Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ray Miller And His Orchestra: Angry
2. Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra: Terrific Stomp
3. Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra: Let's Get It
4. Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra: Moten Blues
5. The Cellar Boys: Barrel House Stomp
6. Cornell Smelser And His Orchestra: Collegiate Loves
7. Cornell Smelser And His Orchestra: Accordion Joe
8. The Jungle Band: Double Check Stomp
9. The Jungle Band: Accordion Joe
10. Guerino Et Son Orchestre Musette De La Boite A Matelots: Brise Napolitaine
11. Michel Warlop Et Son Orchestre: Strange Harmony
12. Michel Warlop Et Son Orchestre: Serenade
13. Michel Warlop Et Son Orchestre: Ca Me Tracasse (Double Trouble)
14. Emil Hot Five: Eves La Mas Guapa (Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen)
15. Kamil Behounek Hot Harmonica: Choo Choo (Shoo-Shoo Baby)
16. Kamil Behounek: Moanin'
17. Kamil Behounek: Sugesce (Suggestion)
18. Tito & His Swingtette: Stuff And Things
19. Ramblers Orkesteri Klaus Salmen Johdolla: Unelmissain Oot Mun (You Can't Stop Me From Dreaming)
20. Gus Viseur's Music: It Had To Be You
21. Gus Viseur's Music: Swing Cocktail
22. Gus Viseur's Music:
23. L'accordeoniste Gus Viseur Et L'orchestre Victor: Whispering
24. Gus Viseur Et Son Orchestre: I've Got Rhythm
25. Gus Viseur Et Son Orchestre: Swing Valse

Disc 2:

1. Gus Viseur Et Son Orchestre: Tiger Rag
2. Gus Viseur Et Son Orchestre: Swing 42
3. Louis Richard Day's Accordeon Swing Quartet: Coquette
4. George Shearing: Squeezin' The Blues
5. Tony Murena Et Son Orchestre: Begin The Beguine
6. Tony Murena Et Son Ensemble Swing: Christopher Columbus
7. Tony Murena Et Son Ensemble Swing: Quartier Chinois (Chinatown)
8. Tony Murena Et Son Ensemble Swing: Flots Bleus
9. Tony Murena Et Son Ensemble: Cafe Au Lait
10. Le Quartette Swing Emile Carrara: Dans L'ambiance (In The Mood)
11. Le Quartette Swing Emile Carrara: Les Yeux Noirs
12. Le Quartette Swing Emile Carrara: Alabamy Bound
13. Le Quartette Swing Emile Carrara: Chansons Paienne
14. Le Quartette Swing Emile Carrara: Jeepers, Creepers
15. Le Quartette Swing Emile Carrara: Le Charmeur Des Serpents
16. Willie Lewis Presents: Avalon
17. Frans Wouters En Zyn Dansorkest: Polydor Rhythme
18. Frans Wouters En Zyn Dansorkest: Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jyde
19. Roger Etlens Et Son Ensemble: Swing Guitare
20. Jerry Thomas Swingtette: Wabash Blues
21. Radics Gabor Jazz: Egvuttese - Buvos Hegedu (Magic Violin)
22. Charles Verstraete: Boogie Woogie
23. Charles Verstraete & Son Ensemble: Honeysuckle Rose
24. Lill-Arnes Svang-Gang: Plinke Plonke
25. Hubert Simplisse Et Son Ensemble: Simplicites

Disc 3:

1. Washington Bertolin's Swing Sextet: Swinging The Quick Rhythm
2. Rolf Syversen Og Ans Solister: Rytmefeber (Rhythm Fever)
3. Joe Mooney Quartet: September Song
4. Joe Mooney Quartet: Just A Gigolo
5. Joe Mooney Quartet: Tea For Two
6. Joe Mooney Quartet: Warm Kiss And A Cold Heart
7. Joe Mooney Quartet: Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
8. Joe Mooney Quartet: From Monday On
9. Joe Mooney Quartet: A Man With One Million Dollars
10. Joe Mooney Quartet:
11. Joe Mooney Quartet:
12. Joe Mooney Quartet:
13. Benny Goodman Quintet: Fine And Dandy
14. Benny Goodman Sextet: How High The Moon
15. Quintet Johnny Meyer: Candy
16. Quintet Johnny Meyer: Ain't She Sweet
17. Quintet Johnny Meyer: I Got Rhythm
18. Quintet Johnny Meyer: Blue Skies
19. Quintet Johnny Meyer: Rosetta
20. Quintet Johnny Meyer: Rebop Continental
21. Quintet Johnny Meyer: Indian Love Call
22. Quintet Johnny Meyer: Honeysuckle Rose
23. George Shearing Quintet: Cherokee
24. George Shearing Quintet: Four Bars Short
25. George Shearing Quintet: Good To The Last Bop
26. Harry James And His Orchestra: Ruby

