‘Diego Schissi Quinteto’

Argentinian pianist and composer Diego Schissi, together with his quintet, creates a whole new kind of music, inspired by his country’s cultural heritage: tango. The subtle jazz influences are especially tangible in the way the musicians communicate on stage. Schissi's young quintet may use the traditional instruments of tango music, but they use them in a novel way. You may recognise some established elements of Piazzolla, but Schissi also borrows composition techniques from 20th century composers like Bartok and Stravinsky. The resulting pieces are what he refers to as “tongos”. “Not a tango, but quite close.” It is a new and totally idiosyncratic approach to tango music, and is becoming increasingly popular with audiences and dancers across the world. His most recent album, Timba (2017), won ‘Best Instrumental Tango Orchestra’ at the Carlos Gardel Awards, the most important Argentinian music industry awards.