Alfredo De Angelis

Alfredo De Angelis (2 November 1912–31 March 1992) was an Argentine pianist, composer, and bandleader who became one of tango’s most prolific recording artists during the genre’s Golden Age. Also known by the nicknames “El Colorado” and “Diego Anson,” De Angelis founded his orchestra in 1940, making his debut at Café Marzotto, Buenos Aires, on 20 March 1941. Between 1943 and 1977, he recorded approximately 486 numbers for Odeon Records, establishing a reputation for danceable, melody-driven tangos that appealed to both social dancers and radio audiences. De Angelis was renowned for his talent in selecting vocalists; his ensemble featured some of tango’s finest singers, including Carlos Dante and Julio Martel—widely regarded as the finest vocal duo of the era—as well as Floreal Ruiz, Oscar Larroca, Roberto Florio, and Roberto Mancini. His 1946–1951 period produced his best-regarded recordings before Martel’s departure. The orchestra gained immense popularity through Glostora Tango Club, a radio program that began in April 1946 on Radio El Mundo and ran for 22 years, becoming one of Argentina’s most-listened programs. De Angelis’s straightforward, unpretentious approach to orchestration—contrasting with more modernist arrangers of his era—cemented his legacy as a foundational figure in tango’s social-dance tradition.

Sources note: English Wikipedia gives De Angelis’s birth year as 1910 (2 November 1910), while Spanish Wikipedia sources, tango.info, and Todotango consistently state 1912 (2 November 1912). The database currently carries 1912. Death date is consistent across all sources: 31 March 1992.