It’s a sad day for accordion and Tejano music fans; legendary accordionist Esteban “Steve” Jordan died last night of complications from liver cancer. He was 71 years old.

Known as “El Parche” because of his eye patch, Jordan started his career in conjunto in the 1960s, but soon began exploring and incorporating other musical styles into his work — blending rock, Latin jazz, blues, and salsa with traditional polkas and rancheras. He pushed the limits of the diatonic accordion and wasn’t afraid to experiment with new technology, using electronic devices like phase shifters and fuzzboxes to shape his sound.

“‘What Steve Jordan did was, he electrified the accordion,’ says Sunny Sauceda, a rising star on the squeezebox. ‘He used pedals, he brought in jazz influences to the accordion playing. He brought in the effects that had never been done on the accordion — to this day, nobody does it.’”

Definitely one of the all-time greats. Rest in peace, El Parche.

Esteban “Steve” Jordan: Las Coronelas mp3

Picking up an iPad this weekend? Fortunately, time spent with your shiny new toy doesn’t have to mean time spent away from the accordion. Alex Komarov has developed a new app called Accordéon which allows you to simulate playing an accordion on your iPad. At $3.99 — plus at least $499 for an iPad — it’s cheaper than a Roland FR-7, but probably not as fun to play.

See also: Play Accordion On Your iPhone

Last night’s Grammy Awards weren’t just about Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and the wonders of Auto-Tune. At the pre-telecast awards ceremony, a handful of accordionists picked up awards, too. Let’s review the big winners:

Best Cajun or Zydeco Album: Buckwheat Zydeco

The Cajun/Zydeco category has only been around for three years, but it’s already produced three different winners. Buckwheat Zydeco played organ for the legendary Clifton Chenier’s band before picking up the accordion and, since Chenier’s death in 1987, has become zydeco’s best-known (and most mainstream) artist. Lay My Burden Down is probably his most mature album to date, mixing his party-time zydeco with inspired covers (including “When the Levee Breaks”).

Buckwheat Zydeco: Ninth Place mp3

Buy Lay Your Burden Down by Buckwheat Zydeco

Best Tejano Album: Los Texmaniacs

We reviewed this album last summer and were excited to see it recognized last night. Both Texmaniacs leader Max Baca and accordionist David Farias have shared in other Grammy wins, but this was the first for their group that combines blues and rock with traditional conjunto. On Borders y Bailes, released on Smithsonian Folkways, they breathe new life into the century-old music of the Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Los Texmaniacs: Redova mp3

Buy Borders y Bailes by Los Texmaniacs

Best Norteño Album: Los Tigres Del Norte

With more than 32 million records sold in their 40-year history, Los Tigres have long been the kings (or “Los Jefes de Jefes”) of norteño music, so their victory was no surprise. What’s surprising, though, is that Tu Noche Con… is their first live album. Los Tigres take their role as spokesmen of the people very seriously, and the album contains a great mix of the politically and socially-charged corridos, rancheras, ballads and cumbias that have built them a loyal following.

Los Tigres Del Norte: Somos Mas Americanos mp3

Buy Tu Noche Con… Los Tigres Del Norte by Los Tigres Del Norte

And finally, for those wondering how 18-time Grammy winner Jimmy Sturr would fair after the polka Grammy’s demise last year — he lost to Loudon Wainright III for Best Traditional Folk Album. There’s always next year.

The Best Polka Album award may be gone, but there are still plenty of accordions among the nominees announced yesterday for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards. The Best Cajun/Zydeco Album category is full of them:

• Alligator Purse by Beausoleil Avec Michael Doucet
• Lay Your Burden Down by Buckwheat Zydeco
• Stripped Down by The Magnolia Sisters
• Live At 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival by Pine Leaf Boys
• L’Ésprit Créole by Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole

The accordion is apparently mandatory in the Best Norteño Album category, too:

• Dejame Soñar by Cumbre Norteña
• El Niño De Oro by El Compa Chuy
• Pese A Quien Le Pese by Los Rieleros Del Norte
• Tu Noche Con…Los Tigres Del Norte by Los Tigres Del Norte
• Soy Todo Tuyo by Los Tucanes De Tijuana

There are also a handful of accordionists scattered through other categories. Los Texmaniacs and Sunny Sauceda are both vying for Best Tejano Album, Weird Al Yankovic is up for Best Comedy Album, and David Hidalgo’s accordion was a key ingredient in Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life, nominated for Best Americana Album.

