Mitch Gordon Music

Artist(s)/Group

Recording

Comments

Bambouche, La

Hexagone

Another fine 1980's recording from the very interesting trad band La Bambouche, featuring some epinette (mountain dulcimer to us) and mando in addition to great hurdy-gurdy, box and fiddle. Also lots of singing. Great tunes, great arrangements. Great version of the song Tailleur de Pierre.

Bambouche, La

Jeu à Monter Sans Colle

Probably my favorite La Bambouche, with several memorable vocal numbers in addition to the dance tunes. Some of the great players of French trad were featured in this band, notably Bernard Blanc on pipes and Jean Blanchard on diatonic.

Clips:

• Joli Mois de Mai (song)

• Tourniquet de Saint-Flour (3x bourree)

Bambouche, La

Quitte Paris

More of the distinctive La Bambouche formula, with a touch of Parisian music thrown in among the trad. The corny Parisian chanson La Chanson du Craonne always grabs me ("Adieu la vie, adieu l'amour") wallowing in self-pity over love lost. Lots of great tune sets too. What a great band.

Blanchard, Jean

Accordéon Diatonique

A very nicely done, unproduced, album of box tunes, played very simply and traditionally but with nice ornamentation. A great bunch of traditional tunes, and highly recommended for the box players.

Blanchard, Jean and Jean-Loup Baly

Accordéon Diatonique Special Instrumental

Much like the sound of Blanchard on Accordéon Diatonique -- this time with another box player and a wider range of instruments. All French trad, except for a couple of Cajun tunes.

Blanchard, Jean and Eric Montbel

Cornemuses du Centre

Lots of traditional tunes played on two bagpipes. Many slower airs, and dance tunes played as airs. Very pretty, very tranquil, very bagpipey.

Bouffard, Patrick

Patrick Bouffard Joue Jenzat

Patrick issued these as two cassettes for music students in the early 90's, but they've gone out of print. A really nice selection of the more commonly played tunes, plus several surprises. No real arranging here, but everything is played by the trio of Patrick Bouffard, Frederic Paris and piper Willy Soulette, so who needs arranging?

Bouffard, Patrick

Musiques Pour Vielle à Roue

This is probably my favorite solo recording by any hurdy-gurdy player, partly because Patrick is my favorite player of the instrument, and partly because there are so many great tunes, many of them his originals. This was his first album, back in the early 90's, and his playing was as phenomenal then as it is now. Thanks to the sparse production, you really get to hear everything he's doing. On several tracks he is the only musician, on many others there is only a second hurdy-gurdy player. A classic. AMTA definitely needs to re-issue this.

Trio Patrick Bouffard

En Bal

This CD has recently gone out of print. It features the trio playing for dancers (you don't generally see trad French concerts per se in central France -- a concert is a dance, and a dance is a concert). Except for the applause and cheering and sound of dancers' feet, not very different from what's on Revenant de Paris and Rabaterie. It takes a heck of a band to sound identical to their studio recordings when playing live.

Brayauds, Les

Coleurs

This 1986 recording features Eric and Didier Champion and two bandmates when everyone was still very baby-faced and slender. There is a great combined sound from the vielle, the diatonic, and the two pipers. The tunes are nice choices, many of them compositions of Didier's as well as a few by the other players, and some good traditional tunes. Everything is decidedly danceable and very lively. Originals predominate, but it's all good music.

Brayauds, Les

Jusqu'Au Petit Matin

I'm not sure if this one was before or after Coleurs. Same four guys, same driving sound. This recording is one of the best examples of what I consider the typical Central France sound. Lots of good tunes, many I didn't know.

Cafe Charbons

Cafe Charbons (and Inedits)

This is a classic from the early days of the French folk revival, consisting of a very young Dominique Paris on pipes, Marc Anthony on hurdy-gurdy, and Jean-Francois Vrod on fiddle. These guys were incredible together...serious wild traditional Auvergne music of the snarl-and-stomp variety. The fiddle, pipes and vielle are wonderfully interwoven. Great players, absolutely great stuff. I've also appended the four cuts that appeared on a cassette 10 years later called "Inedits", which is cut of the same cloth.

Clips:

• Bourrees a Ribeyrolle (3x bourrees)

• Marche

Cayla, Martin

various selections

I've compiled 28 Martin Cayla numbers onto one CD. Martin Cayla was the bandleader and chromatic button accordion player of the very popular Auvergne dance band of the 1940's and 1950's. Complete with that good old scratchy old-record sound and lots of whooping (a bit like a French Bob Wills). Anyone interested in playing Central France music should learn several of these tunes, as they're classics.

