When it comes to tango, the dance usually gets all the attention. It’s hard to avert your gaze from the sexually charged dance where two partners intimately move together with power and grace, hip to hip, hands on thighs. One can easily forget there is actually music being played along with the dance. Although tango music might not be appreciated as much as the dance itself in Western countries, it is immensely popular in Argentina and Uruguay, where its humble roots can be traced to European immigrants.

In 2006, acclaimed musician, producer and composer Gustavo Santaolalla came up with the idea to pay homage to the musical tradition by bringing together the surviving maestros of tango from its heyday in the 1940s and 50s. He gathered a superstar group of artists, including greats like Lagrima Rios, Nelly Omar and Horacio Salgan, threw them into the studio, and pressed record.

Despite some of them not having been on a stage or in a studio for decades, these 70- and 80-something musicians showed no signs of rust, skilfully recording their soulful music to introduce to a brand new generation. Santaolalla brought along a film crew to record the whole process and the end product was a Latin Grammy Award-winning CD, a Buena Vista Social Club-esque documentary film and a worldwide live concert tour with performances in England, France and now Hong Kong.

Café de los Maestros shows that tango music is more than just a soundtrack to the sultry dance, and something that can be enjoyed with or without the sexy movement. From powerful milongas to swinging creole waltzes, purely orchestral numbers to vocal pieces, the 20-plus piece orchestra of piano, violins, flutes, guitars and bandoneons cover tango’s stylistic field, evoking that romantic nostalgia for which the Argentinean national dance is famous.

An ensemble bringing together these legends of tango is a rare treat, and their visit to our shores is even more so. No doubt, it’ll be enough to make you want to dance in the aisle.

Leon Lee

Cafe de los Maestros play the Cultural Centre on March 5-7.

Tickets: 2734 9009 or www.urbtix.hk.