This article seeks to understand the articulation of tango and jazz in the production of the composer and bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992). Tango features are favored in this junction in which they serve as basic elements, mainly through the presence of melodic gestures, accompaniment models and characteristic timbres very frequently used, which assure the cohesion and musical unity as well as the identity of this Argentine urban genre. Another strategy is considered, in which the composer uses common characteristics of different music genres as a mean for reaching the musical combination he is looking for.