The Romo-Agri-Messiez tango tro features three of today’s best-known proponents of the style, Pablo Agri, Horacio Romo and Emiliano Messiez, is a trio recording presenting a format that is somewhat unconventional in the tango world.
Pianist Emiliano Messiez, when speaking about how this project came about explained “When we decided to put this trio together, I had already been playing together with Horacio in the show “Forever Tango”. He also played with my own orchestra Tipica Messiez. We’d often play together as a duo, but he often suggested we ask Pablo and put together a trio.” Prior to this, Emiliano had not met Pablo but coincidently he did know his father, Antonio. Antonio Agri was a neighbour of Emiliano’s family during his youth in Buenos Aires. A violinist himself, Antonio was very well known in the scene due mainly to his many years playing with Astor Piazzolla.
the first time the three actually played together was in the summer of 2021 when the trio performed at the Philadelphia Piazzolla Festival. Fast forward twelve months and an opportunity developed to record the trio. In June 2022, almost exactly one year to the day of the trio’s first-ever performance, Pablo, Horacio and Emiliano entered the studio. The results are presented here on their debut album Ahora.
ABOUT THE PLAYERS
PABLO AGRI
Grammy Award winning violinist, Pablo Agri brings a wealth of experience and recognition to Romo-Agri-Messiez Tango Trio. He comes to tango music naturally as the son of Antonio Agri, the violinist for Astor Piazzolla. Among his many accomplishments, he is the solo violinist on several Grammy Award-winning albums, such as the “Cigala Tango”, recorded with Diego El Cigala in 2011 and in 2018 he recorded “Bien Milonga” with the Orquesta Nicolas Ledesma. As the Director of the Camerata Argentina, a string orchestra performing Argentinean music, he has performed with the most important national artists; such as, Susana Rinaldi, Nestor Marconi, Amelita Baltar, Julián Plaza and many others.
Agri is also a highly in-demand soloist who has performed with many of the world’s most renowned orchestras and ensembles including performances with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Galicia (Spain), Latvian Symphony Orchestra, and, he is a member of the mythical “Sexteto Mayor”.
HORACIO ROMO
Horacio Romo is a world-renowned bandoneon player. As a soloist, he has played Astor Piazzolla’s Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra with orchestras throughout the world including the Los Angeles Philharmonic (receiving an Emmy Award as Best Latin Concert), the London Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few.
Having performed with the most important Tango orchestras in Argentina, Romo is equally at home collaborating and performing with such diverse artists as Julio Iglesias, Lalo Schifrin and renowned tango singers, including Roberto Goyeneche, Alberto Castillo and Rubén Juárez. Romo has appeared on over 100 albums and participated in the documentaries “Café de los Maestros” and “Si sos brujo”. In addition, he is the music director and first bandoneon of Sexteto Mayor, the legendary orchestra with more than 45 years of trajectory and leads his own group, the Horacio Romo Sexteto.
EMILIANO MESSIEZ
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and based in New York City, pianist and composer Emiliano Messiez is one of the most in-demand tango pianists in the US. With a versatile and unique style, he is equally adept in classical music, jazz, tango, rock and Latin American Rhythms. He has performed worldwide including Lincoln Center and, he was the pianist for “Forever Tango” on Broadway, the West End in London and Puerto Rico.
A prolific composer, Messiez is often commissioned to write, arrange and orchestrate music. Recently, he wrote the music for “The Guava Tree” and “Casa Alfonsa” (both commissioned by Creede Repertory Theatre) and “Bordello,” a musical in development, written by Barbara Bellman. He is the founder and music director of his own orchestra Típica Messiez and several other groups including New York based group the Underground Tango Ensemble. This group recently released the album “El Charrúa”, a tribute to Messiez’s close and personal friend, legendary composer and master bandoneonist Raúl Jaurena.
