★★★★ It is difficult to draw a single line in the artistic journey of Bernardo Baraj. Because from a very young age, with the flute, the soprano sax and/or, above all, the tenor sax, he has been basting music from the most varied genres. From the rock of Alma y Vida to the fusion with the trio with Lito Vitale and Lucho González, from the instrumental tango of the duo with Juan Barrueco to the jazz of Sanata and Clarificación or La Banda de Ruben Rada, from the Banda Spinetta and its steps for classical music to this tango of the present in which he plays in two territories that he had not exploited before: that of a singer and that of a composer/lyricist of songs. Without forgetting the huge list of musicians and singers who have passed through his professional life.
His present is shared among jazz projects with formations that vary from the one that concerns us here. In the middle of the last decade, she dared to take a leap and publish “Tal para cual”, the first tango album of his own compositions with his voice. He was so enthusiastic about this new facet that he began to deepen his singing studies and even became a milonguero dancer. In 2020, the second record in that line arrived, “Tu alegre corazón”, although this time he decided to mix pieces of his harvest with several acquaintances.
That’s what we saw him do in a music club in San Telmo that seems to be made for him. Because this tango Baraj is intimate and close, an artist who breaks down the songs so that each text stands out, who addresses the themes with delicacy and with an almost religious respect for each word and each note.
In this Pista Urbana recital, there was material from both albums from his pen: “Soñando con la lluvia” –on a poem by Elena Baitrocchi, which he sang sitting at the piano-, “Hechicera”, the waltz “Ella reía”, “ Your happy heart”, in which tango always flies over, although in that personal style that it imposes on it. He premiered a couple of songs: “Linda” and “Requiem reo”, not yet recorded. He sang “Muchacha de abril” by Leonardo Favio, included in his second album. And there were also many classics, such as “Taquito militar”, “Qué me va a hablar de amor”, “Milonga de mis amores”, “Volvió una noche”, “Oblivion”, “Divina”, “Cuando tú no estás”, “Milonga sentimental” –the latter with Magdalena León as a guest-, “Yuyo verde”, “La fulana”, “Barrio de tango”, etc. He played piano, flute and saxes. He sang and told stories. He danced a piece with his partner Inés Cometto. He had the necessary rantifuso backing on the guitars of Felipe Traine and Juan Martínez. And towards the end he delivered an impressive version, in tenor solo, of “El día que me quieras”.
