The poet, the teacher, the preacher: Dino Saluzzi

The deep melancholy of Argentinian tango is distilled in every note of Dino Saluzzi's latest album for ECM, Cite de la Musique. After Astor Piazzolla's death, it is arguably Saluzzi who replaces him as Argentina's premier "bandoneonista," both as a complex solo artist and a group musician, adding texture and veracity to Al Dimeola's World Sinfonia project, and the guitarist's various homages to Astor himself.

But whereas Piazzolla was excessive and brooding, Dino is all calmness and subtlety. His compositions are like abstract drawings, black carbon on thick white paper, where you slowly start to discern images and shapes among the mysterious lines.

The titles of his tunes bring to mind a forgotten Argentina: its old fashioned, traditional country life: Milonga del Ausente (Dance of the Absent One), Gorrion (Sparrow), El Rio y el Abuelo (The River and Grandfather). And in the intimate setting of a trio (bandoneon, acoustic guitar and double-bass) and the crystal clear quality of an ECM production, Saluzzi's ideas become ever more lucid and incisive. Not for the feeble of mind and spirit, Cite de la Musique is a journey that leaves you with more questions than answers.

This seems to be the objective of Saluzzi, a heady conversationalist, if there ever was one. To wit:

EL: Your latest release, Cite de la Musique, finds you playing in a trio format. Was this a big departure from your other recordings?

DS: Generally, I strive to do something different from what I've done before. My intention is to avoid the path that will bring a definition. Rather, I look for a variety in the concrete possibilities of communicating with people. More than anything, this communication is art.

Of course, this is taken from a certain point of view, a concept, if you wish. Some think that music is merely a business. I believe that from within my particular point of view, I have always searched for different things. And I love them all, all my records. They represent different stages in my life. Stages in my appreciation of music and my formation as a musician.

This last record I like very much, because it gave me the opportunity to play with two fantastic musicians, who offered a lot of themselves throughout the process. I like the ensemble, too: "bandoneon," double bass, acoustic guitar. It's very interesting, since it is not aggressive. In these confusing days of commercialism and aggression, Cite de la Musique is characterized precisely by that: the total lack of interest in success of the commercial kind. Its only goal is to communicate in some way, and from a certain cultural standpoint.

EL: You have recorded most of your latest output for ECM, a recording label that many people are not familiar with. The majority of ECM releases are somewhat obscure in comparison to your music, that can truly be appreciated by anybody. And yet, the common denominator is not aware of ECM's existence. Has this been a preoccupation for you?

DS: I believe that art is here to stay. Music, painting, literature. Artists construct their work, no matter what the real quality of their output is.

It is necessary to be conscious of the fact that we subject ourselves to a constant bombardment of elements, to ensure our comfort. Therefore, we stay away from seeking what must be sought. Through relentless promotion and advertising, we accept what's offered to us with excessive ease. We lack the initiative to seek.

ECM's philosophy offers without forcing. From then on, the actual possibility of the common man, who decides to buy an album or want to communicate through other channels than the superficial ones, is there. Indeed, people need to be informed. And in my opinion, ECM has the virtue of not attacking through its promotion of the product. It does it with a lot of respect, both to the music and the cultures of the world.

EL: The spirit of Argentina seems to be present in all of your music. Where were you born, and how did your place of origin affect your music?

DS: I was born in the northern side of Argentina, very close to Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. I'm from a little village called Campo Santo ("Holy Field"), in the province of Salta, about 1,600 kms. from Buenos Aires.

Your question means many things to me. It means home, friendship, the joy of good memories, the help of the unpleasant ones, the protection of the family. Many things that are dear to the heart and its emotions.

Of course, nobody chooses the place where he is born. This brings its share of resentment and frustration. A lot of questions. We are who we are, without having much say on it.

EL: Where do your records sell the most?

DS: Everywhere, really. North America is the only place where people buy my records with less zeal, but they sell very well in Asia, Europe and Latin America. It also depends on your parameters of success and promotion. Some records are harder to promote than others. At ECM, though, we don't only sell records to make a living. We are also trying to do something to help music, to support it. Music that proposes ideas, not necessarily new ones, but rather old ideas that are now forgotten. We like the idea of a contribution, not of an empire. We march together through this extraordinary adventure we call "communication."