An Accordion Float, September 30, 2010
I love looking at used accordions on Ebay. I have my favorite searches and over time have come to recognize some of the seller's names. I saw an ad a few days ago from a good friend. He included the following in the description, "we don't have to tell you that our accordions don't stink. If ever that is the case, we will state so in big letters."
I wanted so bad to send the following 'question' back to the seller, "But what if I want an accordion that smells? What if I want a noisy, ski-slope-shaped keyboard and leaky bellows? Where do I go? Who do I turn too?" Only problem is that I know the seller would recognize my Ebay name and would probably post my message - he also has a very healthy sense of humor. And the final factor - everything you ever say on the internet is there forever. So the entire world might realize we are goof balls, or even take the comment seriously. Maybe the secret to getting that true accordion bargain is attacking that musty, mold-encrusted accordion with a bit of Febreze and WD-40.
But in line with a very rainy day and an inner-child that running rampant and unsupervised, my mind this morning has been coming up with all kinds of unanswered questions. For example,
Will an accordion float? If thrown into the ocean would it sink slowly, or plummet like an anchor to the bottom of the deepest crevice?
In light of this, has anyone ever thought of putting an inflatable air bag inside the bellows? When water is detected, the airbag inflates and the accordion would rise to the top?
And speaking of air bags, there are inflatable vests for equestrians and even motorcycle riders. A tether to the rider causes the bag to inflate. Could we have the same thing for our accordions? Should the straps break, or even if we drop it, the protective inflatable cover would inflate and it could be protected, even from the hardest surfaces.
I am sure many have heard of the Pageant of the Arts in Laguna Beach where actors recreate work of the great masters. It is actually more effective than it sounds (though I have never been, I have always heard that); and certainly bigger than life. Well speaking of bigger than life, how about the living musette accordion band. In a recent accordion band get together we were seriously cautioned about avoiding any registration with even the slightest suggestion of musette. Perhaps it is time to get over our fear and embrace the musette phenomenon. Put a beret on the conductor and go for it.
Should talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device while playing an accordion be banned?
Is it true there are plans for the digital display on the top of the Roland V-Accordion to double as a 3G phone in a future model? Will it include a blue tooth device that can be used through the accordion's internal speaker system?
And finally, who is that particularly attractive woman in the picture below today's blog?
A Night to Remember and the Mystery Guest, October 3, 2010, Sunday
The attached article about the 'mystery person' photo is from Gerry Kass, a lifelong friend and someone able to share very unique and personal stories of Julio Giulietti, the man and the Accordion Corp. His writing brings some wonderful insight about Julio in the final years (257 Park Avenue South) of the golden era.
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If you are curious, here's some background regarding the photo of myself--Gerry Kass, the "mystery woman"--Julio Giulietti and Maddelena Belfiore.
While studying music in New York City in 1968, my Giulietti 120 Bass was damaged in shipping from my home in California to New York. I took it to Giulietti Accordion Corporation at 257 Park Avenue South. Julio was on floor 12A because they wouldn't call any floor the 13th--due to bad luck superstitions. The accordion was repaired by Isauro Petromilli (Gus) who years later moved back to Italy.
After Julio learned a few things about me, my musical talents and my particular knowledge of music publishing, I was hired to work in the office. We became acquainted while having a very nice meal at a good restaurant across from nearby Gramercy Park.
Those were the days when Mark Rudd and numerous students at Columbia University had taken over one of the main buildings along Broadway at 116th Street, approximately.
I no longer remember their specific protest points but most likely they had to do either with some irrelevancies in university education or our involvement in Vietnam's ongoing revolutionary/civil war that involved the French and then the U.S. when France decided to let them have their country back. The U.S. disagreed and we stepped into the quicksand of a long war which we referred to as a conflict.
But I have strayed from the accordion story. My point was that after our meal and discussion, Julio didn't spend much time discussing politics with me but he knew that seating me on his "left" was appropriate.
Julio had my music typography equipment shipped from California and I sat in the office preparing music for him to publish and arranging for the printing of copies.
When Julio and his wife, Anita were out of the office, I would answer the phone and talk to the luminaries in Julio's accordion world. I may also have put the gilded serial number on your Giulietti accordion as that was an occasional task of mine when Isauro was otherwise occupied--but under his watchful eye so I wouldn't send the number all the way through the celluloid to the bare wood below.
