Anna had a nasty bout with food poisoning earlier this week, so to speed her recovery, here’s a video from Slim’s Cyder Co. called “Is it Love or Food Poisoning?” We’ve mentioned Slim and his gang before; they’ve been playing fun-loving, accordion-fueled country/rockabilly around the UK for more than fifteen years. Here’s hoping the next time Anna’s tummy feels queasy, it really is love and not food poisoning…

He goes by many names: Esteban, Steve, “El Parche,” “accordion wizard,” or even “the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion.” No matter what you call him, though, there’s no denying that Esteban “Steve” Jordan is one of the most innovative and influential accordion players ever to pick up the instrument.

Born in Texas in 1939 as one of 15 children, Jordan was partially blinded as an infant and has worn his trademark eye patch (“el parche”) ever since. He made numerous conjunto records during the early 1960s, but by the end of the decade he started exploring and incorporating other musical styles into his work. He fused Latin jazz, salsa, rock, and blues with traditional rancheras and polkas, bringing new rhythms into the conjunto fold. Jordan also forged ahead with new technology, using electronic devices like phase shifters and fuzzboxes to shape his sound, and collaborating with Hohner on his custom Tex-Mex Rockordeon. In 1982, he was one of the first musicians inducted into the Tejano Conjunto Hall of Fame.

This Sunday afternoon, there’ll be a concert in Steve’s honor at the H&H Ballroom in Austin. The list of performers is like a “Who’s Who” of Conjunto/Tejano music — Little Joe, Max Baca and the Texmaniacs, Conjunto Los Pinkys, and a special performance by Steve Jordan himself. For those of us who can’t make it to the show, here’s a classic Steve Jordan track that was included on the Legends of the Accordion compilation:

Esteban “Steve” Jordan: Las Coronelas mp3

I received a number of emails this weekend from accordion fans in the Pacific Northwest, pointing me towards this Seattle Post-Intelligencer front-page story on local squeezebox makers Petosa Accordions. The article chronicles the rise, fall, and current rebirth of the accordion, as seen through the eyes of the Petosa family, who have been building and selling accordions since 1922. Today, Petosa sells some of the finest high-end accordions in the world — a top model can set you back nearly $30,000 — to artists that include Dick Contino, Frank Marocco, and more. (They also have more affordable models for us average Joes.)

Be sure to check out the excellent slideshow that accompanies the article; it includes an audio interview with owner Joe Petosa Jr.

For more than a century, corridos have been a staple of popular Mexican music. With a waltz-like rhythm and lyrics focused on legends, romances, heroes, and villains of the rural frontier, corridos are a traditional storytelling genre. But in recent years, a subgenre called the “narcocorrido” has exploded in popularity, and its stories focus on the real-life exploits of drug traffickers and crime bosses. It’s the Mexican version of gangsta rap — graphic lyrics put to an accordion-driven beat.

This week, the Los Angeles Times had an interesting article on the backlash against narcocorridos in Tijuana. Whereas previous efforts to ban the music by local and national officials have failed, this movement seems to be bubbling up from music fans who have grown tired of a genre that celebrates the people terrorizing their community. According to the accordion player of Los Linces Boys, a band that grew famous for playing narcocorridos:

“Things are changing… It’s not like in the past, when people would hear corridos and shoot their guns in the air… Now, people would rather grab their girlfriends, squeeze close on the dance floor and kiss.”

Narcocorridos have become big sellers on both sides of the border, so it’s probably too soon to tell if this backlash will have lasting significance. I definitely recommend the LA Times article, though, as a good introduction to one of the darker, and certainly more dangerous, genres associated with the accordion.

I try to avoid watching reality TV because it usually just makes me angry. For example, take this clip from the latest episode of America’s Got Talent in which Branson accordionists Dan and Kim Christian get the boot simply because they play the accordion.

“If there’s one thing worse than an accordion, it’s two accordions.” But what about three accordions? Or five accordions? Or (gasp) fourteen? Frankly, I don’t think you can ever have too many accordions.

mysterious monster accordion, uploaded by tinyprayers

Our friend Dave came across this gigantic accordion on display in Virginia City, Montana. As noted in the caption, it is “Unfinished, with at least an extra octave of keys, and 192 (!) bass buttons.” Wow. That’s a whole lotta accordion! (Thanks, Dave!)

Today I was going through my record collection, wondering if any of my old accordion records were available on CD. Sadly, many of them have not been remastered to CD. However, in my search I discovered that accordionist Henry Doktorski has taken the time to remaster some of his historic accordion records to CD! He sells copies of the CDs from his website for $15 each plus extra for shipping, handling and (optional) insurance. He has several albums by Myron Floren and Charles Magnante, as well as others. Take a look! While the recordings are not perfect (there are unavoidable hisses and skips), this is definitely a great resource for fans of the accordion.

The annual Ottawa International Jazz Festival just wrapped up and one of the biggest hits was French accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano. Performing with his Tangaria Quartet, Galliano’s concert was “as thrilling a performance as was heard” throughout the entire festival, according to a review in the Ottawa Citizen. Galliano “reeled off one exhilarating song after another,” allowing the audience “to lose themselves in his brilliance.” Not a bad review, I’d say.

Born in Cannes in 1950, Richard Galliano studied at a conservatory as a youth, but quickly changed his musical devotion to jazz after hearing (and memorizing the solos of) jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown. Galliano set out to establish the accordion’s reputation in jazz, becoming a sought-after accompanist and soloist. Astor Piazzolla invited him to be the bandoneon soloist at the Comédie Française production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” starting a close friendship that lasted until Piazzolla’s death in 1992.

More recently, Galliano has become known for a style he calls “New Musette” — a fusion of styles ranging from samba and salsa to waltz and tango. Regardless of what he’s playing, though, it’s always with unparalleled skill and passion. Here’s a fantastic video of Galliano performing Piazzolla’s “Libertango” solo:

I remember reading that Jimmy Stewart got his start by playing accordion, but I had never him play until I found this clip from the 1957 Western, Night Passage. In the film, Stewart plays an ex-railroad man (and traveling accordion player) who tries to prove himself by defending a payroll train from a gang of outlaws. Unfortunately, this clip is dubbed in Spanish, but you can still hear Stewart squeezing and singing “You Can’t Get Far Without a Railroad”: