J'aime Paris

[maugein96]

This one fooled me completely.

Whilst browsing You Tube, as I am prone to do, I came across this track, which I was going to post as one of the best examples of French musette Id heard in a long time from a player I had heard of, but never actually listened to. I do prefer up-tempo stuff like this over the old slower moving three voice classics, and had decided the player was like a fusion of Gus Viseur and Daniel Colin, two French musette greats, even although one was Belgian and the other one comes from the border with Switzerland!

The accompanying still photos evoked everything Parisian, and you could almost smell the Gauloises cigarettes and taste the absinthe. The name of the player, Athos Bassissi gives away his Italian ancestry, and I just assumed he was one of many French players from an Italian background. Turns out he is one of those players from Emilia Romagna that I keep raving about, who is able to play French musette with hardly a trace of an Italian accent. Mauro Carra, and one or two others can do the same, but this guy had so so far eluded me.

So here is the track for those of you who may appreciate it. You dont have to be French to tackle French musette, and you dont really have to worry about musette tuning either, unless that is your wont.

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Here he is in in Italian mode (love the hair!). Check out his sistema francese Ballone Burini box, with rear mounted couplers, typical of accordionists from Emilia Romagna. The box is built to French spec except for the bellows straps (French instruments dont usually have them).

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[Howie]

Thanks for that, now I have another artist to explore. I've got a tidal subscription which is great for trying out lots of music. He has over 20 albums there.

I'm a fan of french musette, and spend time looking for more to listen to. I've learned one or two pieces and aim to learn more, mostly from the Beuscher succes collections.

I'd like to hear album recommendations from you, perhaps start a different thread?

 

[Glenn]

Superb musette.
Sounds so cool and authentic with guitar.
Glad to be he's playing a Ballone Burini

 

[maugein96]

Glenn,

I think he actually plays a Cavagnolo Vedette in the French clip, as the track is screaming Cavagnolo at me, although I have always been fond of Ballone Burini. Built like tanks with a great sound.

Howie,

Over the years I have probably listened to thousands of French musette players, and can thoroughly recommend the Paul Beuscher series you refer to. I have volumes 1-5, but believe they may have produced a 6th volume. With reference to a separate thread I'd be happy to assist you in any way I can. However, the subject matter is vast, and I would have to confess that most of the younger players have not yet graced my old ears. Is there any particular period or style you like? It might be easier if I were to give you a list of players' names which I thought may be of interest to you. A large number of the tunes found in the 110 succes books are very difficult to find in recordings, and the further you progress after volume 1, which contains the old classics, the more anonymous these become. You may also be aware that there are various subtleties within the musette genre, with some leanings towards jazz, swing, gypsy, and regional folk styles. The Swiss, Belgians, Dutch, and Italians also do their own take on "French" musette, with varying results. There are also musette bands in Japan and elsewhere, but I don't know very much about those. Feel free to send me a PM, and we can maybe make a start. French musette is quite a popular theme on the forum, but we do tend to form a minority group. I've been off the forum for a while and the last time I was here that minority comprised one member, and that was me. A few members have expressed a passing interest, but most of them have their main interests elsewhere. I'll need to find out what a "Tidal subscription" is. I believe I may have a similar facility with Amazon.

 

[wirralaccordion]

I am a relative newcomer to this style of music so may be completely off track here but to my ear the first track sounds very much like one of Arrigo Tomasi's play-a-long entries on Youtube. I love them but generally they are too fast. It would be interesting to know if others see a similarity as Arrigo Tomasi is Spanish ( I presume ), not French or Italian!

 

[maugein96]

I believe Arrigo Tomasi is actually from Turin in Italy. He teaches jazz accordion, and as such may well have an influence on the styles of other Italian accordionists, such as Athos Bassissi. I did note that Arrigo Tomasi's website offers the facility to translate into Spanish, but he seems to be orientated towards the US media, where Spanish is almost a prerequisite.

I haven't listened to much of his stuff, although his style has been likened to that of the famous US jazz accordionist, Frank Marocco.

The play along tunes are pretty good, although I think you need to be well into the jazz ethic, otherwise I would agree that they can be pretty difficult to follow.

 

[losthobos]

Tomassi is a great resource....i can't handle much more than the heads (1st 8 bars) of his transcriptions....but there is a wealth of harmonic and phrasing ideas to be found if you take the time to explore...

 

[reivilos92]

I also came across that cover of La Sorcière a while ago. I like the perfect rythm.
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[JeffJetton]

Very nice!