S q u e e z y t u n e s

Edith Piaf - L'Accordeoniste

Hello everyone, I've been on holiday again. It will take me a little while to recover from the long flight but here's a little video of Edith Piaf performing L'Accordeoniste in 1954.

The Bob Cats

This is The Bob Cats playing some vintage New Orleans style jazz in 1951. The tune is "Who's Sorry Now".

Melodeon Making 2007

The traditional accordion of choice where I live is the melodeon,  a diatonic button accordion which I believe is unisonoric too. I'm not sure because I've never actually played one.

I've just learnt that there's going to be a melodeon making course in March. I was quite tempted by this as I would love to know more the insides of accordions. Unfortunately I don't really have the skills. One day maybe...

Link: Melodeon Marking Course

Piano Melodico

This may look like some kind of printing press but it's actually a Piano Melodico. Invented by Giovanni Racca from Italy they were made between the late 1800s up to about 1920-5. One of the problems of music boxes which use barrels or disks to contain the music is that the music will only last one turn of the barrel or disk. This limits them to playing only short tunes. The music for a Melodico though was contained in a book of folded cardboard with punched holes marking the notes. This meant that longer pieces of music could successfully be played.

Link: More information about Piano Melodicos on this wonderful museum site

Ella Fitzgerald & Oscar Peterson

This clip is from a 1958 concert. We see and hear the Oscar Peterson trio with Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar. They perform together with Ella Fitzgerald, with solos of violinist Stuff Smith and trumpetplayer Roy Eldridge.