Out of a converted clothing factory on the Main, Montreal’s textile district and the local equivalent of Buenos Aires’ La Boca neighborhood, the Sweatshop Tango ensemble is an encounter between musician from Argentina and Canada, conjuring up the ghosts of all the immigrants who ironed, sewed, folded and packed on the premises.
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Q. Tell me something about your musical roots.
A. I was classically trained on the piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. I then went on to study Musicology, specializing in the history of 20th century music. My discovery of the accordion came about around 10 years ago. I bought a $100 accordion in a pawn shop, on a lark. Thought I could amuse my friends at parties by playing “Roll out the barrel” style polkas. I did, thought the friends didn’t tend to stay very long at my parties. It was a good way of emptying your house of stragglers. But then I found myself in Jerusalem and heard two Moldavian accordionists playing in a café. I was blown away by their virtuosity, by the complicated rhythms of the music, by the emotion. I really fell in love with Balkan music. I realized there was a level you could attain on the instrument which went well beyond ironic Laurence Welk-style antics.
I eventually found a teacher in Montreal: a real world-class accordionist, named Marin Nasturica. He is world famous in accordion circles, particularly as a jazz player (he made an album with Oliver Jones, for example). He had a lot of faith in me: he really wanted me to become a professional performer. He used to say to me, “Jonathan, in the evenings you can make love, but in the day, you have to practice!” So that’s when I started taking it seriously. But I moved away from Balkan music and discovered the tango. I became obsessed with Astor Piazzolla and particularly trying to imitate the sound of his bandoneón (the Argentinean version of the accordion, and the most characteristic instrument of tango) on my accordion. I made an arrangement of one of his pieces which was published in France in 2002. Then later, I started playing the bandoneón. This is now my main instrument.
Q. How did Sweatshop Tango Ensemble come to be? Who are the other musicians?
A. I was living in a loft space in downtown Montreal, on St. Laurent bd. (the “Main”). It was a converted clothing factory, and I used to organize all sorts of musical events there: jam sessions, classical concerts, parties, dress rehearsals, all kinds of things. The space, on account of its origins, became known as the “sweatshop”. After I made the arrangement in 2002, I wanted to hear it performed, just for my own pleasure. The musicians in Sweatshop were by and large people who used to frequent my “sweatshop” jam sessions; so we got together to read through the music, and we enjoyed it so much that we ended up becoming a band: our first concert was in Feb. 2004, at the Butte St Jacques: we were sort of in over our heads, having chosen very difficult repertoire. But the audience was really supportive, and, amazingly for a first concert, the show sold out, and we had to turn away about 25 people at the door!
The other musicians are all excellent professional musicians: Pablo Seib, born in Argentina, is a classical double-bass player. Amy Zanrosso is a pianist who works a lot with singers at McGill University among many other projects. Pablo Bonacina, originally from Argentina as well, is a guitarist as well as being a very interesting electronic composer, who has worked with many contemporary dance companies. Chantal Bergeron, a classically-trained violinist, plays contemporary music with the QAT ensemble, and has also performed in successful world-music bands like Ipso Facto and Perdu l’nord.
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Q. Why did you choose to do tangos?
A. When I heard Astor Piazzolla for the first time (I believe it was his quintet’s version of La Muerte del Angel) I knew that was what I wanted to play. No more ironizing on Laurence Welk for me. In fact the kind of jokey, ironic side of the accordion seemed so superficial to me when I realized what emotional depth you could get out of the instrument once you start to take it a little seriously and use it to communicate.
Q. Is there any improvisation in your playing?
A. Yes, the tango has a lot of improvisatory elements in it: not in the sense of jazz, though: it’s more akin to Baroque music where a basic melody is written out, and you are required to interpret the rhythm freely, add ornaments, etc. If you don’t do these things, the music sounds dead; the only way to learn how to make these embellishments is to listen to the masters playing: not just Piazzolla, but the great players from before him: Pedro Maffia, Pedro Laurenz, Aníbal Troilo, etc.
Q. How is Sweatshop Tango different from other tango groups?
A. Nobody can claim to be entirely original when they are devoted to traditional music like the tango, but I like to think that we have an original sound. For one thing, we have played a lot in Tango dance schools, studios and milongas: so we have cut our teeth by playing for dancers: you learn a lot from observing the dancers and playing in such a way as the dancers enjoy dancing to your music: they are the most demanding audience imaginable, and don’t spare your feelings when they don’t like something! As a result we play a lot of older tango, because they tend to prefer it to the Piazzolla-inspired tango nuevo stuff.
Secondly, we play quite a lot of originals: compositions which don’t try to be traditional, and are even inspired at times by rock music or classical.
Third, all of us really admire Horacio Salgan, one of the greatest tango pianists of all time; his group from the 1960s, Quinteto Real, is a real inspiration for us: people hear the influence in the way we play; not a lot of tango bands these days follow in the Quinteto Real footsteps, so I think that gives us an original sound.
Q. What is your role in the Ensemble?
A. I make the arrangements, compose and do most of the admin. But we are a completely democratic band, and everybody has their say on the artistic side. Each of the musicians brings to the band their own musical experience, and contribute a huge amount in the way they interpret the music in their own way. So what I do is a starting point, that let’s them shape the music in their own way; without them, the group would have a totally different sound.
Q. We always put one track (an MP3) on our website with the interview, which one would you choose and why?
A. I would put Salganeando: it’s a piece I wrote as a tribute to Horacio Salgan and his Quinteto Real: it contains some quotes of their music. Tango is often very dark and moody, but this tune is really light and tongue-in-cheek, a lot like the mood of the Quinteto Real.
Q. Where do you want to go from here musically?
A. I just want to work on my bandoneón playing and become really proud of the work I do on it. That would be enough for me!