hey, personly i think if you whant to be a good accordionist, the thing to do is not to spend all your time listening to accordion players.
i think that you should be thinking more along the lines traditional musician rather than accordion player. its ok to listen to some players to see what you can do on the box and to check out the different approaches to playing box, but whats the good in beeing a box player if you cant play with say a fiddler or a flute player ? and i know many box players like that.
rather than recomending you to listen to box players( allthough there are many good ones out there), i think you would be far better off listening to a wide variety of instruments and styles especially fiddlers and try and see how best you can addapt your instrument to the music, how you can complement it best with out beeing too dominent. after all thats what Dermot Byrne of altan, Joe Burke and Joe Cooley and the rest of the greats did, so it definatly works.
so to answer your question, good box players are :
Try listening to North Cregg they are not strictly boxmusic but their box player is exceptional definately worth a listen.
If you are outside Ireland look up www. madfortrad you will find them there.
Have you tried listening to Karen Tweed? As a fiddler i tend to avoid accordians a bit but her album 'May Monday' is excellent, its quite unusual and has influences from lots of different cultures but its well cool.
well im only a young accordion player but josephine marsh is nice to listen to she has a lovely and easy style to copy sharon shannon is also nice on her album spellbound track 17 ( i think ) is a nice accordion tune also easy to learn to be a nice accodion player you have to devolop your own style as well as other players hope it helps
If it's piano accordion, rather than melodeon, I too would want Karen Tweed as an influence. I've done a couple of workshops with her as teacher, and she is a marvellous tutor as well as player. The main benefit I gained was learning to play on single voice more quietly than the quietest session instrument, and it has won me a few frinds, even amongst the fiddle fraternity. I agree that a loud box player kills a session, and when there's more than one free reeder, forget it and go home!
Another marvellous player is rising star Sam Pirt, from the UK, who studied under Karen (!). He is in 422, the Pack and AAAAG (An accordian and a guitar), and he is now running workshops himself. He's a lovely way with the basses, sustaining the dominant like a piper, whilst messing about with other major and minor chords simultaneously.
But overall I'd agree with the early post suggesting you establish a style of playing of your own, by listening how a sympathetic box fits around other instruments, i.e. less is more, rather than trying to reproduce an individual sound of any of the great names listed above.
Good luck. It's a great instrument in the right hands.
Definitely Kepa Junkera.
Amazing player, lots of interesting music. I think he plays some kind of button box. Get his CD "Bilbao Zero Hour" (or Bilbao 0:00h, maybe).
This has nothing to do with ITM, but if you can find anything by the Brazilian accordionist Hermeto Paschoal, listen to it carefully. It may blow your mind.
Totally agree with Glauber - Kepa Junkera is excellent! He plays a Basque two-row button acordion called a triquitixa. Also Luke Daniels and Andy Cutting are great players, albeit with totally different styles. Also recently got hold of a CD by Micheal Darby O Fatharta, from Inver in Connemara, calle Bosca B
Gerry O'Connor is a lovely player! He was here in the spring to play at a feis, and it's not too often that I can say that the fiddler was just as easy to compete with as the box I hope he'll be out our way again soon.
Conan - Micheal Darby is brilliant - I play in a session twice a week with him & never truly appreciated the melodian until I heard him play. He is a true talent. Also I really love the strong, steady style of Johnny O'Halloran (he runs the Crane)
BB, I'd love to hear Micheal play live; maybe I'll get a weekend in Galway sometime soon. Do you ever bump into Harry Bradley down there? He's sorely missed in Belfast.
I've seen Harry around - he does sessions in Coili's (?) You should definately come down for the weekend though, Micheal does a session on sunday nights & wed nights & he does a couple more, he's taking us out to Spiddal this week for a session with the locals including john connelly etc, It should be lots of fun I'm only here for another two months - so if you do get down - give us a bell and we'll catch up for a couple of tunes. Where about in london do you play? I know some people at the stags head
I usually play at the Porterhouse near Covent Garden on Sunday afternoons, the Coach and Horses in Hampstead on Sunday nights and the White Horse, Bethnal Green, on Tuesday nights if I can get away with it (as it's a late one!).
