NEP review MARTIN ALVARADO

Thanks to Strictly, an appreciation of dance in all its form is on the up, and on Saturday night, Martin Alvarado’s soft, velvety tenor certainly brought the streets of Buenos Aires to the Milonga throng at Lady Bay’s, Poppy and Pint. Alvarado is hailed as one of the best Argentinean singers of the Tango genre, with finely tuned phrasing that animates his songs and a certain latino charisma that mesmerises his audiences.

Widely acclaim across Eastern and Western Europe, Alvarado has wowed audiences in the Midnight Tango show at the Birmingham Hippodrome, starring BBC Strictly Come Dancing stars, Vincent and Flavia in ‘Midnight Tango’, but he has an ardent following in Nottingham. 



His set included new tangos, old ones that have few recordings, as well as all-time classics. But, perhaps the song that stood out most was, ‘Ultimo’, because the emotive phrasing was pure Argentinian seduction. Equally talented was Martin’s bandoneon and piano player from faraway Finland, Mikko Helenius. The enigmatic Mikko played a one-off instrumental, which was a true feat of dexterity because he amazingly played both instruments simultaneously. And as an interlude, the talented Tango Milonga dancers, Nicky Parsons and Slim Ross also displayed their very impressive tango skills.

www.martinalvarado.com.ar