Two to Tango

Plante has been a classical musician for 15 years and has been playing with Jacques professionally for three years now. While Plante moves with the bandoneon,Jacques lends rhythm on the guitar. “The classical guitar has an amazing rich tonal quality to it and it provides a contrast to the bandoneon,adding another dimension,” says Jacques. The beauty or the uniqueness of bandoneon is that no musician can play it the same. “The bandoneon responds to the musician,his/her emotions,feelings and hence will sound different in different player’s hands,” adds Plante,who,interestingly,got attracted to the music after he went for tango dance lessons. It was tough to learn it,hold it and get accustomed to the jigsaw of buttons on both sides.

With three CDs to their credit,the duo make it a point to interact with their audience on stage,explain their music and share anecdotes. “We play our own original music and it’s primarily instrumental,making it easier and accessible to a wide range of audience to understand it,” says Plante.

An esteemed figure on the world stage of contemporary tango,Plante is a regular soloist with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles across Canada,the US and South America. His albums on bandoneon music have formed the background score of various Canadian films,including Tango in a Cold City and Revolver Tango,a short film that bagged three prizes at the Festival International du film de Montréal. As for celebrated classical guitarist Jacques,he has given more than 2,500 concerts in 30 countries in five continents. In 2002,he founded Productions DJ,a company specialising in concert design and promotion. “I also teach classical guitar at the Université Laval and Cégep de Sainte-Foy,” he adds. “Our music is the best of classical and jazz,and we try and blend it with exquisite eloquence,” they say.