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The perfect present for any accordion enthusiast!!

By popular request - another celebration of the accordion & its close relatives in Great Britain and Ireland…with a look at the wider international picture. 200+ new and archive articles plus 250 photographs and pictures. This is reference book includes such articles as:-

An A to Z of the Accordion, Volume 2 presents a varied selection of articles, such as: Accordions Worldwide; The Story of the Accordion Bands; Accordion Heritage; Accordion - Button or Piano?; Accordions in the Cinema; Accordion Tales & Trivia; The Art of Accompaniment; Bellows Control; Bellows Shake; British Chromatic Accordion; Diatonics & Dancing; English Country Dance Playing; French Musette Stars, Past & Present; Gerald Crossman meets Frosini; Harmonicas & Popular Music in the 1960s; A History of the Accordion Magazines; Humour; Inside Your Accordion; Instrument Reviews; Ireland's Accordion Heritage; A History of the Concertina; Landmark Recordings; Looking After Your Accordion; Memorising; Memory Lane; Musette & Java; The Mystique of Maigret; Playing for Scottish Country Dancing; Roland V Accordion; Scottish Scene; Some Hints On Sight Reading; Tango; Technique; Tollefsen's Last UK Appearance, A Tribute to Graham Romani, UK Accordionists; World Champions; World War Two and Yesteryear…plus much more.
The Story of the Accordion Bands - This article traces the development of the accordion bands, both amateur and professional, in Great Britain from the late 1920s to the present time.

Accordion Heritage - Filling in some of the details about the accordion's story since 1829.

Accordion - Button or Piano? - Lists of the standard arguments about the merits of Continental button and piano accordions.

Accordions in the Cinema - A bit of trivia! Films where accordionists are featured.

Accordion Tales & Trivia - Stories of various accordionists, including contributions from Johnny Coleclough, Dermot O'Brien, Gary Blair, Mike O'Regan, and the 'memoirs' of Jack Emblow.

The Art of Accompaniment - An archive article written by Gerald Crossman.

Bellows Control - Advice from Rosemary Wright, leading teacher and concert accordionist.

British Chromatic Accordion - A unique article, written by folk music legend John Kirkpatrick, about learning the BCC# button accordion - the system played by the great Sir Jimmy Shand.

Diatonics & Dancing - Written by John Kirkpatrick, this article explores the use of melodeons and the Anglo concertina in playing for country dancing.

English Country Dance Playing - An article about playing for country dancing.

Famous People who have also played the accordion or related instruments, including Fred Astaire, Kenny Baker, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Jerry Gray, Evelyn Glennie, etc. Some more trivia!

French Musette Stars, Past & Present - A chronological list of many of the leading names in the world of French musette, from Emile Vacher to the present time.

Gerald Crossman meets Frosini - An archive article, written by the still active Gerald Crossman, about his meeting in New York with the legendary Pietro Frosini in 1950.

Harmonicas & Popular Music in the 1960s - A look at the prolific use of harmonicas in pop and folk music during the 1960s.

A History of the Accordion Magazines - This article traces the story of the accordion magazines, from the publication of the Accordion Times in 1935 up to the present time.

Humour - A few jokes, plus a poem (written by Adrienne Sharpe) about the terrors of playing in public, and a tongue-in-cheek piece of advice about learning to play the accordion.

Inside Your Accordion - An illustrated archive article, written by the late Francis Wright, that explains the inner workings of an accordion.

Instrument Reviews - Independent appraisals of five modern accordions, written by their owners - Rob Howard, John Baraneck, Mike O'Regan, Gordon Glenn and Derek Pritchard.

International Stars of the Accordion - pictures of some well known overseas accordionmists

Ireland's Accordion Heritage - Brief details of many leading Irish accordionists, past and present.

A History of the Concertina - From 1829 onwards…

Landmark Recordings - This article features a selection of recordings, representing different genres, that were significant in the artiste's career for various reasons.

Looking After Your Accordion - Tips for keeping your accordion in excellent condition.

Memorising - Some advice for learning how to memorise music.

Memory Lane - This is a random set of photographs from different times and places.

Musette & Java - An updated archive article, written by Gerald Crossman, tracing the origins and later development of the French musette style.

