For day #4 of our accordion advent calendar, we return to holiday music, but this isn’t your typical, cheery Christmas tune. Instead of Santa, Rudolph, or Jack Frost, we’ve got an alcoholic gambler and his heroin addict wife hurling insults at each other. And yet, year after year, The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” heads the lists of top holiday songs in the UK, as perhaps the ultimate seasonal ode to dysfunctional family. James Fearnley’s accordion takes a backseat to the sparring vocals of Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl on this one, but it’s hard to argue with the end result.
Few musical scenes could compare to 1930s Paris, where bal-musette, jazz, and gypsy influences came together as “jazz manouche” or “gypsy jazz.” Guitarist Django Reinhardt is the name most often associated with this music, but there were plenty of excellent accordionists involved, too. Gus Viseur, Tony Murena, Joseph Colombo, and the artist on today’s advent calendar song: Jo Privat. This Privat track, from his album Manouche Partie, features musette guitar legend Jean “Matelot” Ferret and was recorded at the end of gypsy jazz’s reign, just before its popularity was eclipsed by rock and newer dance music in the 1960s.
Day #2 of our “25 Songs” accordion advent calendar takes us to the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil, near the Argentine border. There, we find the music of the gauchos, and of the incredible Brazilian accordionist Renato Borghetti. For more than twenty years, Borghetti has been adapting and modernizing the folk sounds of his native land, using the gaita-ponto (diatonic button accordion) as his tool of choice. This track comes from one of his earliest albums, Renato Borghetti, and was also included on the Planet Squeezebox compilation (sadly out of print).
Longtime readers have probably noticed the decline in our posting frequency the past few months. (Work + baby = no time for Let’s Polka.) But this month, we promise to make up for it. Today we’re kicking off “25 Songs” — an accordion advent calendar featuring MP3 downloads of awesome accordion tracks every day from now until Christmas. It’s our way of wishing you a happy holiday season and an opportunity to showcase some our favorite accordion-toting artists from around the world.
Our selections won’t always be holiday-themed, but we’ll kick off the month with Cafe Accordion Orchestra’s cha-cha version of “Winter Wonderland,” from their excellent Cafe Christmas album. Listen for the sounds of one of Minnesota’s hardest-working accordionists: Dan “Daddy Squeeze” Newton.
After my last post about our most common email, I thought I’d highlight a cute email we received from a mother whose young sons have recently fallen in love with the accordion:
“My four and seven year old sons enjoy going to Oktoberfests and listening to the music, especially the accordion. We even purchased a CD at the last one and they listen to it everyday. Needless to say, they both put accordions on their Christmas lists. My four year old has decided he wants an accordion-themed party for his birthday; I am going to have a challenge finding accordion decor/favors, but will have fun searching! They also love dancing to polka music. They recently had friends over on a playdate and played polka music for them — it was pretty funny. It is priceless to see what interests your children develop!”
Sounds like these kids are on the right track. Do you have a young accordion aficionado in your family? Leave a comment and tell us an inspirational tale of your squeezebox lovin’ youngster.
Far and away, the most common email we receive is from someone who’s found or inherited an old accordion — often stashed away in a closet or garage — who wants to know how much it’s worth. I’ve probably answered this question a hundred times, a hundred different ways. But now I save myself the trouble and refer them to this handy guide on Jeroen Nijhof’s excellent Accordion Links site. Jeroen’s guide covers the basics (condition, brand, size) along with two pieces of advice I often give: that “vintage” doesn’t mean much unless it’s playable (or festooned with diamonds) and it’s only worth what someone will pay for it.
