Nada...a beautiful song by José Dames written in Buenos Aires in 1943.  Made famous by the great Argentine orchestras of the time, including Caló and DiSarli.
Orquesta Z chose to perform a more recent arrangement by Tango Fuego from 2004 for this version, we first recorded in 2010, remastered in 2021.
Orquesta Z is an Argentine tango sexteto located in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information:  www.OrquestaZ.com

Nada - Orquesta Z (2010)

Quiero Verte Una Vez Más - OZ (2011) como Francisco Canaro con Roberto Maida (1939)

OZ#01 ZT#16 (11.02.26)

Quiero Verte Una Vez Más - Orquesta Z (2011)

Otra Vez - Orquesta Z (2019) como Juan Carlos Cáceres (2011)
performed by Orquesta Z

Otra Vez - Orquesta Z (2019)

Abandono - Orquesta Z (2011) como Pedro Laurenz Orchestra (1938)
Music by Pedro Maffia, lyrics by Homero Manza

OZ Set #6 (12/31/11)

Abandono - Orquesta Z (2011)

Una Vez - Orquesta Z (2013) como Pugliese/Morán (1943)

OZ#15 (9/23/13)

Una Vez - Orquesta Z (2013)

When Orquesta Z was invited to perform at the San Francisco Russian Center in 2014, I transcribed and learned to sing some of my favorite Russian tangos.
This one is called My Last Tango (Моё последнее танго) performed in 1935 by Pyotr Leschenko (Петр Лещенко ).  Leschenko was Ukrainian, born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1898!

Lyrics and Music by Oscar Stok (О. Строк)

RUSSIAN:
Помнишь эту встречу с тобой
В прекрасном тёплом Артеле,
Где мы с тобой сидели?
В берег бился синий прибой.
Но всё умчалось, точно сон.
Стан твой нежный обнимал
И твой ротик целовал.
Не забыть той встречи с тобой,
Когда прощалась ты со мной.

Прощай, прощай,
Прощай, моя родная.
Тебе я шлю 
     моё последнее танго.
Я так любил тебя.
Я так страдаю,
Но ты не знала сердца моег


Прощай, прощай,
Прощай, моя родная.
Не полюбить мне в жизни 
      больше никого.
И о тебе одной
Лишь вспоминаю я,
И шлю моё последнее

ENGLISH:
Do you remember this meeting with you 
In a perfect warm cooperative, 
Where we're we sitting? 
By the beach with pounding blue surf? 
But it sped away like a dream. 
…your tender embrace 
and kissing your lips. 
Do not forget that I met you, 
when you said goodbye to me. 

Farewell, farewell,
Farewell, my dear. 
I send you 
    my last tango. 
I loved you. 
I suffer so much, 
But you do not know my heart. 


Farewell, farewell,
Farewell, my dear. 
In my life, I will never fall
     In love with anyone else. 
And only you 
     do I remember, 
And I send my last 
tango.

My Last Tango (Моё последнее танго) - Orquesta Z (2014)

Written my Lucio Demare with wonderful lyrics by Homero Manzi, "Malena" is the classic Argentine tango, written in 1941.  Orquesta Z recorded this in 2016, and although we rarely perform it, it is one of our favorites.  (The original recording was by the famed Anibal Troilo orchestra with Francisco Fiorentino singing in 1942)

Here are the lyrics and my translation:

Malena
Tango 1941
Music: Lucio Demare
Lyric: Homero Manzi

(Original lyrics)
Malena canta el tango como ninguna
y en cada verso pone su corazón.
A yuyo del suburbio su voz perfuma,
Malena tiene pena de bandoneón.
Tal vez allá en la infancia su voz de alondra
tomó ese tono oscuro de callejón,
o acaso aquel romance que sólo nombra
cuando se pone triste con el alcohol.
Malena canta el tango con voz de sombra,
Malena tiene pena de bandoneón.

