Bobby Jones — leader and accordion player for the Bobby Jones Czech Band in Wharton, Texas — has been missing for the past four days. Jones was last seen on Friday evening and didn’t turn up for his Saturday morning polka radio show at KULP (1390 AM) in El Campo, Texas.
The Bobby Jones Polka Band has been a mainstay of the Southeast Texas polka circuit for nearly 26 years and has even made appearances on RFD-TV’s Big Joe Polka Show. Jones also hosts a popular radio show seven days a week, playing a mix of polka and western swing.
It’s tough to follow in your father’s footsteps, but in the zydeco world, it’s practically a rite of passage. Zydeco is filled with families where the torch (or accordion) has been passed from father to son through the generations — families like the Ardoins, Broussards, Cheniers, and Delafoses, to name a few.
The Williams family is no different. Nathan Williams Jr. grew up in the shadow of his father, Nathan Sr., who leads Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas. He started playing in his father’s band at age 5 and recorded his first album, Zydeco Ballin’ when he was just 14. Today, the 20-year-old junior at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has a new album out, Doin’ It Big Time and appears poised to emerge from his father’s shadow. Those are big shoes to fill, but in a zydeco family, it’s just part of growing up.
There aren’t nearly enough classical works written for accordion these days, but Seattle accordionist Murl Allen Sanders is changing that. An accordionist, pianist, composer, and teacher, Sanders has worked with a variety of artists ranging from Chuck Berry to the Von Trapp Children. His Accordion Concerto #1 had a world premiere in June 2003 with Orchestra Seattle.
Supported by a grant from the City of Seattle’s Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Sanders recently completed his Accordion Concerto #2, which he performed with Orchestra Seattle under the direction of George Shangrow. Here’s one movement — “Andante” — from that performance:
Posted June 20th, 2007 in Profiles, Videos · Comments off
From the Top is a weekly radio show on NPR that showcases America’s top young classical musicians, aged 9 to 18. A couple weeks ago, the show featured 18-year-old U.S. National Accordion champion, Sammy Thomas. Classically trained since the age of ten, Sammy has played at many of the top accordion festivals (Cotati, Las Vegas) and is preparing to compete in this year’s Coupe Mondiale in Washington, DC.
You can listen to the ten-minute clip of Sammy’s appearance on the NPR website. It begins with a brief interview (his least favorite accordion genre: polka), followed by his excellent performance of “Chopin’s Nightmare”:
There’s an interesting Wall Street Journal piece today on one of our favorite artists: composer/accordionist Guy Klucevsek. The profile covers his diverse career, including his compositions, soundtrack work, and involvement in Accordion Tribe. But it focuses on how difficult it is for even an accomplished player like Klucevsek to find steady, rewarding work, particularly in the United States:
“During my 40s, I was starting to make a living… During my 50s, I was able to make one. Now I’m 60, and it’s borderline… I’m loath to complain… because I chose the path myself, and I knew what it was like when I chose it. I’m lucky I’ve been able to do it for this long.”
Klucevsek, for instance, played in the orchestra pit for six performances of Kurt Weill’s “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” at last month’s Spoleto Festival in order to book a solo recital at the festival. (The Journal likened it to “paying Tiger Woods to compete in a miniature golf tournament.”) His American concert schedule is very light this year, but he will be performing this Sunday during the Accordionology festival at Barbes in Brooklyn, New York.
Last month, the Washington Post Magazine had a glowing feature on Virginia accordion teacher Dale Wise. Three years ago, Wise started Accordions for Kids, a program designed to introduce a younger generation to the accordion.
Accordions for Kids is essentially a no-risk trial program for eight to twelve-year-old accordion students. Each student is loaned a 12-bass accordion and study materials (music stand, sheet music, etc.) and receives 10 weeks of lessons with a teacher free of charge. At the end of the program, the student performs in a recital and then decides (along with with his/her parents, of course) whether to continue. Children usually love it — and are oblivious to any stigma associated with accordion playing — but parents often need convincing:
“There’s some selling that has to be done… But this accordion thing is going to happen, one way or the other. How big it becomes is just a matter of how much energy we got.”
Accordions for Kids has been so successful that Wise has recruited teachers nationwide to participate. I absolutely love the idea and hope it continues to spread. Maybe one day we’ll have a nation of “accordion moms,” loading minivans full of accordions and shuttling them to lessons and recitals…
Taraf de Haïdouks — which translates to “band of honorable outlaws” (a “haidouk” is a Robin Hood-like hero of Romanian folklore) — are a group of virtuoso gypsy musicians from the Romanian village of Clejani. Called the “world’s greatest gypsy band” by some, this colorful cast of characters has charmed audiences worldwide (actor Johnny Depp is one of their biggest fans).
With musicians ranging in age from their twenties to their seventies, the Tarafs play intense, rhythmically complex music at a breakneck pace on fiddles, cymbaloms, and accordions. They’ve also earned a reputation as free spirits, drinking reporters under the table and breaking into song at all hours of the night.