And finally, many thought that the demise of the polka award would spell the end of 18-time winner Jimmy Sturr’s Grammy run. Not so fast — Jimmy and his orchestra garnered yet another Grammy nomination; this time, for Best Traditional Folk Album. The competition will be stiffer but, after all these years, I know better than to bet against Jimmy Sturr.

Forget the recession; running an accordion shop is a challenging business even in the best of times. Last week, the Chicago Tribune had a great profile of the Italo-American Accordion Company in Oak Lawn, Illinois, which has been in business for nearly 95 years. Joe Romagnoli took over the business in 1948 and made a name for himself by selling meticulously hand-crafted instruments. Today, his wife Anne runs the business, but it’s a far cry from the accordion company’s heyday. According to John Castiglione, who runs Castiglione Accordions in Warren, Michigan:

“The market is more scattered than it was in the ’50s, when the accordion was the No. 1 instrument and everyone took lessons and there were schools… People still buy, but for all intents and purposes, you don’t find stores selling just accordions.”

At Italo-American, they’re lucky to sell a handful of instruments a month; most of their business comes through repairs. But Anne, who’s now 83 years old, refuses to retire and makes a spirited accordion sales pitch to anyone who walks through her door.

“If you have an old accordion, put life into it. The accordion is a happy thing. There is no other instrument this self-sufficient. You play guitar, you need people. But you can take an accordion to a picnic. You can’t take a trumpet to a picnic!”

Inspired by last week’s post about learning to play the accordion? You may be interested in a new accordion school in the Houston area called Houston Accordion Performers. The owners, Sheila Lee and Mark Ropel, have years of teaching experience and have studied with the likes of Willard Palmer and Anthony Galla-Rini. Shelia also recently produced an instructional DVD for GCF button accordion which is due out in September (watch a clip).

The school opened in June and has teachers giving lessons in chromatic, piano, and GCF diatonic button accordion. Sheila and Mark are promoting a “studio environment” with private, group, and band lessons, emphasizing styles like Tex-Mex, Norteño, Conjunto, Zydeco, and more. In addition to Sheila and Mark, the studio’s staff includes Mario Pedone and Ross Witte.

Houston Accordion Performers will hold an all-day celebration on September 12th to celebrate its grand opening. The day will start with the studio’s accordion band appearing in Houston’s Fiestas Patrias International Parade, followed by a concert back at the studio. Check our calendar for details and directions.

If you think we work hard to promote the accordion, you should check out our Canadian cousins at Accordion Noir. They produce a weekly radio show devoted entirely to accordion music from around the world. They’ve also just created a great new bumper sticker to raise accordion awareness — one whose message may sound familiar to some bicyclists:

The stickers are narrow so they fit a bike’s tubes, but look equally fab on an accordion case, guitar case, hurdy-gurdy case… you name it. They’re currently available around Vancouver or you can email the guys to order one. The cost is just $1 and goes to support their awesome radio show, which is broadcast on CFRO Co-Op Radio (102.7 FM) in Vancouver. (You can also listen online and download episodes directly from their site.)

Like many other children of the 1980s, I spent last night listening to my old Michael Jackson albums and reminiscing about my childhood — the trip to the mall to buy Bad on cassette… borrowing one of grandma’s fancy gloves while practicing the moonwalk… okay, maybe that last one was just me.

Nestled among the classic Michael Jackson videos on YouTube, I found this clip of Montreal busker Scott Dunbar doing a fanastically funky one-man accordion band rendition of “Billie Jean.” All that’s missing is the glove.

In the spring of 1995, I was an eager college freshman doing what all young men dream of when they leave home: learning to play the accordion. I didn’t have a teacher or any lesson books, but I did have Those Darn Accordions’ album Squeeze This on cassette.

On the cover was Clyde Forsman, his octogenarian back covered with tattoos, smiling broadly and showing off his biceps while lifting an accordion. When people kidded me about playing the accordion, I showed them that album and made them listen to Clyde’s rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” — a stunning version that rendered all other covers futile. Clyde Forsman helped me prove that the accordion could be cool.

Clyde passed away Friday night at his home in San Francisco; he was 94. One of the founding members of Those Darn Accordions, he played with the band from 1989 to 2000 and was easily its most beloved member. He won over crowds with his charm, humor, and the way he would take off his shirt to reveal his fantastic tattoos before launching into “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” or the aforementioned “Fire.” An amazing entertainer and an incomparable accordion ambassador, he will be sorely missed.