LEGACY
100 years and 4 generations in Tango
The story begins over 100 years ago with the great payador and family member Gabino Ezeiza, nicknamed "El Negro Ezeiza" whose guitar now hangs at the Academia Nacional Del Tango, donated to the Academy by the Suarez Paz family in 2008. "Everyone in the family, on both sides had something to do with Tango and its history," explains Leonardo Suarez Paz, now the torchbearer of a great legacy, a position he earned not through this birthright alone, but as a result of a long and dedicated career since a very young age as well as a relentlessness. Extending from roots into the future “like the branches of a great tree, reaching for the sky,” is how “Leonardo Suarez Paz - Tango Master of the 21st Century” (LATINA, Japan) explains the continuation of an en evolving genre.
Leonardo was born in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires and grew up during the difficult time of the Military Dictatorship in Argentina, when tango became all but prohibited. He was fortunate to be surrounded by tango, his family’s home serving as a meeting and rehearsal place for legendary artists like Enrique Mario Francini, Astor Piazzolla, Raul Garelo, Ruben Juarez, Osvaldo Piro, Susana Rinaldi, the great poet Horacio Ferrer, Saul Cosentino, Nestor Marconi, Osvaldo Berlingieri, Osvaldo Requena, Leonardo’s parents, Beatriz and Fernando Suarez Paz and his grandparents who were also tango artists; dancing, playing and eating asado until the early hours of the morning in a quiet, green neighborhood that once used to be an olive orchard.....
Leonardo’s grandfather Roberto Picolo, was a tango dancer, guitar player, and Honorary dance teacher at the Academia Gaeta, the 1st institution for Tango instruction, with it’s own weekly tango publication that included drawings of new dance steps that were just being invented. Leonardo’s grandmother, Maria Celia Rodriguez, came from a family of tangueros, was a tango dancer and sang in the orchestra of her uncles, who were bandoneon players. It was in that orchestra that the two grandparents first met. In the same fashion, Leonardo’s parents also met while working, it was with Los 7 Del Tango, founded by Fernando Suarez Paz, which later became the group Sexteto Mayor. "When I first heard the sound of Fernando’s violin, I immediately fell in love," is how Beatriz tells the story. Beatriz, a young singer was there to make an appearance with Los 7 Del Tango and was told by the group's members that Fernando was a "North Korean, didn't speak Castellano and that she should stay away from him." Fortunately she did not heed the warnings. She soon became the group's official singer and Fernando's wife. It seems that history was bound to repeat itself, Leonardo met Olga in Buenos Aires, while dancing in a milonga and they soon formed a professional dance couple. Shortly after, they were married in a wedding ceremony officiated by Horacio Ferrer, who, serving as the priest of those who believe in tango and in true love above all, improvised his beautiful poetry on a warm Porteño night full of stars and lights of the city of Buenos Aires, on a roof of a Spanish palace just short walk away from the Obelisk....
Leonardo’s mother Beatriz Suarez Paz, a leading tango singer in Buenos Aires, has passed along to Leonardo his vocal passion and talent. “Suarez Paz’s father, a brilliant tango violinist, had been one of Piazzolla’s principal collaborators, and from the first bar it was clear that the father and the son were made of the same stuff” (“Flying High,” JAZZIZ Magazine by Alexander Gelfand, Music Critic Cuartetango in Birdland, New York.) Beatriz is one of the most admired tango singers in Argentina, known for her “exquisite interpretation,” (El Tangauta) and “a beautiful, clear, hyperfemenine soprano voice.” (The Herald, Bs.As.) An award-winning tango soloist, she has performed with the best in tango, including Osvaldo Berlingieri, Atilio Stampone, Quinteto Suarez Paz (Piazzolla’s Quintet), and the National Orchestra Juan de Dios Filiberto and has appeared on many stages including the Teatro Colon, where she has made numerous appearances throughout her career. Her albums are testament to her Italo-Argentine and Creole heritage with a repertoire second in amplitud only to her vocal range. She has recorded diverse compositions from 'Tangos Camperos' in the best early tradition of tango to works by Piazzolla with lyrics by H. Ferrer, J.L. Borges and David McNeil.
Fernando Suarez Paz, also known as "El Negro Suarez Paz" is undoubtedly one of the pillars of Tango, a personality surrounded by many stories and a violinist who widely recorded across all genres . During his incredible musical career, he had spent 18 years as a principal violinist of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires and played with all of the major tango orchestras and directors including Miguel Caló, Fulvio Salamanca, Pedro Laurenz, Anibal Troilo, Mariano Mores, Atilio Stampone, Leopoldo Federico, Osvaldo Requena, Horacio Salgán, Nestor Marconi, Osvaldo Berlingieri, Raul Garello, and collaborated with Kronos Quartet, Sergio and Odair Assad (Grammy-Winning recordings), Yo-Yo Ma, Burt Bacharach, Lalo Schifrin, Michel Legrand and Waldo de los Rios, Ute Lemper all of whom have sought out his tango expertise. Fernando is knows world-wide as the violinist and collaborator of Argentina’s renowned composer, Astor Piazzolla, with whom he worked for over a decade, creating the district Nuevo Tango sound. Fernando founded Quinteto Suarez Paz, dedicated to playing the music of Astor Piazzolla with which he actively performed and recorded until 2015. Shortly before his retirement in 2016, he released his final recording, Escualo, in collaboration with Leonardo Suarez Paz, which returns to the essence of tango with violin duos, several traditional compositions with a larger group, and a witty improvisation.