One of the perks of the job was learning how to play the free bass while he and Anita tried to run the business over the sound of my practicing ten feet from the phones.
They experienced repetitive performances of a few Bach Inventions that I used to acquaint myself with the free bass note patterns. I would play the right hand part which I already knew, in both hands. It worked pretty well along with sight reading all kinds of other music as well as going through some of the U.S. and Canadian chromatic free bass method books that Julio either published under the Neofonic name or distributed.
Another advantage to working with Julio was that he was always traveling to one of the many accordion festival/competitions around the country.
One of those trips on which I was invited was to the Eastern Regional Championship (I believe that's what they called it.) I don't remember what city we were in or who won what award, but I remember standing near the bar as the "woman" in the picture strolled up to jazz accordionist Art Van Damme and tried to "pick him up".
Art was a bit flustered and upset as Julio persisted until Art finally realized who it was. Julio couldn't do much to disguise his distinctive voice and accent, though he tried. Soon, others realized what was going on and many were entertained by Julio's sense of humor.
But not all, however. Julio put on this performance-in-drag because he felt that many of these events he attended included people who were being stodgy and absorbed by their own self-importance rather than focusing on the fun that the young competitors were supposed to be having playing his favorite instrument. So, he conspired with Maddelena Belfiore, who provided Julio with the stylish outfit and makeup job illustrated in the photo.
I had a lot of fun working with Julio and Anita Giulietti during this time when the accordion, though waning in popularity, still had some strength left in it. The accordion industry was imploding from too many non-musical attitudes of many in the accordion community--attitudes that may still persist though the generations have changed.
Fortunately, I also had the pleasure of Julio's company on trips to Washington, D.C., Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Frankfurt, Munich and Milan.
Julio, HE was the real "trip".
Gerry Kass
A Language More Powerful Than Words, October 6, 2010
The weather is changing. Two weeks ago it was close to 100 degrees fahrenheit. This morning it is in the low 40's. During my years in New York, the heat came on and the pianos went out of tune. Thank goodness most of my gigging in those years was on electric organs or pianos. I remember one snowy Friday night negotiating my way into the officer's club with a Vox Continental combo organ. I slipped on some hidden ice and the organ went crashing down with me on top of it. I was lucky. I was only a few feet from the long flight of uncovered outdoor steps that led down to Benny's Tavern. I don't think the Vox would have made a good toboggan.
I have always been very cautious with my accordions. I play them hard, but try to avoid severe climate changes. I tuned my own pianos, so when it got to where I couldn't take it anymore I got out the tuning hammer, felt, and wedges. Typically, pianos stay in the same place. I have only known one person who actually schlepped his piano with him to casual gigs. But you can take your accordion with you. The good part; you always know what you will be playing. The bad part, it is exposed to the weather and climate changes. And while the effects of the weather changes might not be quite as severe on the accordion (at least at the onset), it is much more complicated to tune one.
For the last 25 years I have been extensively involved in motorcycle safety and how to reduce crashes and injury. Bottom line, motorcycling is an extremely high risk activity and the most effective way to reduce chance of injury is to avoid exposure. It is the same with my accordion. I need to minimize my accordion's exposure to damage or degradation of performance. Sometimes this is obvious, like not trusting the instrument to airline baggage service.
However, exposure to the elements can also represent risk. As a kid I remember playing on a foggy night, out-of-doors on an ocean pier for a city festival. I also remember playing at county fairs on the hottest of days in the direct sunlight; dirt and dust billowing all about me. These are examples of things I would avoid today. I am not saying my accordions are delicate - in fact, quite the opposite. As a kid I would completely wear out an accordion in 18-24 months - then I got my first Giulietti. The Giulietti just kept getting better the more I played it. The 6/3 dual system bassetti has also historically proven to be extremely durable. I recently had one on loan that was about 40 years old that had been ridden very hard and put away wet (another motorcycle expression). The bass mechanism still performed extremely well and had probably never been serviced.
