Hi Folks:
I organize the annual Gypsy Jazz fest called Django in June here in Northampton, MA every year. This year in addition to the weekend offerings, we will offer a Tues-Sun Django Camp format for musicians who really want to dig in. (Please see my longer post under "Events" if interested.)
Personally, I would love to add an accordion componant to our "Camp". Accordion is one of the things that makes this genre so distinctive. This is new turf for me, though, both in term of the pedegogy and the outreach.
I'd be happy to hear from accordion players with suggestions on either of these fronts:
(1) What would a well-designed instructional componant include? What would make it interesting, appealing and useful?
(2) What are some of the best outreach vehicles for reaching potential participants?
I figure if we could count on 6 or 7 accordion players attending we could support a staff person.
Thanks,
Andrew
Djangoinjune.com
Comments
I've actually had a chance to speak of or hear from several players in the last day or so, including a long talk today with Vladimir "Vlado" Mollov. Vlado performs regularly with Kruno Spisic, including an appearance at Djangofest NW. I'd heard great things about his playing and personality, so I checked in. It didn't take long to convince me that there's tons of interesting material for accordion players who would like to join us for Django in June this year: comping, jazz improv, solo studies, and repertoire from swing music, la musette and Eastern European folk traditions. We also agreed that he would have to be prepared to work with players at at least two distinctly different levels...and he will.
So Vlado is officially on board from Tuesday through Sunday at Django in June and will no doubt join Kruno for his opening set on Saturday night. We welcome not only him, but all the accordion players he'll be working with. Come out, come out wherever you are, and let us know what would make the week special for you.
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew Lawrence
DjangoinJune.com