This edition of our Tango Time Travel takes us to a pivotal moment in tango history: the launch of Carlos Di Sarli’s new, larger orchestra at the close of 1939. With its instrumentation and style typical of early 1940s tango orchestras, this new formation marked a decisive break from the style of his 1930s sextet and ushered in a distinctive orchestral language. Our album compiles all of Di Sarli’s studio recordings from 1939 to 1941.

Carlos Di Sarli (Cayetano Di Sarli) was a pianist, composer, and conductor whose romantic temperament and signature orchestral identity left a lasting mark on tango. Today, his style is widely recognized as one of the four foundational pillars of tango music, alongside those of D’Arienzo, Troilo, and Pugliese. He composed six of the titles included in this collection, among them Milonguero viejo, a direct homage to his friend and mentor Osvaldo Fresedo. The influence of Fresedo, particularly in Di Sarli’s elegant textures, restrained phrasing, and smooth rhythmic flow, is clearly felt in this composition, which appears with the alternate title Fresedo on its original sheet music.