Maybe all this concern reflects the appreciation I have gained over the years for an accordion as a musical instrument. There is a passion, there is a partnership, and there is a bond. It is something I never had with any of my pianos or electronic instruments. I name all my accordions. When I place one of them back in their case at the end of a practice session, that logo and the essence of that instrument stares back at me with an electricity I can feel. It speaks to me in a language more powerful than any words. It is like dancers at the end of a ballet class when they applaud their teacher. It is a sign of respect. It is also closure of an event that occurs in time.
Destruction of the Modern Accordion, October 8, 2010
When I returned to all this last summer, one of my first surprises was that 'converters' are now 3-row chromatic systems. It was something Giulietti did in the 1970's with the Transformer, but the new converters have a full free bass range and the true capability of using both systems at the same time. I tried a few of these, but the position felt foreign and I was soon off in my quest to find an original Giulietti Continental 6/3.
More than one person has told me the new converter mechanism is quite sensitive, and that a good physical jolt can 'jam' it. I have also been told by both manufacturer and performers they can be (are) very maintenance intensive. I heard that new instruments from Italy were sometimes jammed upon arrival. At the Galla-Rini competition one of the competitors was worried the evening before the final round because his left hand was jamming.
In contrast, the system used in the dual systems is extremely durable, more like the durability of a stradellaa. In all my early (pre 1978) years of of playing and travel, I never 'blocked' a bass machine. And my accordions, almost without exception, did air travel in the baggage compartment.
Listening to the repertoire selection of Galla-Rini competitors and also watching internet videos, I have also noticed various progressions that in more than one example are not dissimilar to a wonderful and humorous story Dick Contino tells in 'Behind the Bellows' where he describes the formula for accordion arrangements in the 1950's.
Carefully articulated triple bellows-shake are part of many arrangements and original composition. It was something that was rarely done in the 'old' days. One of my first teachers would chastise us for doing it as he said it was too hard on the instrument. But in 2010, there was even a part in the opening of one of the VP accordion band arrangements where we were told it should be articulated using a triple bellow-shake action.
Another current novelty is instrument manipulation (my term, don't actually know what it is called). This can be as innocent as use of the air button or go as far as banging the fist into the keyboard or forcing the bellows closed without playing notes and countless other creations in the middle. Given the size of some of the converters, I consider some of these more as physical fetes of strength than musical expression. I spoke with some audience members at the Galla-Rini competition who were nearly giddy with delight at the anticipation of the potential theatre afforded through these alternative methods. I don't share that excitement. To me, a little goes a long way. It makes me uncomfortable and/or I become rapidly bored. Depending on the severity I view it similar to motorcycle events where a Japanese bike would be chained up to a tree and people would take turns beating it to pieces with a sledge hammer. Or where there was a raffle on how long a motorcycle engine would continue to run with wide open throttle and no load.
But in regards to this particular blog, my question here is the juxtaposition of a bass mechanism that may be considered delicate to accordion manipulation that may be considered physically hard. And I really don't have any substantive experience on this topic - it is just one of those things that makes me go Hmmmmmm. I would be curious for some feedback - especially on the impact on the accordion.
Over the Waves and the Harley Davidson, October 14, 2010, Thursday
My dad rode motorcycles from his earliest years in high school until he was 80 years old. It started with an old motorcycle leaning against the wall in the back of the shop class at El Segundo High School. The teacher would tell the young boys that if they could get it started, they could ride it. The story continues a few years later when he got a delivery job for a local butcher. Because of the depression it was nearly impossible to get motorcycle tires so delivery motorcycle had been fitted with square-profile car tires. Cornering was potentially a terrifying experience. My dad was one of the only youths brave enough, and with the natural skill, to ride the bike.
The tales of motorcycle adventure my dad would tell were favorites for my brothers and me. We would listen in awe as we drove into the late hours of the night heading out for that perfect camping site on our yearly vacation to the redwoods. And that lure for motorcycles stayed with me.
Another fascination I had was cars. I loved driving them, I loved working on them. If they were fast and uncivilized, I loved them even more. I always wanted a Corvette, but I couldn't even start that topic of debate with my folks - and I came from a family that encouraged spirited debates on any topic. But they could see absolutely no value or purpose whatsoever for an over-powered, over-priced, unpractical, plastic, two-seat car. None. It didn't merit discussion.