Tu canción
tiene el frío del último encuentro.
Tu canción
se hace amarga en la sal del recuerdo.
Yo no sé
si tu voz es la flor de una pena,
só1o sé que al rumor de tus tangos, Malena,
te siento más buena,
más buena que yo.

Tus ojos son oscuros como el olvido,
tus labios apretados como el rencor,
tus manos dos palomas que sienten frío,
tus venas tienen sangre de bandoneón.
Tus tangos son criaturas abandonadas
que cruzan sobre el barro del callejón,
cuando todas las puertas están cerradas
y ladran los fantasmas de la canción.
Malena canta el tango con voz quebrada,
Malena tiene pena de bandoneón.


(English) 
Malena sings the tango like no other
and in each line puts her heart.
A slum weed her voice exudes,
Malena has the pain of (the) bandoneon.
Maybe during her childhood her skylark voice
took this dark tone of (the) alleyway,
or maybe it’s that romance that she only mentions
when she gets sad with alcohol.
Malena sings the tango with the voice of shadow,
Malena has the pain of (the) bandoneon.

Your song
has the chill of the last meeting.
Your song
makes itself bitter with the salt of memory.
I don’t know
if your voice is the flower of a sorrow,
I only know about the rumor of your tangos, Malena,
I feel you are much better,
much better than I.

Your eyes are as dark as oblivion
your lips tight with bitterness (rancor), 
your hands feel like two cold doves
your veins have (the) blood of (the) bandoneon.
Your tangos are forsaken creatures
crossing over the muddy alley,
when all the doors are closed
and bark at the phantoms of the song.
Malena sings the tango with a broken voice
Malena has (the) pain of (the) bandoneon.

Malena - Orquesta Z (2016)

Nefeli's Tango - Orquesta Z Live at Ashkenaz (2/6/2014)

Canadian harpist wrote this haunting, beautiful tune in 1991 and was adopted by Haris Alexiou who added the Greek lyrics, describing the goddess Nefeli in 1996. This version took on international popularity, as Nefeli's Tango aka Tango for Evora.

Orquesta Z was stoked to arrange and perform this for its live performance at the famed Ashkenaz in Berkeley California in 2014.

Performing was James Shallenberger and Carol Braves (violins), Barbie Wong (piano), Sandy Schniewind (double bass), and Bendrew Jong (vocal and guitar).

Here are the Greek lyrics and English translation:

To Tango Tis Nefelis
Nefeli’s Tango (aka Tango for Evora written by Loreena McKennitt in 1991) Lyrics: Haris Alexiou (1996) Music: Loreena McKennitt (1991)

Greek:
To chryso koureli
pou sta mallia tis forage i Nefeli
na xechorizi ap`olous mes st`ampeli irthane dyo mikri, mikri aggeli
ke to klepsane
Dyo mikri aggeli
pou sta onira tous thelan ti Nefeli na tin taïzoune rodi ke meli
na mi thymate,
na xechnai ti theli
tin planepsane
Yakinthi ke krina
tis klepsan to aroma ke to forane ki i erotes petontas saïties
tin perigeloun
Ma o kalos o Dias
tis perni to nero tis efivias tin kani synnefo ke ti skorpa gia na min ti vroun
Dyo mikri aggeli
pou sta onira tous thelan ti Nefeli na tin taïzoune rodi ke meli
na mi thymate,
na xechnai ti theli
tin planepsane
To chryso koureli
pou sta mallia tis forage i Nefeli
na xechorizi ap`olous mes st`ampeli irthane dyo mikri, mikri aggeli
ke to klepsane

English:
Two little angels
came and stole the golden rag Nefeli used to wear on her head, so as to differ from us
all in the vineyard.
Two little angels
who were dreaming of Nefeli and wanted to feed her pomegranate and honey,
so that she couldn’t remember,
so that she would forget what she wanted, they managed to seduce her.
Hyacinths and lilies
robbed her of her scent and wear it while flying love gods laugh at her, throwing their arrows towards her.
But the benevolent Zeus
takes the adolescence water away from her, turns her into a cloud and disperses her
so that they could not find her.
Two little angels
who were dreaming of Nefeli and wanted to feed her pomegranate and honey,
so that she couldn’t remember,
so that she would forget what she wanted, they managed to seduce her.
Two little angels
came and stole the golden rag Nefeli used to wear on her head, so as to differ from us
all in the vineyard.