Disc 4:

1. Tito Burns And His Sextet: Johnny Come Lately
2. Tito Burns And His Sextet: East Of Suez
3. Tito Burns And His Sextet: Somebody Loves Me
4. Tito Burns And His Sextet: Everloving Blues
5. Tito Burns And His Sextet: A Lesson In Bop
6. Tito Burns And His Sextet: Festival Hall
7. Art Van Damme: Carioca
8. Art Van Damme: Lullaby Of Broadway
9. Art Van Damme: Ol'man River
10. Art Van Damme: Deep Night
11. Art Van Damme: Let's Fall In Love
12. Art Van Damme: Blue Lou
13. Art Van Damme: Let Yourself Down
14. Art Van Damme: It's Easy To Remember
15. Art Van Damme: Madame Van Damme
16. Mat Mathews: As Time Goes By
17. Mat Mathews: I Only Have Eyes For You
18. Mat Mathews: Later On
19. Mat Mathews: The Puritan
20. Mat Mathews: How Deep Is The Ocean ?
21. Mat Mathews: What A Difference A Day Made
22. Mat Mathews: Not So Sleepy
23. Mat Mathews: Knights At The Castle
24. Mat Mathews: Now See How You Are
25. Mat Mathews: Summertime

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127937 in Music
• Released on: 2006-11-06
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Import

Album Description
This 101 track, 4CD survey reveals the importance of the contribution the accordion made to the history of jazz. Distinguished jazz artists such as George Shearing, Harry James and Bennie Moten either played or included an accordion player in their orchestras.

Customer Reviews

You'll be surprised . . .
I know what you're thinking -- accordions, the amateur hour, and terminal geekiness.

I thought the same thing, which is why I avoided buying this for a long time despite a policy of buying most of the Proper Box sets. Then I saw it marked down at Half Price Books on a day I was flush with cash, so I went ahead and bought it. Smart move.

Disc one opens in the US in 1929-30 with pop and jazz cuts. The pop cuts are more or less what you'd expect, fairly interesting if you like 1920s pop. The jazz cuts are better--Bennie Moten and, of all people, Duke Ellington. How can you go wrong? Then things really get interesting.

The rest of disc one and all of disc two move to Europe in the 1930s and during WWII. If you're familiar with Django Reinhardt, you know the territory--swing with violins and guitars, occasionally mixed with musette and gypsies. Most of the music is first rate, and there's some hellaciously good instrumental work along the way. Many of the groups are French, but there's groups from Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Norway, and Spain, too. Many of the recordings were made sub rosa during the Nazi occupation and are a fascinating piece of history.

Disc three finishes off the war years, then moves to some of the best music on the set--the Joe Mooney Quartet and the Quintet Johnny Meyer. Despite an aversion to late 40s/early 50s pre-rock pop, Joe Mooney won me over. He played stuff that went down easy with the record buying public, but it melded bop harmonies, perfect arranging, a sense of humor, and superb swing into a whole that's impossible to dislike. Johnny Meyer, from the Netherlands, is the best accordionist I've ever heard. He's tasty, technically awesome, and has fingers faster than I can think. The whole set is worth buying just for Mooney and Meyer. Disc three also includes a couple of nice live Benny Goodman cuts and some decent George Shearing . . . plus one oddball late hit from the Harry James Orchestra with accordion.

I've only heard disc four once so far. Tito Burns is a sextet that sounds bigger, more or less in line with the Charlie Ventura "bop for the people" project. I can take or leave it. Art van Damme is good cocktail jazz, but cocktail jazz nevertheless. The high spot of disc four is Mat Matthews, in company with such folks as Julius Watkins, Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Clarke, Herbie Mann, Art Farmer, and Gigi Gryce. Those names alone should tell you that what you'll hear is first rate.

I wasn't expecting to like this much, and I was pleasantly surprised. Okay, it's not essential to your jazz collection. But if you like the Django Reinhardt/Stephan Grappelli sound, if you're curious about what was going on in Europe in that era, or if you just want to hear some good stuff that you won't get anywhere else, this is for you.