I've only been to the Stag's Head a few times a couple of years ago; I think it's more of a gig these days, but it was great back then. Great to hear you're off to Spiddal - hope you have a good time. I'll certainly let you know if I make it to Galway soon.
See you then so!
Accordionists
Accordionists
Does anyone of any new accordionists that you recomend i listen to?
Thanks a million
# Posted on June 9th 2002 by Box
Re: Accordionists
I don't know about any new ones, but Josephene Marsh is a gem
# Posted on June 9th 2002 by Backer
Re: Accordionists
hey, personly i think if you whant to be a good accordionist, the thing to do is not to spend all your time listening to accordion players.
i think that you should be thinking more along the lines traditional musician rather than accordion player. its ok to listen to some players to see what you can do on the box and to check out the different approaches to playing box, but whats the good in beeing a box player if you cant play with say a fiddler or a flute player ? and i know many box players like that.
rather than recomending you to listen to box players( allthough there are many good ones out there), i think you would be far better off listening to a wide variety of instruments and styles especially fiddlers and try and see how best you can addapt your instrument to the music, how you can complement it best with out beeing too dominent. after all thats what Dermot Byrne of altan, Joe Burke and Joe Cooley and the rest of the greats did, so it definatly works.
so to answer your question, good box players are :
Dermot Byrne
Sharon Shannon
Joe Burke
M
# Posted on June 9th 2002 by martin t
Re: Accordionists
Try listening to North Cregg they are not strictly boxmusic but their box player is exceptional definately worth a listen.
If you are outside Ireland look up www. madfortrad you will find them there.
# Posted on June 9th 2002 by Northcregg
Re: Accordionists
you really have a thing for north cregg dont you
# Posted on June 9th 2002 by bb
Re: Accordionists
Dermot Byrne, Joe Burke, Jackie Daly, D
# Posted on June 9th 2002 by Toni Ribas
Re: Accordionists
yeah, I like Donal Murphy, Jo Marsh, Dermot Byrne and loads more....
# Posted on June 10th 2002 by bb
Re: Accordionists
Have you tried listening to Karen Tweed? As a fiddler i tend to avoid accordians a bit but her album 'May Monday' is excellent, its quite unusual and has influences from lots of different cultures but its well cool.
# Posted on June 10th 2002 by Wackadack
Re: Accordionists
well im only a young accordion player but josephine marsh is nice to listen to she has a lovely and easy style to copy sharon shannon is also nice on her album spellbound track 17 ( i think ) is a nice accordion tune also easy to learn to be a nice accodion player you have to devolop your own style as well as other players hope it helps
# Posted on June 10th 2002 by accordion
Re: Accordionists
If it's piano accordion, rather than melodeon, I too would want Karen Tweed as an influence. I've done a couple of workshops with her as teacher, and she is a marvellous tutor as well as player. The main benefit I gained was learning to play on single voice more quietly than the quietest session instrument, and it has won me a few frinds, even amongst the fiddle fraternity. I agree that a loud box player kills a session, and when there's more than one free reeder, forget it and go home!
Another marvellous player is rising star Sam Pirt, from the UK, who studied under Karen (!). He is in 422, the Pack and AAAAG (An accordian and a guitar), and he is now running workshops himself. He's a lovely way with the basses, sustaining the dominant like a piper, whilst messing about with other major and minor chords simultaneously.
But overall I'd agree with the early post suggesting you establish a style of playing of your own, by listening how a sympathetic box fits around other instruments, i.e. less is more, rather than trying to reproduce an individual sound of any of the great names listed above.
Good luck. It's a great instrument in the right hands.
