Leopoldo Federico’s career spans more than six decades and coincides with the agitated ups and downs of tango. He lived the golden ages and the moments of decline. This bandoneon player survived it all with his brilliant style and in varying musical formations.  Today, 81 years old, Leopoldo marks a trail that generations of musicians follow.

When the tango orchestras numbered in the dozens, he was exposed to and versed in various currents of style (Piazzolla, Gobbi, Di Sarli, Salgán). In Federico’s own orchestra, he created a spotlight for the singer soloist Julio Sosa, who was the last massive star in the traditional line.  In times when the tango was losing popularity, Federico also played in notable trios and quartets, hidden in the shadows during a difficult moment for this music.

For this reason, the new CD is at once a surprise and a confirmation. It is the possibility of hearing him in the intimacy of these bandoneon solos, but it is not just a question of form. It is, above all, the revelation of a singular perspective: the introspection of his solos contrast with his overwhelmingly powerful musical mix of intensity and tenderness.

With a broad repertory aesthetically—“Gardelian” pieces, others Old Guard or Piazzola-influenced, and his own originals—the common axis is the concentrated and controlled sound without energetic explosions or virtuosic boasting. It photographs a moment of intense emotion, a magical instant.  The loneliness of the nocturnal bandoneon.

Andrés Casak, journalist, July, 2008