Clips:

• La Belle Rosette

• Marisou

Chavannée, La

Rage de Danse Bourbonnaise

Why on earth this and the next three recordings haven't been reissued escapes me, because La Chavannee is the definitive French trad band, with at least 3 or 4 of the key players in the French folk community. And their sound is great -- two hurdy-gurdies, two bagpipes, two fiddles, a singer, one (or sometimes 2) diatonic(s). No shortage of classic tunes on this or any of the La Chavannee recordings. This one also has the original Adele Blanc Sec and Callipyge.

Clips:

• Ganivelle

• Adele Blanc-sec

Chavannée, La

Le Long de la Rivière

(see band description under Rage de Danse Bourbonnaise above) Lots of great tunes and songs on this one as well. Possibly my favorite early Chavannee.

Clips:

• Le Long de la Riviere (2x bourree)

• Adieu la Belle (song)

Chavannée, La

Le Bourbonnais

(see band description under Rage de Danse Bourbonnaise above) More of that La Chavannee sound, and more great tunes and songs. A little more primitive sounding, darker tunes. This may have been their first recording.

Clips:

• Suite de Polkas

• Branle

Chavannée, La

Cotillon

(see band description under Rage de Danse Bourbonnaise above) Still more great tunes and songs. My favorite cut is Frederic Paris' delightfully bouncy version of Scottish de Virmoux, also the marvelous Bouffard-Paris duet on La Bobine.

Clips:

• La Bobine

• Scottisch a Virmou

Cigogne Bleue, La

La Folk Des La Rue Des Dentelles

This one is more for you hardcore folkies, and/or people with a sense of humor. This is music from Alsace, which, like the language, is as much German-flavored as French. Includes a couple of interesting tunes in 5/4 time that we play. Also lots of horns and other unexpected instruments. I think it's kind of strange and silly, but it's likely the only Alsatian recording you'll find.

Clacque Galoche, Le

Bal Auvergnat

Absolutely great-sounding trad French instrumentals from the 1970's. Four musicians, names I don't recognize -- gurdy, fiddle, box, octave mando, and pipes. Excellent choices of tunes, great playing, lots of nice fiddle work. I like this one a lot.

Dedale

various selections

This is a collection of Dedale's tunes from a couple of recordings, one live. Dedale is Isabelle and Norbert Pignol on hurdy-gurdy and box respectively, with a flute/whistle player, an electric bass and some synth. More electronic than most of what I listen to, and all of the material is composed rather than trad, but the compositions are quite good and Isabelle stands out as a terrific gurdy player.

Desaunay, Serge and Giles Le Bigot

Tunes for America

Serge Desaunay is a very good box player in the more contemporary vein, and writes his own tunes, all very nice. On this recording he teams up with guitarist Giles Le Bigot. Very pretty stuff.

Desaunay, Serge and Christian Vesvre

Matins Gris

Serge Desaunay on box with Christian Vesvre on pipes. A mixture of styles, some trad tunes but mostly composed. A bit on the jazzy side.

Del Sauveterre

Del Sauveterre

A really interesting collection of southern Auvergne tunes, and songs sung in Occitan. It is clear that Occitan cultural identity was just starting to be explored when this LP came out. There are hurdy-gurdy, whistle, a bit of psaltery (not sure where that fits), and box and fiddle. The tunes are good but what really stands out is the singing, including versions of familiar bourrees, but sung by groups of men. The language is, well, Occitan, and sounds almost Italian or Spanish at points. Very enjoyable.

Les Frères Guillemain

Berry-Bourbonnais

This is scratchy, somewhat corny and very folkloric-sounding playing by two musicians, sometimes playing on two gurdies, sometimes gurdy and pipes, and other combinations. The tunes are all very good to have, and this is something of a classic, although it made me squirm to listen through initially. 29 tunes, count 'em!

Gentiane

Musique d'Auvergne

A very nicely polished ensemble of good Auvergne tunes, several of them familiar, with a group of excellent musicians, notably Jean Blanchard and Bernard Blanc. There's a bit of piano in places, but mostly good solid French trad. Very enjoyable.

Grand Rouge, Le

Le Grand Rouge

A classic recording from the 1970's, with Pierre Imbert on hurdy-gurdy, Christian Oller on box and fiddle, and two other players I don't recognize. A nice mixture of songs and great trad instrumentals.

