For the first lesson in Taunton, we used the music of the Golden Age orchestra of Angel D'Agostino. D'Agostino himself was a pianist, and his preferred singer was Angel Vargas, one of the all-time greats among tango singers. Vargas' singing had an incredible immediacy - I somehow think of him as sitting on a bar stool and talking to me instead of singing to an audience.
D'Agostino is not usually regarded as on a par with Carlos Di Sarli or Osvaldo Pugliese artistically, but his music is very, very good and very popular with dancers all the same. It has been said that his arrangements were always done with good taste (unlike those of some other orchestra leaders, who, between spells of greatness, had lapses now and then). He never tried noticeably hard to be original or clever, yet his music has it all: a strong compas (beat), interesting rhythms, beautiful melodies and that incredible singing by Vargas.
When played at a milonga at the right time, when the dancers are ready for it, Los Dos Angeles (the two angels) can be sublime.
Good music to practice to. Get "Tangos de los Angeles Vol. 1" (and , if you like, the other three in the series) from the "Tango Argentino" series. Buy it locally from Mike Lavocah, cheaply from Zivals, or easily from Amazon. See the links on the right.
You can watch the Angels on youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2203qy8wwE
And here watch Oscar and Mary Ann Casas dance to "Notas de Bandoneón" by D'Agostino/Vargas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzh-accjq1M
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