Initiated as early as 2008 by ECM Records founder and producer Manfred Eicher, the Jean-Louis Matinier and Marco Ambrosini duo introduces the rare encounter between the accordion, a modern free reed instrument that has been widely adopted by many folk and popular traditions around the world and the nyckelharpa, the keyed fiddle ... [Continue Reading]
accordion
Brendan Begley & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh: A Moment of Madness
Follow your heart: a moment of madness is better than a life of logic. Brendan Begley Traditional Irish musicians or dancers will know that certain tunes - old or new - are so expertly crafted and follow such an implacable logic that it is sometimes very difficult to escape their circular and intoxicating flow. Released in 2010 ... [Continue Reading]
Winston McAnuff & Fixi: A New Day
Since 2006, veteran Jamaican singer songwriter Winston McAnuff (b. 1957) and French musician and producer François-Xavier Bossard (aka Fixi) have established a rare yet splendid musical partnership which sees the duo fuse roots reggae music with accordion-based French-style “musette”. Initially released in September 2013 to ... [Continue Reading]
Peirani & Parisien Duo Art: Belle Époque
Accordion and soprano saxophone might sound like an unusual pairing, but as two reed instruments they complement each other to perfection. Following in the footsteps of Richard Galliano and Michel Portal who revisited the Tango and World Jazz repertoire with the same instruments on two seminal albums (Blow Up in 1997 and ... [Continue Reading]
Dom la Nena: Ela
Instantly adding to the canon of poems and songs in Spanish dealing with exile and the constant dream for a return home, "Golondrina" (the swallow) is an original composition by the-then-24 year old Brazilian singer songwriter Dom la Nena. The title track of her November 2013 EP Golondrina is also an apt metaphor for the ... [Continue Reading]
Anouar Brahem: Le Pas du Chat Noir
Introducing Le Pas du Chat Noir (2002), Tunisian oud master and composer Anouar Bahem notes that the music on the record emerged as A tempo passed on to me by the movement of a tree I could see from my window, swaying gently in the breeze. Anouar Brahem – Liner notes Since then, I have come to associate Anouar ... [Continue Reading]