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Art Van Damme
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The hippest cat ever to swing an accordion, Art Van Damme dared go where no man had gone before: jazz accordion. He started taking accordion lessons at the age of nine, and moved on to classical studies after his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1934. After leaving school. he played in a trio in local clubs under big band leader Ben Bernie hired him in 1941. He soon returned to Chicago, though, and continued to work the club circuit there throughout World War Two. Van Damme was inspired by swing recordings, particularly Benny Goodman's, and in the late 1930s, he began experimenting, adapting Goodman solos to the accordion
2020: The Year in Jazz
by Ken Franckling
The COVID-19 pandemic put the jazz world in a tailspin, just like the world at large, in 2020. And there is plenty of uncertainty going into the new year about what “new normal: might emerge from the darkness. International Jazz Day, like so many other things, became an online virtual event this time around. Pianist Keith ...
Kenny Kotwitz & the L.A. Jazz Quintet: When Lights Are Low
by Jack Bowers
Imagine the following conversation: “Hi, my name is Kenny Kotwitz. I'm an accordionist and I want to record a centennial tribute to Art van Damme. Would you care to join me?" Okay, it probably didn't go down quite like that but the premise, in these days of rap, heavy metal, acid rock, new wave, bubblegum pop, ...
Art Van Damme with Flutes
Between now and the end of 2017, the entire MPS jazz catalog of 500 albums will be reissued digitally as downloads. The German record label known for its sterling sound was founded in 1968 and lasted until 1983, when the rights were sold to Polygram. MPS stood for Musik Produktion Schwarzwald—or Music Production Black Forest, where ...
Art Van Damme: A Perfect Match
Jammed with writing assignments this week, I spent yesterday working and listening to accordionist Art Van Damme. It makes no sense to tell you how much Van Damme swings, since all great jazz accordionists swing. What made Van Damme singular were his thick chord voicings and his groovy attack, which sounded almost vocal. So teaming with ...
North America Jazz Alliance: The Montreal Sessions
by Edward Blanco
The North America Jazz Alliance brings together two American and four Canadian musicians to perform the music heard in the nightclubs of the 60s and 70s on The Montreal Sessions. Producer Peter Maxymych further wanted to focus on the accordion-led bands of the era of which, the most famous was that of the late Art Van ...
North America Jazz Alliance: The Montreal Sessions
by Dan Bilawsky
A producer's wish to recapture the sound of an accordion legend's band set the ball in motion for this recording. Producer Peter Maxymych wanted to “recreate a sound that was heard in clubs and other venues in the 1960s and '70s." Maxymych goes on to note that “accordion was the lead instrument in those groups and ...
For the Grand Prize: April Is . . . ?
by Jack Bowers
Did you know that April is Jazz Appreciation Month? Neither did I until I chanced upon a press release to that effect. According to the Smithsonian Institution's Smithsonian Jazz website, there are “celebrations in all 50 states and 40 countries." If I'm not mistaken, New Mexico is one of those 50 states, and no one here ...
Chris Cheek / Victor Prieto: Rollo Coaster
by Martin Gladu
Chances are you have never heard the accordion played the way Victor Prieto plays it. Indeed, much like Toots Thielemans established the harmonica in the jazz lore huffing and puffing bop lines through his teeth, Prieto breaks the glass ceiling hovering above the crown of Cyrillus Demian's patented invention, squeezing improvised airs with a technical assurance ...
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