Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet
Bar LunÀtico486 Halsey Street, New York 11233
Pedro Giraudo’s new Tango Quartet plays two sets, with Giraudo on bass alongside Sami Merdinian on violin, Rodrigo Avalos on bandoneón and Martha Kato on piano. The program moves through Argentine tango’s traditional repertoire, tango nuevo, and Giraudo’s own compositions and arrangements, joining tango intensity to chamber-like detail, jazz improvisation and European classical influence.
Argentine-born and New York-based, Giraudo is a bassist, composer and arranger whose Vigor Tanguero won the 2018 Latin Grammy for Best Tango Album. He has worked with artists including Rubén Blades, Paquito D’Rivera and Pablo Ziegler; DownBeat called the quartet’s sound “an opulent listening experience.”
A basement club in Bedford-Stuyvesant, LunÀtico is a musician-owned space where live music starts at 9pm nightly, following dinner service. The stage is modest, with a single chair for the band, and the audience sits on wooden booths or the floor, close enough to feel the energy. The room is lit by dim bulbs, with walls lined with vintage posters and a few well-worn speakers. There's a bar with original cocktails, craft beer, and wine, and a dinner menu available from 6pm to 11pm. Shows are donation-based, with a $10 recommendation in cash. It's a place where people listen to music and talk afterward, in a familiar, unpolished setting.