Famous accordians...

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

As a long time fan of the accordian in le jazz moderne, Stan Tracey to Pete O S' Jolly, I am amazed that this wonderful (and very happy) instrument is not featured more often on R3? I'm sure Steve Voce would enjoy its apolitical tunefulness?

I haven't heard THE NEW JRR recently but could not the accordian be squeezed in a bit more? (xcuse pun)... Didn't Bunk record with the accord? Kenny Ball? Turk Murphy? Shirley "Count" Bassey? ALL the true greats?

What about "Just squeeze me"? "Buttons and Bows"?

BN.

[kernelbogey]

Excuse me for butting into the Jazz forum, but, ahem! I have heard the accordion a few times on Through the Night (TTN). A few months ago a performance of Mozart's variations on Twinkle twinkle little star [the piece's proper* name includes the French name for this tune which I can't off hand remember]; also I believe I heard the Bach Goldberg variations on the accordion. Not Stan Tracey, I know, but thought you might like the information....
BW, kb

[Edit: * 12 Variations "Ah, vous dirai-je, maman" KV 265 - thanks to Ferney!]

[salymap]

Iwas put off the accordian as a child when the radio had Troise [??] and his Mandoliers [??] on every day.

It was horrible I had no idea it was still played.

Oh, perhaps they played Mandolins ??

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

...George Shearing played a pretty mean accordion too .....

yeh let's hear it for Pete Jolly [he was on my sister's Shorty Rogers albums in the radiogram and is therefore one of the immortals for me] met some guys in Phoenix who knew and played with him ..

[gurnemanz]

There's a gentle Don Cherry tribute track "Malinye" on Jan Garbarek's Rites with sax, accordion and pecussion.

[charles t]

Vital Information is a group, led by jazz drummer Steve Smith, that has a very (emphasis mine) pop following here in States.

Dig on this (Tom Coster) accordian, daddy-o

[charles t]

Keyboardist Tom Coster, by the way, is the composer of Europa, a tune for the ages...made famous via his collaboration with Carlos Santana and later given a jazz send-off by big-toned Gato Barbieri...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Excuse me for butting into the Jazz forum, but, ahem! I have heard the accordion a few times on Through the Night (TTN). A few months ago a performance of Mozart's variations on Twinkle twinkle little star [the piece's proper name includes the French name for this tune which I can't off hand remember]; also I believe I heard the Bach Goldberg variations on the accordion. Not Stan Tracey, I know, but thought you might like the information....
BW, kb

Apologies from me, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZW532vHhiw

[kernelbogey]

Thanks Ferney! Great to have this - perhaps he was the one I heard on TTN?

[Alyn_Shipton]

Actually, BN if you HAD been listening to JRR you would have heard that since 1 May I have been asking for accordion requests. So starting with George Shearing, we've had Art Van Damme, that lovely Art Pepper track you liked so much, Jack Davies Flea Circus, Huw Warren, and one or two others. And when it comes to classical music, I was listening to France Musique the other day and heard Richard Galliano doing a simply stunning version of the 3rd movement of the Tchaikowsky piano concerto...

[Ian Thumwood]

The Art Pepper track played on JRR was terrific. Regarding Richard Galliano, it is probably worth pointing out just how highly he is appreciated in France and the fact this the accordian is not considered "iffy" as a jazz instrument on that side of the Channel. I must admit that I'm usually not too fussed by this instrument and there have been instances such as Dave Douglas' "Charms of the night sky" where the music seems to descnd into Viennese coffee house music and you start to think that Miles would never have worked with an accordian! Galliano is a different proposition. He can fit in comfortably in a Gypsy Jazz contxt with the likes of Birelli Lagrene (himself something of a jazz chameleon) but also feel at home in more "Contemporary" settings. This summer I caught him in a group with organist Eddie Louiss which also featured a small string section. The result was intriguing and like nothing else you would be likely to encounter in jazz. For me, the writing ensured that this music really worked. Ok, it wasn't hard bop but the music still owned something of the Jimmy Smith-like earthiness you would expect from Louiss. Galliano himself remains totally "musical" and I wonder if he had produced the same work on the piano the likes of Bluesnik would be crediting him as one of the most significant musicians from France of his generation. I think he would have a much bigger international profile too if he played another instrument. It is tempting to dismiss Galliano as a novelty or typically French - somehow divorced from the essence of jazz. However, my experience of hearing him both of record and at least twice in concert is that he is a genuine artist and good enough to throw his hand in with the classical repertoire as well. In some respects, I think the sound of the accordian can be wrong in jazz and there are plenty of "horror stories" in the recorded legacy but to dismiss a musician as good as Richard Galliano is no less stupid in my book than to discount someome like Art Pepper.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

oh it could be the olden days of yore such a delight and you are most welcome Krassikal fans ....

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

What's the range of an accordion?
Twenty yards if you've got a good arm.

What's the difference between an accordion player and a terrorist?
Terrorists have sympathisers.

What's the difference between an accordion and a concertina?
The accordion takes longer to burn.

What's an accordion good for?
Learning how to fold a map.

"OH, MAMA, CAN THIS REALLY BE THE END?
TO BE STUCK ON RADIO (3) JAZZ-SLIGHT, WITH THAT ACCORDIAN MAN AGAIN"

- BOB MILLION - "Radio 3 done gone salty on me, pops (again)"
AKA "For Fek's sake, Charles Fox is a spinnin' in his grave".

What I wouldn't give for an early Val Wilmer Winter?

BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"More than 100 accordionists have taken part in a concert to mark the centenary year of Jimmy Shand.
The musicians each took turns to play a tune at the event, in Windygates, Fife, which lasted more than four hours.

Sir Jimmy Shand, who died in December 2000, is widely regarded as one of the most talented musicians Scotland has known. He was raised in Auchtermuchty.

A type of accordion, called the Shand, was designed specifically for him and features extra musical keys.
The instrument is still widely played by accordionists today. Event organiser Bruce Lindsay told the BBC Scotland news website: "He was an inspiration to a lot of people." BBC Jan 2008.

COOL

BN.