Héctor Grané, the Invisible Hero behind Pedro Láurenz
At the last milonga we had before the pandemic, a DJ friend marveled at Láurenz’s valses and said there must be something special in them because they are so compelling to dance to. This interpretation of Paisaje by Piana and Manzi was her favorite: Paisaje - Pedro Laurenz - Alberto Podestá 1943.08.06 I couldn’t say anything specific then, but afterwards, when I listened Paisaje once again, it was pretty clear to me what made it so special: The pianist was playing arrastres with his left hand. A piano arrastre is a quick chromatic movement of 2 to 4 notes towards the downbeat. Playing arrastres is commonplace in tango interpretations, but with valses they are rarely used. When playing a vals, most golden-age tango pianists play strong but relatively short bass notes, typically using the little finger of their left hand. In Paisaje , however, the pianist uses 4 to 5 fingers to play the bass note when an ...