So in the true spirit of youth, I got my first Corvette a few years after I had left home. Another passion was born. In short order I had acquired three of them and over the next few years rotated through about 18. But with the first home purchase, I couldn't afford house payments and Corvettes; my interest returned to motorcycles. They were more affordable, and easier to store during New York's winter months.
In the mid-80's, the Army started responding to increased motorcycle deaths with mandatory programs in motorcycle safety. I signed up as a volunteer to help in their efforts and my passion evolved into an avocation as I became a motorcycle instructor, chief instructor, a staff member at Motorcycle Safety Foundation, and finally segueing into positions with Department of the Navy and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It had turned into a career. For years, nearly every part of my working day involved motorcycles. I rode them. I taught people to ride them. I taught people how to teach people to ride them. I worked on countermeasures, studied statistics. And as time passed, my interest in pleasure riding decreased. Friends didn't understand why I didn't want to go out on a Saturday ride or why I was no longer interested in a new bike.
Many of my friends are professional musicians; some at the highest level. Performance is a craft, and they do it extremely well. But for many, the underlying passion has diminished, perhaps only a shadow of what it once was.
I watch a middle-aged man in the gym at work nearly every day practicing ballroom dance moves with an imaginary partner to imaginary music in the empty aerobics room. In the true sense of the word, he is the amateur. He loves what he is doing. Given the choice I am sure he would trade his work cube for the opportunity to enjoy dance with no time limitations. If only he had the opportunity to live the passion.
For now, I have that passion to play. And as skills improve, my ability to practice the craft returns - and that can is satisfying, maybe even more so than the passion. But like the man in the gym, I have the work cube. So the time I can devote to accordion is limited, and I want to get the most out of it. But I try to be careful that the need to get the most out of the available time doesn't become so frenetic that it replaces the enjoyment. Also, I am cautious about getting involved in organizations or activities that will take time away from playing.
If I had the choice, I would be playing rather than writing this blog, or writing in general. But it is not feasible to practice during my 90 minute ride in a commuter van. My co-riders would not approve. So rather than having a major resentment about the wasted time, I write my thoughts, or work on scores. It is a tradeoff, and for now, it is okay.
However, a final part to my motorcycle story. A couple days ago I posted a picture on facebook of Grannie (you would never dare call her Grandmother) standing behind two of my motorcycles. In one of my dad's motorcycle stories, he tells of coming home from college and noticing that she had scraped up her leg. He also noticed some new scratches on the side of his motorcycle which he had left in the garage. He said it took him several years to get her to admit she had been trying to ride the bike; which was a big challenge in the days when motorcycles had magnetos, adjustable spark advance, no electric starters, and suicide foot clutches with tank shift. I was equally shocked one day in her later years when I discovered Grannie played piano. I was in the kitchen and heard Over-The-Waves coming from the living room. I never knew she could play a note. I wonder if she ever tried one of the accordions?
A Great Musician, a Great Visionary, October 18, 2010
I have written at great length in both Anecdotes and this blog about people - not with historical facts and dates, but with personal stories. What they were like, how they influenced me and the role they played in the accordion.
Yesterday at a performance for the Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society (WMAS) I got to see one of the accordion's great visionaries and an old friend - Mort Herold. It was around 1962 when I first met Mort. It was at one of the National accordion events which in those days were often scheduled at the same time as the National Association of Musical Merchants (NAMM) shows.
In the early 1960's, free bassetti was something new and the accordion elders of the day displayed several different free-bass attitudes. There were those with little interest in a free bass instrument - the stradella adequately met their musical needs. There were those who embraced the concept and applied their talents to the instrument; composing, teaching, or arranging. But they never actually picked one up and played it. Tito gave the instrument some wonderful original compositions and jazz arrangements and was enormously successful in bringing new sonorities from the instrument. Galla-Rini wrote and arranged for free bassetti. But they never played it. Mort fits into a third group. He embraced it, but he also played it. He started a dialogue with Julio Giulietti at the start on musical and technical improvements to the instrument that continued for years. Oakley Yale was another person in this group. If one Hohner Morino was good, two were better, and he played them with great enthusiasm. Carl Hane was another. They weren't going to sit back and watch the kids have all the fun - they were eager to strap one on and explore for themselves. Such actions shouldn't be considered good or bad, they just reflect different personalities. And it doesn't correlate with the lasting contributions in terms of music or arrangements.