They have a new album — their first studio album since 2001’s Band of Gypsies and the death of their star violinist Neacsu Neculae — due out next month called Maskarada. This time around, the Taraf take on classical music with “re-gypsyfied” renditions of works by Khachaturian, Bartok, Liszt, de Falla, Albeniz, and others.
I’ve seen clips of Taraf de Haidouks where as many as twenty musicians are involved (mostly violins and accordions), but this live performance of “Rustem” features just a quartet — violin, cymbalum, upright bass, and one manic accordion:
A legendary performer, teacher, and champion of the accordion, Maddalena Belfiore-Greco passed away last Friday. She began playing the accordion at age five and went on to study with some of the greatest accordion teachers, including Sanford Hertz, Charles Nunzio, Eugene Ettore, and Pietro Frosini. She eventually attended Julliard and, at age 17, gave a recital at Carnegie Hall.
Belfiore-Greco also authored several accordion technique books, including the Myron Floren Method books (in collaboration with Myron) and three seminal works on the bellows shake. In 1958, she opened the Belfiore Accordion School in her hometown of Kearny, NJ, and judged numerous international and national music competitions. In a recent interview, her advice to accordion students emphasized the importance of performing in public:
“Listen to your teacher, and very important – practice! You have to have goals. Also, what happens today (different from when I studied) is that no one has a chance to play any place. I used to play at all these Clubs and Organizations, and that doesn’t happen so much any more I feel… We used to play any place we could. It was all part of the teaching and learning process. Kids going out to play publicly is probably the best lesson they could ever learn!”
To learn more about Maddalena Belfiore-Greco’s life and impact on the accordion world, check out the thorough obituary at Accordion USA, as well as the fantastic interview mentioned above, which was conducted just last year. It includes some incredible old photos and news clippings of the extraordinary life of this accordion legend.
We’ve mentioned A Hawk and a Hacksaw — the duo of accordionist/percussionist Jeremy Barnes (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel) and violinist Heather Trost — here before. They play Eastern European-influenced gypsy/folk music and their latest album, When the Wind Blows was one of my favorites from last year.
Last November, Barnes traveled to Budapest and met a group of extraordinarily talented Hungarian folk musicians well-versed in a variety of musical styles including Serbian, Romanian, and Klezmer. The result of their collaboration is a new EP called A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble. It’s a vibrant collection, balancing driving, dance-worthy tunes with electic instrumentation, including pheonomenal cymbalom playing by Balázs Unger. (The cymbalom is a type of hammered dulcimer.)
The 8-song EP includes a bonus DVD with “An Introduction To A Hawk And A Hacksaw”, a documentary covering the band’s (practically) nonstop touring across Europe and the United States over the past two years. It’s also a limited edition run of 4,000, so grab it while you can, or pick up the digital version through iTunes.
If you prefer accordion music that doesn’t play by the rules, check out Paul Sullivan’s excellent biography of Finnish avant-garde/experimental accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen. Playing a 5-row chromatic accordion, Pohjonen uses electronic effects like samples and loops, as well as heavy doses of improvisation, to push his instrument into uncharted territory. In addition to his solo work, he has collaborated with percussionist/sampler Samuli Kosminen, the Kronos Quartet, and former King Crimson members Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn.
“Sometimes it can be a bit strange for people that an accordion player is doing the kind of stuff that I am doing. But I’m getting such good feedback… I hear comments like, ‘I have never liked accordion, and this is the first time that I’ve liked some accordion music.’ And that is the best comment that you can get.”
According to his site, Pohjonen’s mission is “to expand the capabilities, sound, performance, scope and experience of the accordion in many different settings to levels never before seen or heard.” Judge for yourself — here’s a video clip of Pohjonen performing solo in 2002:
Bobby Jones — leader and accordion player for the Bobby Jones Czech Band in Wharton, Texas — has been missing for the past four days. Jones was last seen on Friday evening and didn’t turn up for his Saturday morning polka radio show at KULP (1390 AM) in El Campo, Texas.
It’s tough to follow in your father’s footsteps, but in the zydeco world, it’s practically a rite of passage. Zydeco is filled with families where the torch (or accordion) has been passed from father to son through the generations — families like the Ardoins, Broussards, Cheniers, and Delafoses, to name a few.
There’s an interesting 
Last month, the Washington Post Magazine had a glowing feature on 
A legendary performer, teacher, and champion of the accordion, Maddalena Belfiore-Greco passed away last Friday. She began playing the accordion at age five and went on to study with some of the greatest accordion teachers, including Sanford Hertz, Charles Nunzio, Eugene Ettore, and Pietro Frosini. She eventually attended Julliard and, at age 17, gave a recital at Carnegie Hall.
If you prefer accordion music that doesn’t play by the rules, check out Paul Sullivan’s