Fernando Suarez Paz has received numerous awards world wide, including in Japan and in Argentina, which awarded this violinist and director with the highest honorary title of “Distinguished Citizen of Buenos Aires” for his 50-year career and the invaluable contributions to the art of Argentina and the world.
Leonardo was born in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires and grew up during the difficult time of the Military Dictatorship in Argentina, when tango became all but prohibited. He was fortunate to be surrounded by tango, his family’s home serving as a meeting and rehearsal place for legendary artists like Enrique Mario Francini, Astor Piazzolla, Raul Garelo, Ruben Juarez, Osvaldo Piro, Susana Rinaldi, the great poet Horacio Ferrer, Saul Cosentino, Nestor Marconi, Osvaldo Berlingieri, Osvaldo Requena, Leonardo’s parents, Beatriz and Fernando Suarez Paz and his grandparents who were also tango artists; dancing, playing and eating asado until the early hours of the morning in a quiet, green neighborhood that once used to be an olive orchard.....
Leonardo’s grandfather Roberto Picolo, was a tango dancer, guitar player, and Honorary dance teacher at the Academia Gaeta, the 1st institution for Tango instruction, with it’s own weekly tango publication that included drawings of new dance steps that were just being invented. Leonardo’s grandmother, Maria Celia Rodriguez, came from a family of tangueros, was a tango dancer and sang in the orchestra of her uncles, who were bandoneon players. It was in that orchestra that the two grandparents first met. In the same fashion, Leonardo’s parents also met while working, it was with Los 7 Del Tango, founded by Fernando Suarez Paz, which later became the group Sexteto Mayor. "When I first heard the sound of Fernando’s violin, I immediately fell in love," is how Beatriz tells the story. Beatriz, a young singer was there to make an appearance with Los 7 Del Tango and was told by the group's members that Fernando was a "North Korean, didn't speak Castellano and that she should stay away from him." Fortunately she did not heed the warnings. She soon became the group's official singer and Fernando's wife. It seems that history was bound to repeat itself, Leonardo met Olga in Buenos Aires, while dancing in a milonga and they soon formed a professional dance couple. Shortly after, they were married in a wedding ceremony officiated by Horacio Ferrer, who, serving as the priest of those who believe in tango and in true love above all, improvised his beautiful poetry on a warm Porteño night full of stars and lights of the city of Buenos Aires, on a roof of a Spanish palace just short walk away from the Obelisk....
Leonardo’s mother Beatriz Suarez Paz, a leading tango singer in Buenos Aires, has passed along to Leonardo his vocal passion and talent. “Suarez Paz’s father, a brilliant tango violinist, had been one of Piazzolla’s principal collaborators, and from the first bar it was clear that the father and the son were made of the same stuff” (“Flying High,” JAZZIZ Magazine by Alexander Gelfand, Music Critic Cuartetango in Birdland, New York.) Beatriz is one of the most admired tango singers in Argentina, known for her “exquisite interpretation,” (El Tangauta) and “a beautiful, clear, hyperfemenine soprano voice.” (The Herald, Bs.As.) An award-winning tango soloist, she has performed with the best in tango, including Osvaldo Berlingieri, Atilio Stampone, Quinteto Suarez Paz (Piazzolla’s Quintet), and the National Orchestra Juan de Dios Filiberto and has appeared on many stages including the Teatro Colon, where she has made numerous appearances throughout her career. Her albums are testament to her Italo-Argentine and Creole heritage with a repertoire second in amplitud only to her vocal range. She has recorded diverse compositions from 'Tangos Camperos' in the best early tradition of tango to works by Piazzolla with lyrics by H. Ferrer, J.L. Borges and David McNeil.
Fernando Suarez Paz, also known as "El Negro Suarez Paz" is undoubtedly one of the pillars of Tango, a personality surrounded by many stories and a violinist who widely recorded across all genres . During his incredible musical career, he had spent 18 years as a principal violinist of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires and played with all of the major tango orchestras and directors including Miguel Caló, Fulvio Salamanca, Pedro Laurenz, Anibal Troilo, Mariano Mores, Atilio Stampone, Leopoldo Federico, Osvaldo Requena, Horacio Salgán, Nestor Marconi, Osvaldo Berlingieri, Raul Garello, and collaborated with Kronos Quartet, Sergio and Odair Assad (Grammy-Winning recordings), Yo-Yo Ma, Burt Bacharach, Lalo Schifrin, Michel Legrand and Waldo de los Rios, Ute Lemper all of whom have sought out his tango expertise. Fernando is knows world-wide as the violinist and collaborator of Argentina’s renowned composer, Astor Piazzolla, with whom he worked for over a decade, creating the district Nuevo Tango sound. Fernando founded Quinteto Suarez Paz, dedicated to playing the music of Astor Piazzolla with which he actively performed and recorded until 2015. Shortly before his retirement in 2016, he released his final recording, Escualo, in collaboration with Leonardo Suarez Paz, which returns to the essence of tango with violin duos, several traditional compositions with a larger group, and a witty improvisation.
Fernando Suarez Paz has received numerous awards world wide, including in Japan and in Argentina, which awarded this violinist and director with the highest honorary title of “Distinguished Citizen of Buenos Aires” for his 50-year career and the invaluable contributions to the art of Argentina and the world.