OZ at Ashkenaz 2014.02.06.Set1

Nefeli's Tango - Orquesta Z Live at Ashkenaz (2014)

No Hay Tierra Como La Mía (1940 Charo y Cadicamo/arr.-B.Jong como Francisco Canaro)

OZ#13 Zhango Tango #15 (8/14/10)

No Hay Tierra Como La Mía - Orquesta Z (2010)

TODO - by Orquesta Z (2012) como Pedro Laurenz (1943)

At the height of the Golden Era of Tango in Argentina, Pedro Láurenz arranged this piece written by Hugo Gutiérrez with lyrics by Homero Expósito for his orchestra, and he chose a young 20 year old singer, Alberto Podestá, to sing this signature song.

I was delighted, as a singer myself, to see Alberto Podestá still performing into his '90s, an amazing career for a man who sang with the great Argentine orchestras from his teenage years!

I arranged this piece for Orquesta Z, my San Francisco-based tango sexteto.  I like the words…“Everything (Todo) I’ve given to you…the illusion never reached…the song of my past…”

OZ#8 (12.11.28)

Todo - Orquesta Z (2012)

ESTA NOCHE DE LUNA - Orquesta Z (2012) como Osvaldo Pugliese (1956)

This is a “modern” tango, written in 1943 by José García and Graciano Gómez with lyrics by Héctor Marcó that was memorialized by many of the popular tango bands of the time. Many of the tangos in the ’40s in Argentina were vocal-driven, where the singer played an important part as an “instrument” and the tangos were melody-driven.

For my arrangement for Orquesta Z,  I chose the Pugliese version, recorded in 1956, one of the last of the Golden Era tangos, to show the evolution of the orchestra, rich with counterpoint and Pugliese’s own signature piano playing and the voice of Jorge Maciel.

OZ#8 (12.10.29)

Esta Noche de Luna - Orquesta Z (2012) como Osvaldo Pugliese y Jorge Maciel (1956)

FUIMOS - Orquesta Z (2013) como Pugliese/Morán (1946)

This beautiful tango was written by Osvaldo Pugliese with the great lyricist Homero Manzi in 1945 Buenos Aires, and played by the Pugliese band with singer Roberto Morán the following year.

Like Pugliese’s other 1946 song “Una Vez” this song is another sad  pleading by the singer for his love to leave him…he’s just no good!  But again the rhythm and complexity of the piece heralds the high point of Golden Era tango in it’s sophistication .  This is Pugliese at his best.

Hope you enjoy Orquesta Z’s rendition.

OZ#15 (13.09.28)

Fuimos - Orquesta Z (2013) como Pugliese/Morán (1946)

ALMA DE BOHEMIO - Orquesta Z (2012) como Pedro Láurenz/Alberto Podestá (1943)
One of the oldest Argentine tango’s written in 1914 by Roberto Firpo with lyrics by Juan Andrés Caruso, this love song was recorded 29 years later by the Pedro Láurenz’s orchestra with the great Alberto Podestá crooning his heart out in 1943…perhaps one of the greatest pieces recorded by Podestá at the height of the golden era of tango!
So it is with great humility that I’ve arranged this song for Orquesta Z in San Francisco in 2012, almost 100 years after it was written…and still beautiful and relevant as the day it was composed.

