PEDRO LAURENZ  OCTOBER 10, 1902 - July 7, 1972   14 year-old Pedro in 1916.   Pedro left a huge legacy. He defined a unique approach to playing the bandoneón with the seminal Julio De Caro Sexteto. He composed Milonga De Mis Amores, Mala Junta, Mascarita, Como Dos Extraños, Amurado, Orgullo Criollo and more. Leader of his own orchestra for 2 decades, in the 60's he was mainspring of Quinteto Real with Horacio Salgán, Enrique Francini and Ubaldo De Lio. I think the deeper one gets into tango dancing, the more one loves his music. Born Pedro Blanco Acosta, Pedro came to prominence with De Caro as he and Pedro Maffia (Laurenz' idol) stunned the tango musicians around them with their unique approaches to the bandoneón. A whole generation of musicians seem to gravitate to the style of one or the other. Two who followed his way, and became giants themselves, were Aníbal Troilo and Osvaldo Ruggiero (Pugliese, Sexteto Tango). When you hear them cleaned, Pedro's recordings are dazzling. About three-quarters of the way into the night, the energy and mood of he creates always is exactly right - no matter what has gone before. Any time when I am dj-ing that teachers/performers from Argentina come on the floor for a social dance, I always reach for Laurenz right away. I know in that I can do no wrong. And when it's time to push a button and send the dancers' happiness quotient into over-drive, it can always be done by playing the Laurenz vals "Mendocina." The Quinteto Real recordings are beautiful in a different way. Somewhat pensive and not as dense, of course, with loighter instrumentation. I have 2 tandas-worth of the strongest cuts. The playing is just so good that their lightly jazzy way lightens an evening just right (with serious music nonetheless). Sophisticated seems an apt word to describe Pedro's music. The Laurenz recordings of his orquesta are intricately arranged, masterfully played and so satisfying to dance to. There are 2 ToTANGO CD's of Laurenz Restorations.