Le Tron, Bruno

Valhermeil

Bruno Le Tron is one exceptional box player, among the very best. He also writes excellent tunes, which make up most of this recording. Nothing trad here except for a few Breton tunes, but no diatonic box player should be without this recording, and it too is sadly out of print. I have no idea how he plays in all those keys on a 2-1/2 row diatonic in G/C.

Paris, Frederic

Carnet de Bal

Here's another classic that should have been reissued long ago. Like Rue de L'Oisseau, this features Frederic's simple and beautiful box playing. Unlike the other recording, this one specializes more in trad than Paris' compositions. Everything is very pretty. A must-have for the accordion players, and everyone else will enjoy it too.

Pennec, Alain

Accordeon Diatonique

This one is traditional Breton rather than Centre France. Pennec has created other CD's since (and some very extensive instructional books and recordings), but this one is marked by its simplicity and listenability (nothing on the CD but Pennec's box playing). The sound is distinctively Breton. The Breton vocal number Drao at the end is one we do, and is just a great song.

Perrone, Marc

Accordeon Diatonique

This was box player Marc Perrone's first solo recording, I believe. It stands out for its simplicity, and mostly is just box. Several good trad tunes as well as some of Perrone's originals.

Perrone, Marc and others

Gabriel Valse

This recording is live at a dance, and features several musicians, notably Perrone on box before he became established. Everyone was very young, notably Perrone. There's a bit of Cajun and Quebecois thrown in, but mostly a lot of very good central France trad featuring box and fiddle and mando. A lot of fun. You can picture yourself there.

Perrone, Marc

La Forcelle

In this recording Perrone is starting to play more Parisian, and it is kind of a funny mix of stuff at times (he throws in a tarantella and a Quebecois reel, along with Under Paris Skies). But some of his classics are represented as well, such as Les Valcerves and Vas-Y Mimille.

Prieur, Phillipe and Frederic Paris

La Mere Gaspard

This recording is from an outdoor concert at a festival, and features piper Phillipe Prieur and Frederic Paris on a multitude of instruments, along with one or two other players and singers. It's a real mixture of material, but there's some great stuff, including some very traditional vocal music, some bagpipe duos and trios, and a very pretty rendition of Paris' Canal en Octobre. Overall a very interesting album.

Serre Malice

Artense et Monts Dore

A friend brought me back this one from Auvergne. The musicians aren't bad but aren't stellar, and several of the tunes are familiar. However, this is enjoyable listening from start to finish, mostly because it sounds like music you'd dance to. No affectations, no funny stuff.

Sonneurs de la Vallee Noir, Les

Sur Les Traines du Berry

This one is pretty folkloric, which is to say, lacking any arranging and consisting of probably mostly amateur small-village players on some (in some cases) rather sour sounding instruments -- entirely hurdy-gurdies and bagpipes. But a lot of typical Berry pieces are presented, and it sounds a lot like what you could have really expected to hear at a village dance in the days before the French folk revival.

Trio BLV

Le Grand Duc

This one's a bit jazzy -- featuring a jazz piano player, an excellent box player, and a very capable fiddler. Most of the material is traditional but arranged to their taste. All and all quite interesting. I especially liked their treatment of the modal fiddle bourree Sainte Rose. A very French concept.

various

Accordeons en Auvergne

This was a compilation cassette featuring various accordion players in Auvergne, both diatonic and chromatic button. There's some Martin Cayla and quite a number of players I don't know of but playing in a similar style, mostly from older recordings. Some of it duplicates my Martin Cayla compilation, but these are all good tunes.

various

Cornemuses de France Volume 2

This is a very interesting, but unproduced and stark, sampling of bagpipes and bagpipe styles from several regions, including Languedoc, Gascony, Brittany, Vendee (Poitou), and a smidgen of Bourbonnais. It all sounds really great, but especially the Breton pieces.

Getting Into The Box - Traditional French Music on the G/C Button Accordion - Vol. 1

This is a tune book with companion music CD, produced and published by Mitch Gordon. It features sheet music and recordings of 19 traditional French tunes that have been favorites with West Coast (U.S.) musicians for years. The sheet music of each tune selection consists of melody notation along with accompanying chords, as well as notes on the tune's origin, correct rhythm, and appropriate playing style.

The companion CD recording contains both slow and moderate speed versions of each tune. The slow speed version is suitable for learning the piece, while the quicker version is useful for hearing what tune should sound like, and for playing along with when more skilled.

Alan Keith, a long time teacher and player of French button accordion music, highly recommends this booklet/CD to all players of 2 and 2-1/2 row G/C, and 3 row G/C/F diatonic (button) accordions. It also serves as a great introduction to French music for players of other instruments as well.