OZ#8 (12.12.03)

Alma de Bohemio - Orquesta Z (2012) como Pedro Laurenz con Alberto Podestá (1946)

This is a rough draft of an original tango written today 1/24/2022.
Lyrics by Bendrew Jong and Cristina Bensadoun
©2022 Bendrew Jong

A tango of loneliness and lost love, borrowing Chuang Tzu's Taoist tale of dreaming he was a butterfly!

OZ 2022

Como Una Mariposa - Orquesta Z (2022)

Tu Beso (Your Kiss) - Orquesta Z (2022)
Musica: Bendrew Jong    Letra: Cristina Bensadoun

Cuantas veces he imaginado tu amor
How many times did I imagine your love?
Cuantas veces te desnude
How many times did I disrobe you?
Tu amor me ha robado la voz
Your love has stolen my voice
Como un sol al amanecer enciende el sentir
Like the rising sun ignites feeling
es difícil describer lo que al verte vi.
It is difficult for me to describe  what I felt when I saw you. 

Y…la luz llegó y la tristeza se fue.
And...the light arrived and sadness left.
Un circulo cerró.
A circle closed
Mi corazón festejó 
My heart played

Cuantas veces he imaginado tu amor?
How many times did i imagine your love?
Cuantas veces te desnude? 
How many times did I disrobe you?

Pensando en cómo te fuistes me deja triste,
Thinking of how you left leaves me feeling sad,
y sigo Imaginando tu regreso
And I continue imagining your return
Y confieso soñando tu beso.
And I confess dreaming of your kiss.

©2022 Bendrew Jong

Tu Beso - Orquesta Z (05/18/2022)

Solo (Me Siento Solo) - Tango & Fugue
music and lyrics by Bendrew Jong for Orquesta Z (22.07.24)

SOLO (lyrics)
Musica & letra: Bendrew Jong for Orquesta Z (2022)

(Español)
Me siento
Solo,
Solo, solo…
Pero solo oigo tu voz
y siempre me alivia el dolor.

Veo,
veo, veo…
Veo tus labios rojos
y respirio tu olor.

Pero cuando abro los ojos,
Ojos, ojos…
Te quisero encontrar
y tenerte a me lado.

Solo, solo…
Pero oigo tu voz 
y siempre me alivia el dolor.
Veo, veo,
Tus labios rojos
y respirio tu olor.

Y tenerte a mi lado,
Para no, para no
sufrir… sufrir más.
 
(English translation)
I feel 
alone, 
alone, alone… 
But alone I hear your voice 
and it always relieves my pain. 

I see, 
I see, I see… 
I see your red lips 
and I breathe your fragrance. 

But when I open my eyes, 
eyes, eyes… 
I want to find 
and keep you by my side.

Alone, alone…
but I hear your voice 
and it always relieves my pain. 
I see, see, 
your red lips 
and I breathe your fragrance. 

and keep you by my side, 
So as not to, not to 
suffer…suffer any more.

©2022 Bendrew Jong

OZ#23 (22.07.24)

Solo (Me Siento Solo) - Tango & Fugue - Orquesta Z (2022)

I wrote this pretty vals in 2009 for Orquesta Z.

OZ#23 (2009/2022)

Bella Flor (Duet)- Orquesta Z (2009)

variations from a theme from the Korean tv drama Eve where the lead man in the story plays Piazzolla's bandoneon.

Eve - Chairman Kang's Bando Solo

One of Juan  D'Arienzo's later arrangements with singer Jorge Valdez, recorded originally in 1958.  Orquesta Z, a San Francisco-based sexteto tipico, chose to record and perform this lovely song in 2017

OZ21-4. (17.05.08)

El Último Café - Orquesta Z (2017) como Juan D'Arienzo con Jorge Valdez (1958)

Another later Juan D'Arienzo arrangement, this one with singer Enrique Carbel, recorded in 1937 is the basis of this arrangement by Orquesta Z which we performed and recorded in 2014.