The Mystique of Maigret - Another article with a distinctly French flavour that looks at the fictional detective on TV screens, and the music associated with the programmes.

Playing for Scottish Country Dancing - A unique article, written by John Trigg - a practising accompanist, about how to play for Scottish Country Dancing.

Scottish Scene - Brief details of many leading Scottish accordion personalities, past and present.

A Tribute to Sir Jimmy Shand - A pictorial tribute to the most famous Scotsman of the 20th C.

Tango - An article that provides an in-depth look at how the tango has developed, from its origins in Argentina in the late 19th Century to the current Nuevo Tango of Astor Piazzolla.

Technique - An archive article, written by Charles Camilleri, offering advice about improving playing technique.

Tollefsen's Last UK Appearance - A review of the last UK concert given by the late, great Toralf Tollefsen on Saturday May 7th 1988.

A Tribute to Graham Romani - Accordionist, archivist and artist Graham Romani had an exceptional knowledge, which he shared with readers of the Accordion Times through his prolific writing for several decades. A self-illustrated history of the accordion is reproduced here, originally issued in serialised form over a couple of years.

UK Accordionists - Photographs of a few well-known British accordion players.

World Champions - This is an article about the world accordion championships, followed by lists of the CIA and CMA solo champions through the years.

World War Two - Written by Francis Wright, this article tells of his experiences during the Allied occupation of Castelfidardo, Italy, in 1944/45.

Yesteryear - This article is a random series of photographs, illustrations and archive magazine articles that take the reader back in time, no matter how young you might be.
Biographies include: -

Bruno, Claudio, Emilio and Umberto Allodi - two generations of a great accordion family.

Ken Astin - professional accordionist and organist, from Blackpool.

Tom Alexander - accordion playing half of The Alexander Brothers duo.

Harriet Bartlett - teenage accordionist/vocalist, popular in folk clubs and festivals.

George Barton - leading post-war player and teacher, remembered for his fine compositions.

Alan Bell - singer, composer, English concertina player and Fylde Folk Festival organiser.

David Bowen - Scottish dance bandleader and full time accordion teacher.

Joe Burke - Irish two-row button accordion legend.

Giancarlo Caporilli - virtuoso accordionist, from Rome, Italy - a favourite at Caister and Pakefield.

Paul Chamberlain - Scottish-born solo and dance band accordionist; also a fine composer.

Bernadette Conlon - blind virtuoso accordionist, from Melbourne, Australia.

James Crabb - Scottish-born, internationally acclaimed virtuoso.

Dean Crouch - World Champion Irish dancer turned accordionist.

Matt Cunningham - Irish 3-row button accordionist, dance musician and recording artiste.

Luke Daniels - BBC award winner and an outstanding player of the diatonic two row accordion.

Mick Edwards - prolific recording artiste, well known to the public in Llandudno in Wales.

Shirley Evans - accordionist who appeared in the Beatles film Magical Mystery Tour.

Bobby Crowe - legendary Scottish dance band leader.

Mick Foster - accordion playing half of the famous duo Foster & Allen.

Geraldo - pre-war accordion band MD, and famous musical personality.

Conway Graves - one of the 'founding fathers' of the British accordion movement.

Desmond A. Hart - pre and post war organiser/teacher; editor of the World Accordion Review.

George Harris - post-war teacher, BCA examiner, NAO organiser and adjudicator.

Alan Helm - German accordion orchestra MD, and a popular visitor to Britain up to the 1960s.

Alan Helm - present day Scottish accordionist and member of the Teesside Fettlers folk group.

Edward Hession - All-Britain Virtuoso Champion and leading professional player.

Harley Jones - virtuoso accordionist from New Zealand; founder of Accordions Worldwide.

Jim Johnstone - one of the great Scottish dance bandleaders.

Lisa-Lee Leslie - rising star solo accordionist, from London.

Roman Mondryk - professional accordionist.

Eddie Moors - accordion teacher, BCA examiner, NAO adjudicator and organiser.

Jenny Neal - highly accomplished orchestra MD, from Colchester.

Eamonn O'Neal - radio and television personality…and accordionist.

Gordom Pattullo - Scottish accordionist and recording artiste.

Sam Pirt - charismatic accordionist and rising star of the folk scene.

David Price - popular accordionist and organiser of Leicester Accordion Club.

