San Francisco not only has great dancers but also many great musicians. It’s such a treat to have these live Tango orchestras grace dancers with their music. Please check TangoMango or their websites to see where they will be playing next.
Tango Brumoso
They are a cuarteto of musicians that play traditional Argentine Tango music for social dancing. Orchestra members are Jane Yurkevich ~ Accordion, Hereen Oh ~ Violin, Crystie Nicci Shum ~ Piano, and Daniel Peters ~ Double Bass.
Visit their Facebook page
TangoLuna
The moon of tango started to arise for TangoLuna at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. When Crystie Nicci Shum and Adele Lun first met at a tango music workshop in Toronto in 2019, they loved playing with each other. Then the pandemic changed the world and brought like minds even closer together. With the addition of DalRae Jin, the three gals called themselves Las Tangueritas and rehearsed online for several months.
Daniel Peters and Alexander Zeyliger joined the group when in-person rehearsals became available. The band was re-named TangoLuna, since, well, the group was no longer comprised of only gals!
TangoLuna is a group of musicians of solid classical training who fell in love with the passion and complexity of tango music. They had their world premiere on Nov 21, 2021 at The Dome.
Visit their Facebook page
L.O.F.T. Community Big Band Orchestra
LOFT is an acronym for La Orquesta Fusion Tango, a community tango orchestra in the San Francisco Bay Area consisting of trained instrumentalists and vocalists with a mutual love of tango.
Visit their Facebook page
Community Music Center (CMC) Tango Ensemble
The group is directed by CMC faculty member Scott O’Day and offered as a weekly class for adults and older teens (high school students). Students will use arrangements of classic tangos to learn musical, rhythmic, and stylistic elements of tango performance practice and ensemble playing. They perform for the San Francisco tango dance community (e.g., local milonga) on occasion.
Visit CMC website
Trio Garufa
Trio Garufa is considered one of the most versatile contemporary interpreters of Argentine Tango, mixing deep respect for tango’s Golden Era with the innovation of the modern Nuevo Tango movement. Their music is powerful, passionate, and always danceable. Trio Garufa has performed across Argentina, Canada, and the US. The ensemble performs classic Argentine Tango from the golden era (30s-50s) as well as Argentine Folkloric Music (Chacarera, Zamba, Guarania, Gato, Chamamé) and modern Tangos from Piazzolla as well as Electro-Tango and their original compositions. Trio Garufa consists of three very talented musicians, Guillermo Garcia on guitar, Adrian Jost on Accordion/Bandoneon, and Sascha Jacobsen on Bass. They released their third album at the end of April 2012.
Seth Asarnow Y Su Sexteto Tipico
One of the most popular orchestra’s in San Francisco, this sextet’s style of playing ranges from the tango orchestras of the 40’s to the more contemporary arrangements of well-known tango pieces. They have been lauded for their superb renditions of tangos authentic enough to make dancers forget they are dancing to live music and not the original recording from the 40’s. Members include: Seth Asarnow, Julian Ramil, Cynthia Mei, Michael Thomas, Dan Highman, Christopher Johnson. They play regularly at various location around San Francisco.
Mariano Barreiro Tango Trio
Argentine tango pianist Mariano Barreiro is one of the most recognized tango pianists of the new generation, having recorded with the best tango musicians in the world such as violinist Pablo Agri (Piazzolla), bandoneon player Horacio Romo (Sexteto Mayor), bassist Horacio Cabarcos (Leopoldo Federico), singer Juan Villarreal (El Arranque) , bandoneonist Martin Cecconi and the guitarist Santiago Cursach among many others.
Mariano Barreiro gave Tango concerts on international tours in North America, South America and Europe. Performed concerts at the most prestigious international tango festivals such as The Tallinn International Tango Festival in Finland, the Five Continents Festival in Switzerland, the Postale Tango Festival in France, the Zárate Tango Festival in Buenos Aires, The Festival Argentine, and the Tango Championship in San Francisco (ATUSA) and International Tango Festival Red Carpet Las Vegas among others. You can find them performing at various milongas and venues around the Bay Area.
Tangonero
With members from Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States, Tangonero is a San Francisco based ensemble dedicated to preserving the tradition of Argentine Tango. Tangonero was awarded the CMC Shenson Award for their original stage production Malena, in collaboration with Argentine vocalist Claudio Ortega and dancers Count Glover and Chelsea Eng. They have performed at numerous festivals including Portland ValenTango, San Francisco Tango Xchange, Boston Tango Festival and Cotati Accordion Festival. They continue to perform throughout the United States in both dance and concert halls. Members are Violinist Michèle Walther, Pianist I-Yun Chung, Alex Roitman on Bandoneon and bassist Richard Duke.
Tango No.9
Tango No. 9 explores tango music in all its myriad manifestations — traditional dance music, vocal ballads, tango nuevo, and more recent compositions — bringing an idiosyncratic twist to each. The trio of instruments — violin, piano, and trombone — may seem a far cry from the more traditional orquesta tipica, but the group’s ingenious arrangements capture a much larger sound, while the unorthodox brass instrument adds a new dimension to the mix. Tango No. 9 performs at milongas, festivals, concert halls, and clubs in the Bay Area as well as across the Western U.S.
Redwood Tango Ensemble
Redwood Tango Ensemble is a sextet from Oakland California, dedicated to both traditional Argentine tango music and original tango composition. The ensemble’s arrangements are inspired by the styles of Anibal Troilo, Juan D’Arienzo, Carlos DiSarli, Osvaldo Pugliese, and other master orchestras in tango, which has made Redwood Tango popular among the dance communities in the bay area and on tour. Their signature is a growing repertoire of original compositions by bandoneonist Charles Gorczynski, centered around the creative and wide-reaching modern tango composers in Argentina and around the world. Orchestra members are Charles Gorczynski - Bandoneón, Alexander Lazarev - Piano, Scott O’Day - Guitar, Kendra Vernon - Violin, Celia Harris - Violin, Daniel Fabricant - Double Bass.
Cuarteto Puentes
Comprised of Alex, DalRae, Matt, and Jeff. Formed in 2015 by four Bay Area dancers/musicians, Cuarteto Puentes is dedicated to performing Argentine Tango music for dancers and audiences of all kinds.
Formed in 2015 by four Bay Area dancers/musicians, Cuarteto Puentes is dedicated to performing Argentine Tango music for dancers and audiences of all kinds. They have studied at Reed Tango Music Institute, Stowe Tango Music Festival, and with top tango musicians including Ignacio Varchausky, Ramiro Gallo, Hernan Posetti, Hector del Curto, Pablo Estigarribia, Emilio Solla, Adam Tully, and Ville Hiltula. The quartet appreciates the opportunities they have had for outstanding collaborations with exceptional artists at a number of unique venues. Their enthusiasm for playing danceable tango standards as well as more modern arrangements keeps them busy with practicing, studying, arranging, and composing.
Orchestra Z
Formed in 2011, Orquesta Z is composed of San Francisco Bay Area musicians with a love for Argentine tango. Their repertoire is rich with Golden Era Argentine tangos from the 30’s thru 50’s, plus modern and original compositions from the 60’s thru today from around the world. They play tangos that are interesting, engaging, and most importantly danceable!
Who the heck is Orquesta Z? (left to right)
violin: Jim Shallenberger (Kronos Quartet, SF Symphony, Forever Tango)
double bass: Sandy Schniewind (Prometheus Symphony)
violin: Carol Braves (Holy Names Symphony)
piano/’ukelele(!): Barbie Wong (Oakland Public Conservatory)
director/vocals/guitar/bandoneon: Bendrew Jong