With that in mind, I should really ask: “Why sell this accordion when you can learn to play it?” Instead of dumping it at a garage sale for a few bucks, you could have countless hours of enjoyment by playing cumbias or mazurkas on your porch. Maybe the next time someone inquires about their grandfather’s old accordion, I’ll just reply with a list of accordion teachers in their area…
Trying to fight that tired old stereotype that accordions are just for old men with lederhosen? The 2009 Bay Area Accordion Babes Pin-Up Calendar should do a thing or two to change that perception. This glossy, full-color calendar features stylized pin-up shots of 15 local accordion babes including Tara Linda, (Mad) Maggie Martin, Skyler Fell, and more. The calendar will sell for $20 and includes a companion CD with tracks by many of the ladies featured in the calendar. It’s the perfect holiday stocking stuffer.
You can order the calendar directly from one of the Accordion Babes’ sites listed below, or from Smythe’s Accordion Center:
You can get your first glimpse of the calendar this Thursday at the Wild Women of the Accordion show at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco. Pin-up girls Big Lou (with her Polka Casserole), Isabel Douglass (with Kugelplex), and Renee de la Prade (who organized the calendar) will all be performing. For those who can’t make it, here are some photos to whet your appetite:
Back in February, we noted how both the Clinton and Obama campaigns courted Hispanic voters in Texas through cumbia and mariachi tunes. In the wake of last week’s presidential election, we found a couple of grassroots, accordion-fueled videos paying homage to presidential and vice presidential candidates alike.
First up is the “I’m in Love with Sarah Palin Polka”, from a band called “Joe and the Plumbers.” Led by Joe Rodgers — who some may recognize from posts on alt.music.polkas — the band uses classic Cleveland-style polka instrumentation including the accordion, banjo, and plunger:
On a more serious note, a group of Zydeco musicans came together in Opelousas, Louisiana, to record “Oui, On Peut” (“Yes, We Can”) — a tribute to Barack Obama (and his campaign slogan). The all-star band includes Jeffrey Broussard (of the Creole Cowboys) on accordion:
We’ve seen self-playing accordions before, but this is the first time I’ve seen a Hohner Magic Organa — an automatic accordion built in the 1920s. (Not to be confused with the non-magical Hohner Organa, which was a portable organ.) Music rolls inside the accordion are moved with a spring-wound mechanism over 44 tubes to generate sounds, while a foot pedal connects to the accordion via a hose to power the mechanism.
This particular instrument was recently up for auction on eBay and, while bidding reached $2,750, it still didn’t meet the reserve price. As fun as an automatic accordion sounds, $2,750 could buy you a lot of lessons on a real accordion…
I’ve always loved maps; as a kid, I spent hours poring over National Geographic maps at my grandparents’ house. So I’ve combined two of my favorite hobbies into our new map of accordion events across North America. The map includes all of the events currently listed on our accordion events calendar, from Arcata to Wausau. Just zoom in on your area and click on a pin to get details about a particular event.
Of course, some squeezebox hotspots (New York, San Francisco, New Orleans) have more activities listed than others, and that’s where you come in. If there’s an event in your area missing from our list — your band is touring, your accordion club is meeting, etc. — let us know. With your help, we can build the most complete list of accordion events anywhere!
Longtime readers have probably noticed the decline in our posting frequency the past few months. (Work + baby = no time for Let’s Polka.) But this month, we promise to make up for it. Today we’re kicking off “25 Songs” — an accordion advent calendar featuring MP3 downloads of awesome accordion tracks every day from now until Christmas. It’s our way of wishing you a happy holiday season and an opportunity to showcase some our favorite accordion-toting artists from around the world.
Far and away, the most common email we receive is from someone who’s found or inherited an old accordion — often stashed away in a closet or garage — who wants to know how much it’s worth. I’ve probably answered this question a hundred times, a hundred different ways. But now I save myself the trouble and refer them to this 
Trying to fight that tired old stereotype that accordions are just for old men with lederhosen? The 2009 Bay Area Accordion Babes Pin-Up Calendar should do a thing or two to change that perception. This glossy, full-color calendar features stylized pin-up shots of 15 local accordion babes including Tara Linda, (Mad) 
