Chango Spasiuk - Pynandí (Los Descalzos) (2009)

Innovative Argentinean accordion virtuoso and composer Chango Spasiuk’s latest CD is entitled Pynandí – Los Descalzos (“Barefoot,” 468083, street date February 10, 2009), from an indigenous Guaraní word, referring to that nation’s impoverished rural populations. This is quite fitting as, like American blues, Portuguese fado and Argentina’s own tango, the sunny, lilting chamamé was at one time considered too lower-class to be of interest to educated listeners. But that was before Spasiuk, with his uninhibited stage demeanor and flying blond hair, put his spin on it, delighting traditionalists while intriguing rock and jazz audiences. The current album, produced by Bob Telson, is a love letter to the land of Spasiuk’s birth, capturing the red earth, blinding heat, and rough good humor and warm fellowship of laborers heading out for an evening’s fun. But all is not as simple as it seems – the first track, Tierra Colorada (“Red Land”), while cheerful on the surface, also harbors edgy moments of dissonance. Suite Nordeste (“Northeastern Suite”) opens with an accordion astride a staggering percussion motif, like a horseman negotiating uneven ground. Later on, as the guitar, fiddle and other instruments enter, the scenery becomes more and more resplendent, although the journey has its rough spots and, ultimately, a lonely grandeur. Each of the 15 tunes harbors a contradiction of some kind; although this music is seductively accessible, it is also anything but easy listening – in the best possible sense.