Posts Tagged ‘gabbanelli’
Hungarian Music for Accordion: Magyar Muzsika Harmonikara
- 40 Pages
- Published by Editio Musica Budapest
Product Description
A wonderful collection of Hungarian folk songs and dances of the 17th-19th centuries…. More >>
Primer Nivel: Acordeon
- 66 Pages
- Published by Music Sales America
- Softcover with CD
Product Description
Aprenda a tocar el acordeón con este excelente y único método musical. Escrito por el afamado autor Victor M. Barba (creador del método Easy Music), este método le enseñará todo lo que necesite saber de una manera fácil, gradual y autodidacta. Además de ejercicios, diagramas y explicaciones, el libro incluye un CD donde se demuestran todos los ejemplos musicales y las pistas para practicar con el mismo. En complemento con los métodos de… More >>
Lawrence Walker, King of the Accordion Players
According to Cajun folklore, if you bury the umbilical cord (nom-bril) of a newborn under a rose bush the baby will become a musician. While this is not a custom Iâm aware of taking place today, it does make you wonder. Louisiana does have itsâ fair share of Cajun musicians.  The early Cajun French music pioneers are legendary. When people today speak of late great Cajun musicians, the ones who came before, there is one accordion player extraordinaire that stands out.
Born 1907 in Duson, near Scott, both small towns outside of Lafayette, Louisiana, was Lawrence Walker. By the age of thirteen, Lawrence had begun his musical career. He played in a band with his father, Allen, a prominent fiddler, and brother, Elton, also a fiddler. It was the early 1920âs. Although music wasnât his first profession, he became a rice farmer by trade, it was his first love. 1929 brought about their recording debut with Bluebird with tunes such as “La Breakdown la Louisianne” and “La Vie Malheureuseâ. Walker continued to farm until after World War II. He traveled Louisiana and southern Texas playing with his band the Wandering Aces. The early 1950âs saw him in the recording studios yet again. He had quite a following.
Lawrence wrote his songs like the traditional Cajun songwriters, with an emphasis on personal meaning and experience. In short he wrote what he knew.  He wrote only original songs, unlike other Cajun performers of his time. Case in point is his âReno Waltzâ.
Besides writing and singing his music, Lawrence played the accordion. Man, did he play.  In the 1930âs Lawrence and his band traveled to the Texas Centennial in Dallas, Texas. They won first place in the contest there. Over the years there were many other contests where he was challenged by the various other accordion players. During these showdowns the crowds were usually the judges. Lawrence always won. He was known far and wide as âKing of the Accordion Playersâ at that time. He was also quite well known for his great showmanship with his instrument. It is said that he could completely captivate his audience in a way few accordion players ever have. Lawrence Walker was inducted into the Cajun Music Hall of Fame in 1997 when it opened.
La Louisianne Records on Johnson Street in Lafayette was where the album âA Tribute to the Late Great Lawrence Walkerâ was produced by Carol J. Rachou. This album includes many of Lawrenceâs best songs. He died of heart failure in 1968, but the music of his heart lives on. So maybe there is an umbilical cord under a rose bush somewhere in Duson.