Rock and roll had Elvis. Polka had Li’l Wally Jagiello, pioneer of the Chicago-style polka, who passed away yesterday at the age of 76. The son of Polish immigrants, Li’l Wally was a self-taught drummer and concertina player who revolutionized polka music by taking the frantic pace of traditional polka and slowing it down. In Charles Keil’s book Polka Happiness, Li’l Wally explained his approach:
“You see, a polka was never supposed to be played fast. If you play it fast, you modernize it. I went to Europe, all different villages. I never heard a fast polka there. So why should I hear a fast polka here? My beat is more ethnic. They used to tell me this is too slow… Actually, it’s not slow. It’s a bouncy beat, but not fast… Eastern style may be musicians’ music, but I don’t play for musicians, I play for the public. The public wants to hear melody, lyrics. They want to hear a song with a simple, real pretty story behind it that they can dance to. Real bouncy.”
Li’l Wally promoted his music tirelessly with live shows (as a trio — trumpet, concertina, and Wally on drums), a morning radio show, and his own record company, Jay Jay records. He wrote over 2000 songs — including his hits “Wish I Was Single Again”, “Chicago Is a Polka Town”, and “She Likes Kielbasa” — and during his 1950s heyday, he recorded between ten and twelve albums a year. Unlike most bandleaders, Li’l Wally eschewed sheet music; instead, he wanted his musicians to have room for improvisation and focus on their most important job: pleasing the audience.
One of the charter members of the Polka Hall of Fame (along with Frankie Yankovic), Li’l Wally was a polka legend and he will be sorely missed. To learn more about his life, check out this excellent in-depth feature from the Miami New Times, written in 1999. And make sure to drink a beer (or two) for Wally tonight.
At our house, there’s only one holiday more highly anticipated than Christmas, and that’s the Cotati Accordion Festival. This year’s starts on August 26th and features two jam-packed days of music, including performances from Dick Contino, Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys, Joel Guzman and Aztex, Polkacide, Those Darn Accordions, Culann’s Hounds, La Familia Pena-Govea, and many more. There’ll also be polka and zydeco dance parties in the polka tent, numerous accordion-related vendors, and the annual “Lady of Spain” ring, including the releasing of the doves.
Tickets are $17 for one day and $25 for both days — but you can get a discount if you buy them in advance. Buy them online at the official site, or in person at Backdoor Disc and Tape in Cotati, People’s Music in Sebastopol and the Last Record Store in Santa Rosa. We’ll definitely be at the festival on Sunday (and possible late on Saturday, too) handing out “Let’s Polka” stickers, so be sure to come up and say ‘hi’!
Remember the good old days when mom and dad would pack you up and send you off to accordion camp? The friendships… the polkas… the poison ivy… ah, the memories!
Well, accordion camp wasn’t part of my childhood, but fortunately, I got a second chance this past Sunday when Anna and I grabbed our accordions and headed across the bay to Crown Beach Park in Alameda for the 2nd annual Camp AccordionLand (see photos). Organized by local accordion teacher Henri Ducharme, the camp promised workshops, jam sessions, and plenty of opportunities for hobnobbing with fellow squeezebox enthusiasts. There were about 30 accordionists there on Sunday, many of whom attended both days.
The day started with campers sharing highlights from Saturday’s festivities (which included an accordion sand sculpture contest) and then we broke up and headed to the first set of workshops: klezmer, jazz, and transcribing tunes. I went to Rob Reich’s klezmer workshop where about 15 of us learned two songs: Ch’sidishe Nigunim and Broyges Tantz. Rob did a great job making sure beginners could keep up, while still giving the advanced players tips for further exploration (harmony lines, etc.). By the end, we had a rockin’ little klezmer orchestra!
After a tasty lunch, we had a special treat — legendary Bay Area accordionist Lou Jacklich sat down and talked about his career and played a few songs for us (see video). Then it was off to the next round of workshops: accordion dissection (led by Lou), Tom Waits ensemble, and polka jam. Anna and I joined the polka jam where Henri led five of us through an arrangement of Tinker’s Polka. Dan and Charlotte played melody and harmony, I played rhythm, and Anna and Julia (who had a bass accordion) played bass. I enjoyed getting a taste of ensemble accordion playing — with a little more practice, we might even be ready for Oktoberfest.
At that point, we had to head home, but we did sit in on the discussion of suggestions for next year’s Camp AccordionLand. I think Henri’s done an excellent job putting together a camp that appeals to accordionists of all levels — there’s a good mix of activities for both beginner and advanced players, balanced between genre-specific and technique-focused workshops. (And where else will you find an accordion workshop built around the music of Tom Waits?) I think there’s a lot of potential for growing this into an even-more-incredible annual accordion event. I’m already picturing Camp AccordionLand 2010: a week-long event drawing a thousand accordionists from all over the world, playing in harmony around a forty-foot-high effigy of Dick Contino… It could happen.
Anna and I just got back from a fun-filled day at Camp AccordionLand. (Thanks again to Henri Ducharme for organizing it!) I’ll post a full report and photos soon but, in the meantime, I want to share this video of Lou Jacklich playing “Granada” at the camp. Listening to Lou play and talk about his lengthy show business career was one of the day’s highlights; he also led an “accordion dissection” workshop that drew a crowd.