Andrew Rankine - Scottish accordionist and bandleader, immortalised by his compositions.

James Reavey - first British-born World Accordion Champion, in 1953.

Frank Skilton - another of the British accordion movement's 'founding fathers'.

John Romero - professional accordionist; organiser of the Eastbourne Accordion Festival.

Peter Soave - American concert artiste, and both CIA and CMA World Champion.

Paolo Soprani - innovative Italian accordion manufacturer.

James Stewart - Hollywood movie legend and accordionist.

Robert Thorn - rising star solo accordionist, from Yorkshire.

Art Van Damme - legendary American jazz accordionist.

Charles Wheatstone - inventor of the English concertina.

Colin Whitfield - long serving accordion orchestra MD and NAO officer.
Stockport Accordion Club Newsletter November/December 2005

President: Johnny Coleclough Vice Presidents: John Nixon and Walter Perrie SAC meets every Tuesday at the St John Ambulance Brigade HQ, Edgeley Road, Cheadle Heath, Stockport (Junctions 1 or 2, M60). MDs: Brian Jenkins (SAC Orchestra) & Peter Whiteley (SAC Band). Website: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/accordion

On Tuesday November 22nd, our Club Night guest is Lisa-Lee Leslie, from London. Lisa plays the Continental button accordion, and uses two instruments - straight and musette tuned. She has been making quite a reputation for herself this year around the country, both for her performances in accordion clubs and for playing in theatre productions. I confidently predict that we are in for a brilliant evening! As always, the concert begins at 8pm, and we will need support players - so please bring your accordion and play for us.

Those of you that attended the October Club Night cannot fail to have been impressed by the spirited playing and very accurate technique of Deirdre Adamson. Her Scottish selections and accordion specialities e.g. Magic Fingers, Bourrasque, Alpine Slopes and King Cotton were a real treat, and also an education. I think I shall definitely have to get some practice in!

A lot of us are going to the Caister Accordion Festival, November 10th to 14th, and SAC is providing many of the workshop leaders (Adrienne, Brian, Johnny and Peter). If you have never been to an accordion festival, you have been missing out as they are such good fun.

My new book An A to Z of the Accordion & related instruments, Volume 2 should be available in mid-November, and will be on sale at the next Club Night on Nov 22nd. This book is a sequel to the first one (please note: not a second edition, re-write or re-hash!!) and contains completely new material. The 200+ articles include contributions from Charles Camilleri, Gerald Crossman, Dave Davani, Jack Emblow, Shirley Evans, John Kirkpatrick, John Trigg, Francis Wright and Rosemary Wright. There are also lots of biographies, and the whole package offers a very good read. The book also includes some special features trawled from the archives of the old accordion magazines, such as Janusz Zukowski Wins The Virtuoso Title. See overleaf for further details. Writing the book was a real pleasure, but also very hard graft, and my brain and fingers have now just about reached meltdown! There are so many people to thank, especially my Marj for the proofreading, and Tony Wynroe for his photographic skills. The cost is £15 (+ £4 p/p), and the book should make the perfect present for anyone with an interest in the accordion. My address is 42 Avondale Road, Edgeley, Stockport SK3 9NY.

We have a special Club Night on Tuesday December 13th, when our Band & Orchestra will play Christmas and other music. This is an unofficial Christmas Party for all our loyal supporters - admission and refreshments are free. Hope you'll all turn up in festive mood.

The 'official' SAC Christmas Party takes place on December 20th, 7 for 7.30pm. Due to catering considerations, this is strictly for playing members and invited guests only - £6 each, pay Dot by November 30th. Be sure to have your party pieces ready - see Adrienne.

The NAO North West Festival takes place at The Marine Hall, Fleetwood, on Sunday November 27th, from 9am onwards; tel Gina Brannelli on 01253 778 764 for furthers info.

The first Club Night guest of 2006 is Mauro Carra (Italy), on Tuesday January 24th.

Our club has recently been touched by two terrible tragedies. In October, Andre Donze lost his granddaughter, who was 16 years old, to meningitis. This was followed by the suicide of Ray Peacock's son, Daniel. Ray was (and still is) recovering from a mild heart attack, and has been hit hard by events. At times like this, we must rally round and offer what support we can. Please remember these families in your thoughts and prayers. R.I.P.


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