Aníbal Troilo

Historical background

Formed in 1937 from the core of Juan Carlos Cobián's orchestra, Aníbal Troilo's band cut its first sides for the Odeon label in March 1938, then hit a strange dry spell: Odeon, mainly trying to stop young talent signing with rival label Victor, barely recorded them again for three years. The orchestra's sound, often described as "brilliant", alternates rapidly between staccato and legato passages, carried by the distinctive playing of pianist Orlando Goñi, who invented a style called marcación bordoneada, decorating the bass line without ever losing the beat.

With the arrival of singer Francisco Fiorentino, still considered the ultimate "orchestra singer" (cantor de orquesta) today, the Troilo-Fiorentino duo became one of the genre's high points between 1941 and 1943. Goñi's departure in September 1943, never truly replaced, marks a turning point in the orchestra's quality according to Lavocah — Goñi, who had no head for the business side of running a band, drank himself to death within two years.

Source: Michael Lavocah, Tango Masters: Tango Stories, Musical Secrets, chapitre 2 « Anibal Troilo & the rise of the orchestra singer ».