Now, I Can Tango!

Greetings dreary traveler. You’ve stumbled into The Tango Saloon. 15 banditos welcome you to a musical crossroads where the tango, jazz and country all converge. Across a smoky poker table head gun/guitar-slinger Julian Curwin smirks a slow smile destroying your confidence in the three 7s you just bet the farm on. A full house is all you find as the sounds of accordion and mirthful string and brass sections spice up the scene. There is no escape from this alluring concoction of Latin American influences; this self-titled offering from Curwin’s Tango Saloon is your new home.Opening simply with Curwin’s frolicking finger picking on “Overture,” the method these looters employ is instantly clear: a light melody dances about as sparse instrumentation slowly provides color. Skilled pickpocket (and accordion player) Svetlana Bunic slides over next to you for “Tango Saloon 1” peppering a gorgeous 5-note tune over piano and acoustic guitar. Curious if you feel suspiciously “lighter” bartender Shenton Gregory quickly pours you a bubbly glass of ale before promptly dazzling your ears with a serene violin solo on “Upon A Time.” As your inhibitions slip away the group’s resident con artist Ilan Kidron turns from under the brim of a hat and sings “Libertango,” a melancholy ballad.

Rifleman Christian Watson stares ominously your way before adding qwirky alto sax to the mix on “March of the Big Shoe,” while the muscle Jess Ciampa presents a pitter-patter of shaker, triangle and udu drums (“Carol”) warning you to stay sharp. Shifty stranger Danny Heifetz fights in a far corner against hired goons Reuben Derrick and John Hibbard in “Man With The Bongos,” a staccato slugfest of drums versus horns. Luke Dubber’s bouncy organ playing (“The Little Plane That Could”) distracts you while Sam “The Kid” Golding’s phenomenal jazzy tuba shuffle comes in for the knockout punch on “La Calle 92.”

Toothless, broke, drunk and fully seduced by lush orchestration, you strap up for your first heist….