Skipjack
# Posted on June 10th 2002 by Skipjack
Re: Accordionists
wackadack?? avoid acordianists!?! phhh, well thats what you think, but the whole phil thing wasnt actually a wind up! ....;)
# Posted on June 11th 2002 by laura nesbit
get listening to iain lowthian, and if you are up for a bit of madness...Kepa Junkera and his mad Basque music!
# Posted on June 11th 2002 by laura nesbit
Kepa Junkera
Definitely Kepa Junkera.
Amazing player, lots of interesting music. I think he plays some kind of button box. Get his CD "Bilbao Zero Hour" (or Bilbao 0:00h, maybe).
# Posted on June 11th 2002 by glauber
Hermeto
This has nothing to do with ITM, but if you can find anything by the Brazilian accordionist Hermeto Paschoal, listen to it carefully. It may blow your mind.
# Posted on June 11th 2002 by glauber
Re: Accordionists
Totally agree with Glauber - Kepa Junkera is excellent! He plays a Basque two-row button acordion called a triquitixa. Also Luke Daniels and Andy Cutting are great players, albeit with totally different styles. Also recently got hold of a CD by Micheal Darby O Fatharta, from Inver in Connemara, calle Bosca B
# Posted on June 11th 2002 by Conán McDonnell
Re: Accordionists
*WEESCOTTISHFIDDLER* No need to be so wide, id forgotten bout the whole phil thing....it was all lies anyway......i hope!!!
# Posted on June 11th 2002 by Wackadack
Re: Accordionists
Gerry O'Connor is a lovely player! He was here in the spring to play at a feis, and it's not too often that I can say that the fiddler was just as easy to compete with as the box I hope he'll be out our way again soon.
Zina.
# Posted on June 11th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: Accordionists
Conan - Micheal Darby is brilliant - I play in a session twice a week with him & never truly appreciated the melodian until I heard him play. He is a true talent. Also I really love the strong, steady style of Johnny O'Halloran (he runs the Crane)
# Posted on June 12th 2002 by bb
Re: Accordionists
BB, I'd love to hear Micheal play live; maybe I'll get a weekend in Galway sometime soon. Do you ever bump into Harry Bradley down there? He's sorely missed in Belfast.
Best,
Conan
# Posted on June 12th 2002 by Conán McDonnell
Re: Accordionists
I've seen Harry around - he does sessions in Coili's (?) You should definately come down for the weekend though, Micheal does a session on sunday nights & wed nights & he does a couple more, he's taking us out to Spiddal this week for a session with the locals including john connelly etc, It should be lots of fun
I'm only here for another two months - so if you do get down - give us a bell and we'll catch up for a couple of tunes. Where about in london do you play? I know some people at the stags head 
# Posted on June 12th 2002 by bb
Harry Bradley
His new CD "as I carelessly did stray" is excellent!
# Posted on June 12th 2002 by glauber
Re: Accordionists
Hi BB
I usually play at the Porterhouse near Covent Garden on Sunday afternoons, the Coach and Horses in Hampstead on Sunday nights and the White Horse, Bethnal Green, on Tuesday nights if I can get away with it (as it's a late one!).
I've only been to the Stag's Head a few times a couple of years ago; I think it's more of a gig these days, but it was great back then. Great to hear you're off to Spiddal - hope you have a good time. I'll certainly let you know if I make it to Galway soon.
See you then so!
Conan
# Posted on June 12th 2002 by Conán McDonnell
Re: Accordionists
Noel Minogue is a pretty good button box player.
He won some all ireland championship(s ???) and lives now in Berlin/Germany with wife and kids - plays with Midnight Court.
on my Ireland trip back in 2000 I saw a 16 year old boy playin
# Posted on June 25th 2002 by crannog
Re: Accordionists
Dónal Murphy is the has to be 1 of the best accordionist's in the country!!!!!!!! He is a fantastic session player!!!!!!!!!
# Posted on August 18th 2008 by GibbyM