - About Facebook. www.facebook.com. 2016-09-11.
  4. Web site: 2014 Flagpole Athens Music Awards Winners. Flagpole Magazine. 20 June 2014 . 2016-09-11.
  5. Web site: 2016 Flagpole Athens Music Award Winners. Flagpole Magazine. 24 June 2016 . 2016-09-11.
  6. Web site: TEDxUGA: Presenters talk technology and public services. @LindsayVConway. Lindsay Conway. The Red & Black (University of Georgia). 19 March 2016 . 2016-09-11.
  7. Web site: TedXUGA: Theme: Illuminate . Ted.com . 1 July 2019.
  8. Web site: Community Health Mission and MedBank to hold Heart of Tango fundraiser. Savannah Now. 2018-09-18.
  9. Web site: About. Athens Tango Project. 2016-09-11.
  10. Web site: Casa Argentina de Houston presenta nuevamente Alejandro Ziegler Tango Quartet. El Venezolano Houston . 16 August 2018 . 2018-09-18.
  11. Web site: About. Athens Tango Project. 2016-09-11.
  12. Web site: Athens Georgia: 30 Years On Performances. Athens Tango Project. 28 April 2018 . 2018-04-28.
  13. Web site: Just Wrapped Recording on Our Segment from Upcoming Film - Sicyon: Celebrating the Creative Class in the Classic City. Athens Tango Project. 11 March 2018 . 2018-04-28.
  14. Web site: Athens Georgia: 30 Years On Performances. Athens Tango Project. 28 April 2018 . 2018-04-28.
  15. Web site: Just Wrapped Recording on Our Segment from Upcoming Film - Sicyon: Celebrating the Creative Class in the Classic City. Athens Tango Project. 11 March 2018 . 2018-04-28.
  16. Web site: Flagpole Premieres: Athens Rising, Excerpt Two: Chef Garrett Macfalda. Flagpole Magazine. 2018-08-09.
  17. Web site: Athens Tango Project Pays Tribute to Athens' Greats. Flagpole Magazine. 29 August 2018 . 2018-09-03.
  18. Web site: Lamb . Gordon . Hope for Agoldensummer Scores Podcast, and More Music News and Gossip . Flagpole Magazine . 6 March 2019 . 9 April 2019.
  19. Web site: Athens Tango Project - I Have Been Floated. Bandcamp. 9 April 2019.
  20. Web site: Our Festival Our Participants . https://web.archive.org/web/20190701162154/https://argfoodfest.com/participants/ . dead . 1 July 2019 . ArgFoodFest Atlanta Edition . 1 July 2019.
  21. Web site: Performances with Tanghetto . Athens Tango Project . 1 July 2019.