How about an accordion thread?


Was reminiscing the other day of my grandfather's funeral. I was only 5 but remember it vividly. There is quite a Polish heritage on that side of my family. We had a huge after party in the playroom (finished basement) of my grandmother's house.

I remember my grandfather's cousin sitting on a stool in the corner with a bottle of vodka and a shot glass and playing the accordion. Everyone was dancing and clapping to polka after polka. He would also mix it up with some beautiful waltzes as well. I recall being quite mesmerized by his handling of this instrument - my first live exposure other than watching Lawrence Welk.

Every now and then I'll hear a nice accordion passage and am reminded of that day. One such song I listened to the other day was on a forgotten mix tape - "Beaujolais" from the Bodean's 'Home' disc.

I've never really gone out and purchased accordion music on purpose before. I recalled listening to a jazz/fusion accordion artist once at a friends house that I liked, but cannot recall his name. Would like to get some recommendations, if possible. I guess I'd be more interested in stuff that would make good background/dinner music, however would appreciate any and all offerings where one would be inclined to say "wow, that's accordion...that's really good".
slothman

Showing 2 responses by jax2

You must see the poignant film, "Schultze Gets the Blues" - it's a wonderful film where the accordion plays a key roll from start to finish.

Piazzolla for sure.

I love some of the more unusual music that the accordion is used very effectively in...Tom Waits and 16 Horsepower come to mind. The thread seems to be going more 'classical' and jazz in content so I won't go there unless anyone's really interested.
For example, could one imagine what would "The Trinity Sessions" be like if there was no accordion?

As a matter of fact, I can - Check out the 20th Anniversary reunion of the Junkies in the same church with a few guest artists - Trinity Revisited. It includes a great DVD of the entire set, as well as a documentary feature. Absent from that reunion is the original accordianist, Jaro Czerwinec. It is the same set of songs. Instead of the single mike approach, each artist is miked in this reunion with state of the art gear. VERY nice in its own right. Guest artists are a matter of taste, but I happen to like them. I don't recall any accordian at all in this performance.