OZ#10 (14.10.20)

Paciencia - OZ (2014) como D'Arienzo/Carbel (1937)

At one point, tango “vals”, danced in ¾ time, gain so much popularity in Buenos Aires that some dances played almost all vals.  You can see why with the melodies creating such a lively and moving texture.  Here’s one of our favorites written by Juan D’Arienzo in 1936 for his orchestra, which our San Francisco-based sexteto topico performed and recorded in 2015, based on the D'Arienzo arrangement.

OZ19 (15.06.02)

Vision Celeste - OZ (15.06.02) como D'Arienzo (1936)

13 alternative tangos performed by Orquesta Z Quartet at Empanada Milonga at St. Clement's Berkeley CA on 10/8/2022

Orquesta Z Quartet at Empanada Milonga, Berkeley, CA USA 10:8:2023

Orquesta Z performs 13 Alternative Tangos at Empanada Milonga at St. Clement's Berkeley CA USA on 10/8/2023.

Orquesta Z Empanada Milonga 10:8:2023

Orquesta Z Quartet live at Empanada Milonga, Berkeley, CA USA on 10/8/2023.
Bendrew Jong, piano/director
Emily Bouton, violin
Elena Bouton, violin
Sandy Schniewind, double bass

OZ Empanada Milonga 10:8:2023

Another alternative tango...this written by Italian crooner Paulo Conte in 1988.  The roots of Argentine tango often is found in the many Italian immigrants who sought work in the New World at the turn of the 20th century.  in fact it seems that 80% of the tango composers in Buenos Aires had Italian surnames!  So this is a real modern Italian song, with its theme Blu Tango. that I arranged for Orquesta Z and sung as best I can in Italian, by me, Bendrew Jong.

OZ#12 Zhango Tango #5 (10.03.30)

Blu Tango - Orquesta Z(2010)

How about one more early tango I wrote for Orquesta Z in 2011 with my collaborators, Cristina Bensadoun and Cristina Bruch (Los Dos Cristinas)?  - Bendrew Jong

OZ#5 ZT#7 (11.01.09)

¿Por Qué Ahora?

This is a tango waltz, or "vals" I wrote for my band Orquesta Z in 2011.  Its the story of my going to a tango dance, or "milonga", and returning home quite satisfied with a fun night...but as usual coming back home alone.  :) Actually, most traditional "vals" sound happy when they are often meloncholy and sad....

OZ#01 ZT#17 (11.03.12)

¿Por Qué Voy a Sobrar?

Far and Away - by Gunnar Madsen (1997), arr. Bendrew Jong (2012)
When I started my architecture practice in the 70's, I lived in a sweet, large studio apartment in North Berkeley.  Sharing a common wall was a couple of UC Berkeley students, one of whom was a quirky, charming kid named Gunnar Madsen.  30 years later, while I was the artistic director of a performing arts theater in Berkeley (for fun) we invited an "a capella" group named the Bobs to perform for a couple fund-raisers...and lo and behold the founder of the Bobs was none other than Gunnar.  They had just performed for the Oscars!  And Gunnar was making a living, writing all the music for "Sex in the City"!  I didn't even know Gunnar was a musician!!!  Anyway, "Far and Away" is one of the songs Gunnar wrote for "Sex in the City" and later I arranged it as an alternative tango for Orquesta Z, my tango band!  So here it is...

OZ#9

Far and Away -Orquesta Z (2012)

Yumeji's Theme was written by Japanese rock bass player Shigeru Umebayashi for the movie "Yumeji" (1991)  and then popularized on Wong Kar-Wai's film "In the Mood for Love" (2000). In 2001 I arranged this piece for my tango band Orquesta Z, using what I heard in my mind as an oboe for the lilting and sad solo instrument.  This was a time when we were interested in alternative tango music, some 20 years ago...

OZ#9 Zhango Tango #2 (10.01.03)

Yumeji's Theme (In the Mood for Love) - Orquesta Z (2001)

Alternative Tango - Sur o No Sur
In 2005, Kevin Johansen created some great alternative tangos with roots in Argentine folk music blended with modern rock.  This was one piece that Orquesta learned in 2011 that covers Johansen's fun piece, "Sur o No Sur".

