Squeeze Me-the Jazz & Swing Accordion Story [Box set, Import]

Squeeze Me-The Jazz & Swing Accordion Story (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Proper Box UK
• ASIN: B000J4OY5E
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,472 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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

See all 25 tracks on this disc

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

See all 25 tracks on this disc

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

See all 26 tracks on this disc

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

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll be surprised . . ., May 22, 2009

By 

James Walsh (Cleveland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Squeeze Me-the Jazz & Swing Accordion Story (Audio CD)

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.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not musically satisfying, August 12, 2009

By 

Jeff "Snake" Greenberg "Snake" (New Orleans, LA, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Squeeze Me-the Jazz & Swing Accordion Story (Audio CD)

This is an interesting collection from a historical point of view, however there is very little music really worth listening to.