Mort was the MC for the annual Giulietti Concerts. They happened in or around the NAMM show and the AAA and ATG activities - often late at night event after everything else was done. They were packed and they weren't to be missed. In retrospect, it was probably some of the best experience and opportunity to network I ever had. It was also a chance for the youth of the day to capture some of the magic of people like Mort.
With Julio it was about his players and the accordions. He was one of the most charismatic and approachable people I have ever known. But at performance time, the accordions and players were always center stage. He was the proud parent sitting in the back of the room - always thinking of ways to improve the instrument.
Mort Herold brought not only brilliant musicianship but also a wonderful energy to the accordion world. One of my favorite descriptions is from an article in Accordion World, "Herold displays such a profound mastery of the accordion that me makes the most difficult passages seem easy, the mark of a real virtuoso! His stage presence is easy, assured, yet modest. He affects no artificial mannerisms. He is a musician's musician!"
Thanks Mort!
Old Dog, New Tricks, October 19, 2010
When I was quite young, I traded an organ for a piano. Though I was heavily immersed in my accordion I knew very little about pianos and had almost no interest in even goofing around on one. Accordion met all my musical needs.
It was a Kimball spinet. Though not much of a piano, it was a better decorating accent for my parent's living room than the Connsonata organ it replaced. Many pianos end up being furniture, rarely being played - except for the occasional banging by an unsupervised toddler or drunk party guest.
Looking back all those years, I now realize the Kimball had a ridiculously stiff action. Not heavy, but stiff. It was like a weight machine at the gym that needs to be lubricated. Even though I had a lot of accordion technique as a pre-teen, I didn't have the power in my hands that would have been required to play even the simplest pieces on the Kimball, so it was rarely played. But it still was a great piece of furniture; a nice resting place for a lamp and a flower arrangement.
A few years later in my first year of college, I started studying piano. The Kimball was soon replaced with a small grand. The grand was purchased from the technician who maintained the pianos at school, and was much easier to play. But it didn't take long to realize that all pianos are not created equal. The action was not stiff, but it was almost impossible to play anything less than a mezzo piano. The Hamiltons in the practice rooms had been beat to death, everything was loose, and everything was loud - really loud. The Baldwins in the piano classroom were stodgy; quite typical of Baldwins from that era.
So I came to a practical realization that one of the challenges of playing piano was the ability to deal with different instruments. And the differences, even at the upper strata of concert instruments, are significant.
Over the next 40 years I got used to dealing with the differences in pianos, but it was always something I was never entirely comfortable with. Like walking into a lesson, wondering how my Chopin Etude would survive when played cold on Edith's Steinway. Or walking onto a stage, facing a piano I had never played. It was the opposite of the security from always having one's own accordion. With the accordion, the worst I might have to worry about was an exceptionally dead room or being too cold or hot.
But real pianists deal with all this in stride. It is part of them from day one. They might complain, but they survive. Sometimes they will also practice on instruments that need a lot of regulation, or are seriously out of tune. It doesn't bother them. They just bang away - and with the really good players, you generally aren't distracted by the instruments shortcomings, unless there is something really bad.
For the second time in my accordion career, I actually have more than one accordion. And unlike the first time I ever had two accordions, they are different. The first time, they were as near identical as possible - that's the reason I got the second one as a backup. But now, General Bill is an 70+ year old Excelsior. Fabian and Elizabeth are dual system Giulietti Supers from the 1980's. And Sebastian, the Giulietti Classic 127, is new. The accordions are really different.
So I continue trying to develop the ability to switch between instruments maintaining an acceptable level of performance - to be able to put one accordion down after a number and pick up another one and continue without a period of adjustment. I did exactly that for the first time yesterday in my performance for WMAS. I see many of the younger players do it in Europe - so it is obviously part of their kinesthetic skill. So the question for me now, can an old dog learn a new trick? Maybe my piano experience will translate. I have written about this before, but once again, it is my challenge for today.
So Are You Ready to Play Tonight? October 25, 2010
I have had great fun for the last several weeks following the Roland International V-Accordion Competition and the Coupe on the Internet. I can be in Rome or Croatia while sitting at my computer screen; and I don't have to deal with international air travel, passports, customs, time zones and all that other stuff.