OZ#16 Zhango Tango #9 (09.11.20)

Sur O No Sur - Orquesta Z (2011)

Number 4 of 4 Pugliese/Maciel covers:  Esta Noche de Luna

Orquesta Z covered in 2012 four tangos sung by Jorge Maciel in the 1950's and 1960's while singing for the Osvaldo Pugliese Orchestra.

Arranged for Orquesta Z and sung by Bendrew Jong

In the 1950's, Osvaldo Pugliese, whose tango orchestra spanned 3 decades, combined with vocalist Jorge Maciel to create some of the most compelling Argentine tangos at the close of the Golden Era of tango...combining solid musical arrangements with beautiful lyrics. I've translated the lyrics so you can understand why this period of tango compares with the best of the Great American Songbook in terms of the poetry of love, but so often in tango of love lost and heartbreak. So here's the forth of four tangos I recorded in 2012 with me, Bendrew Jong, singing with Orquesta Z.

Esta Noche de Luna - Orquesta Z (2012)

Alt Tango #3 of 3:  Innocent - Orquesta Z (2017)

Swedish string quartet Fläskkvartetten (Fleshquartet)wrote and performed this piece in 1995.  Seemed like a perfect piece for Orquesta Z to add to their alternative tango program in 2017, arranged by Bendrew Jong.

OZ#21-3. (17.04.12)

Innocent - Orquesta Z (2017)

Orquesta Z covers this well-known tango first recorded in 1942 by the Lucio Demare orchestra, with singer Juan Carlos Miranda.

Arranged for Orquesta Z in 2017 by Bendrew Jong, director and vocalist.

OZ21-5. (17.05.09)

No Te Apures, Carablanca - Orquesta Z (2017)

3 Argentine Waltzes - #1 of 3
Con Tu Mirar 
Written in 1937 for the Rodriquez Orchestra with Armando Moreno singing, I decided to arrange this Argentine Waltz or "Vals" in 2011 for my San Francisco tango band Orquesta Z with me, Bendrew Jong, singing the lead.  The early 40's to me was the pinnacle of the Golden Era of Tango and few as sweetly sad as this tango - Con Tu Mirar.  Like most happy sounding waltzes, the Argentine Vals is most often about lost love and sadness.  Listen to the words "Because I cannot live any more without your glaze, I prefer to die instead of suffering today!"

https://soundcloud.com/bendrew-jong/con-tu-mirar-orquesta-z-2011-como-enrique-rodriquez-con-armando-moreno-1939

OZ#4 ZT#16 (11.02.07)

Con Tu Mirar - Orquesta Z (2011) como Enrique Rodriquez con Armando Moreno (1939)

Fueron Tres Años - by Orquesta Z (2012)
This is a tango originally performed in 1956 by the Héctor Varela Orchestra with the wonderful singer Argentino Ledesma.  I arranged this piece in 2012 for my tango sexteto Orquesta Z in San Francisco, with me, Bendrew Jong, singing.  As the 50's were closing, an upheaval in Argentina was beginning that would lead to a military take over in the 1960's through 80's that would end tango in its tracks, as gatherings were illegal which made the dances or "Milongas" close for years.  We can only imagine what wonderful tangos were loss during these dark years.  But here's an example at the height of the Golden Era of Tango.

https://soundcloud.com/bendrew-jong/fueron-tres-anos-orquesta-z-2012

OZ#7 (12.04.21) final b=68

Fueron Tres Años - Orquesta Z (2012)

Recién (Only Now) - Orquesta Z (2012)

This piece composed by Osvaldo Pugliese, was sung in 1943 by one of my favorite singers Alberto Podestá with the Pedro Laurenz Orchestra in Buenos Aires.

This is Orquesta Z's version with me singing in 2012.

Popular tracks by Bendrew