Di Sarli, Carlos [1903 - 1960]
Carlos Di Sarli was born on 7th January, 1903, in Bahía Blanca, a seaside town some 300 miles south of Buenos Aires. His parents were Michelle Di Sarli, an Italian, and Serafina Russomano from Uruguay. The family ran a gunsmith business and at the age of thirteen, the young Carlos was accidentally shot in the head by an employee, damaging the optic nerve. This is the reason behind the characteristic dark glasses which he invariably wore for the rest of his life.
Di Sarli is renowned for elegant, expressive tangos and very beautiful melodies. Initially his musical style was much influenced by Fresedo. The first tango he composed was Meditación in about 1919, but he never recorded it. Bahia Blanca, named after his home town is one of his finest and best loved numbers. Other key compositions include Corazon, Milonguero viejo, Nido gaucho, Porteño y bailarin, Whisky, Verdemar and Otra vez carnaval, whilst his recordings of Tangos such as El ingeniero, Germaine, Nueve puntos, Siete palabras, Tristeza marina, Vamos and Viviani are typical of his style and a delight to dance to. He is less well know for Valses, whilst, in my opinion, his Milongas lack the rhythmic bite and clarity of, say, D’Arienzo, an inevitable by-product of his emphasis on melody and phrasing.
He studied classical piano as a child at the local Conservatory, but at the age of 13 he started touring with a Spanish musical comedy company, visiting several Argentine provinces, playing popular music and tangos, much to the disgust of his teacher and his father. Shortly after he debuted as soloist at a biógrafo (cinema) and at a tearoom in the city of Santa Rosa.
In 1919 he assembled his first orchestra to play at a tearoom in Bahia Blanca, marking the real beginning of a long and celebrated career as a band leader. In 1923 he arrived in Buenos Aires with his brother Roque, where he joined the band of bandoneonist Anselmo Aieta.
After playing with a number of other bands, he formed his first sextet in 1927, performing at different tearooms and the following year he signed his first contract with RCA-Victor. In a career spanning several decades his peak as a composer and leader was probably in the 1940s, although El Señor del Tango (The Lord of Tango) as he was known, received wide acclaim until the end of his life. He made his last record for Phillips in 1958, two years before his death.