There is both an excitement and also a curiosity to all this. The excitement comes from personal memories of past competitions. You wait in anticipation to play, you play, you wait for results, and then you go home. The curiosity comes from the changes over the past 35 years. There was no V-Accordion in the 1960's and the major musical instrument manufacturers didn't sponsor international competitions. There weren't screens projecting images while you played nor were there any professional mistresses-of-ceremonies. The Coupe was a single category - winner-take-all. There was no prize money, just gold, silver and bronze medals. Now there are multiple categories to even include digital accordion and entertainment. And who could overlook the World Accordion Orchestra. My first thoughts when I heard of the multiple categories - a way to give more people an opportunity to participate; akin to categories offering prizes for everyone who participated rather than a strict first, second and third. But on more thought it might be better seen as a reflection accommodating the instrument's versatility.
Youtube and the Internet have let me follow the careers of some of the current competitors, and I had the opportunity to hear some excellent performances at last summer's Galla-Rini Competition. Literally anyone with a computer can stay involved with all of it at some level.
It is also interesting that players win multiple categories in a given year. Maybe this indicates the competition on its own accord is returning to a winner-take-all attitude. Something like So You Think You Can Dance where competitors show they can master any style. The most difficult thing would be to turn back their age so they could compete in both regular and junior categories.
My congratulations to each and every one of the winners and to the competitors. Over the years I experienced both your excitement and disappointment. But certainly one of my favorite memories was when I would be waiting for the results and one of the competition officials or my teacher would come up to me and ask, "So are you ready to play tonight?"
I am also waiting for the addition of the Entertainment, International Button Piano, and V-Piano categories to the Van Cliburn competition. And lest I forget, the World Piano Orchestra!
On the Van Again, November 4, 2010
I have been preparing for a performance this Saturday night with the West Point Alumni Glee Club. It will be the first performance with General Bill; the 1938 Excelsior Rocker Switch that followed General William Knowlton throughout his career.
The practicing has settled into a groove. I mix it up between instruments and also with what I practice. I have finally started using some of the bassetti drills that I was using toward the end in 1978. These include a juxtaposition of strict diatonic fingering in the right hand with a rigid left hand 'facilitation' fingering. It sounds more complicated than it actually is. In reality it forces intense concentration - first because of the differences in keyboards, and second because of a deliberate use of non-standard and unrelated fingering between the hands. A true benchmark of true familiarity with the keyboards is realized as the facilitation becomes easier. It is also a good way to lock-in the concentration required for playing after a day of dealing with non-music tasks.
Saturday night will be a short performance. I am providing the interlude for the singers to give their voices a break. I played a solo accordion recital at the same venue about 11 months ago. The acoustics are superb; I am looking forward to the evening. Now I just need to decide what I am going to play.
General Bill, November 7, 2010
I did a performance last night providing the musical interlude for a concert of the West Point Alumni Glee Club. It was a special night for several reasons.
To start, this was the 'return' performance for General Bill; the 1938 Excelsior Rocker Switch accordion that belonged to General William Knowlton. General Knowlton was the Superintendent at the United States Military Academy when I first reported there in 1969. He purchased the accordion in 1938 from Conn Music in Boston right before entering West Point as a Cadet and the instrument accompanied him throughout his career. I am now the curator for the General Bill, who is on loan from the Knowlton family. Another interesting side-bar is that Julio Giulietti did a restoration in his New York shop of General Bill in the early 1970's. And finally, Mrs. Knowlton (General Knowlton's wife) and the accordion were primary influences in my return to playing.
I played a full solo program at Lake of the Woods Church last year. It is a great venue with superb acoustics and state-of-the-art technical capabilities. I was most anxious to return. I was the founding conductor of the West Point Alumni Glee Club and had a chance to guest conduct at the end of the program. Many of the WPAGC members were cadets when I conducted the West Point Glee Club, it is always great to see them once again.
But the real highlight of the evening for me was the reaction to the instrument from an entirely non-accordion audience - especially the younger members - ones in an age category who 30 years ago would have ridiculed the instrument unmercifully. Several told me they had never heard an accordion played live, and there was nothing apologetic or shy about their enthusiasm. Therein lays the return of the accordion to this country!