This week, Anna and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine and as soon as the movie started I recognized the sound of one of my new favorite bands, DeVotchKa. It turns out DeVotchKa teamed with composer Mychael Danna to do most of the film’s soundtrack and their lush, dreamy sound adds the perfect backdrop to an already charming movie.
Devotchka is a Denver-based quartet with a smart, unique sound that crosses borders. Sometimes billed as Eastern European indie rock, the band blends gypsy, folk, mariachi, and rock influences effortlessly. No instrument is off limits, either: violin, sousaphone, trumpet, double bass, theramin, bouzouki, and, of course, the accordion (played by Tom Hagerman) all take turns on center stage. Meanwhile, frontman Nick Urata’s haunting voice soars above it all.
Their latest EP, Curse Your Little Heart is an eclectic mix of covers ranging from Frank Sinatra (“Something Stupid”) to Siouxsie and the Banshees (“The Last Beat of My Heart”). The Denver-based band is currently on a West Coast tour and are playing in Seattle tonight and San Francisco and Los Angeles next week. Their live show sounds like a blast, so catch them if you can.
When he was a young accordion prodigy, Joel Guzman earned the nickname “El Pequeno Gigante” (“The Little Giant”). Years later, Joel is famous for combining traditional Mexican music with blues, rock, country, salsa, and other genres to create a unique style all his own. In 2004, he teamed with fellow Tejano accordion legends David Lee Garza and Sunny Sauceda to record Polkas, Gritos, y Acordeones, which won the Grammy for Best Tejano Album. Currently, he plays with his band Aztex and his wife, Cuban-born singer Sarah Fox.
polka uploaded by la vida comoMost people probably don’t think of Bethlehem, PA, as a musical mecca, but for 10 days every August, the town is home to one of the biggest music festivals in the world: Musikfest. More than one million people come to Musikfest to listen to over 300 performers on 13 different stages playing in nearly every musical style imaginable.
Thanks to the area’s German heritage, the polka has always been at the heart of Musikfest; though there was some controversy last year when organizers allowed non-polka theme nights at the Festplatz (the main Musikfest polka venue). Nevertheless, the accordion is well represented at this year’s Musikfest, with performances from Jimmy Sturr, Steve Meisner, C.J. Chenier, Oriek, Big Lou’s Polka Casserole, the Al Meixner Trio, and many more.
If you want to follow Musikfest from afar, try some of these links:
The official Musikfest site has everything you need to know — performer bios, event schedule, photos, and an inline music player with tunes from most of the acts playing this year’s ‘Fest.
You’ve got to love a festival that’s so big that there are two blogs devoted to covering it. Mergedigital’s Musikfest blog and the Morning Call’s Festblog have both been reporting multiple times daily on festival highlights (such as where to find the best beer service).
And, for those who love impromptu cameraphone shots like the one above, keep an eye on the latest photos tagged with ‘musikfest’ on Flickr.
John Jennings wrote in to tell us about an accordion gathering this Saturday, August 12th, in San Jose, CA, at the Biblioteca Latinoamericana. All players, from beginner to pro, are invited to come play and learn tejano/conjunto/norte?o tunes, and even non-accordionists are welcome to join in the fun (break out the bajo sexto!). The event runs from 10am to 2pm and will take place outside on the patio at the back of the main library room. If you can’t make it this Saturday, don’t worry — the group meets monthly on the 2nd Saturday of each month.
Nice Accordion uploaded by laterent2000From organist/accordionist Jon Hammond comes this wonderfully strange photo of an accordion so gigantic that it takes two people just to squeeze it. The photo was taken in Castelfidardo, the name of the Italian town known as the center of the Italian accordion industry since the late 1800s. These days, Castelfidardo is also home to an accordion museum and an annual accordion festival and competition (where Those Darn Accordions famously took fourth place — out of two bands — in 1990).
Posted August 7th, 2006 in Flickr, Photos · Comments off
The Polka America Corporation is far from the only organization promoting polka — the International Polka Association has been dedicated to the study and preservation of polka music for nearly forty years. The IPA’s 38th annual festival begins tonight in Chicago and the highlight will undoubtedly be Saturday’s Hall of Fame Awards Banquet. Back in 1968, Frankie Yankovic and Li’l Wally Jagiello were the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and since then the list of honorees has grown to include such legends as Myron Floren, Joey Miskulin, “Whoopee John” Wilfahrt, and many others.
Performers at this year’s festival include Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones, Jeff Mleczko & Dynabrass, Eddie Biegaj & Crusade, and more. And the IPA hasn’t forgotten about the kids — the festival features a couple vents geared towards younger polka-philes. First, there’s the annual Polka Art Contest where kids are encouraged to draw a picture based on the theme, “Polka Music is Happiness.” There’s also the Mini-Polka Princess Pageant, which is a non-competitive pageant for girls aged 3-10 (too bad, I was looking forward to the talent portion).
Posted August 3rd, 2006 in Events, Polka · Comments off
Rock and roll had Elvis. Polka had Li’l Wally Jagiello, pioneer of the Chicago-style polka, who passed away yesterday at the age of 76. The son of Polish immigrants, Li’l Wally was a self-taught drummer and concertina player who revolutionized polka music by taking the frantic pace of traditional polka and slowing it down. In Charles Keil’s book Polka Happiness, Li’l Wally explained his approach:
The Polka America Corporation is far from the only organization promoting polka — the