I saw your post about minor keys on 1 row and wanted to share this with ye... Mr. John J. Kimmel from the early 1900's was the man. The minor keys on the 1 row are filled in nicely with piano chords to give them depth.

Notice on the b-part in the major key he taps the chord on the bass side. It sounds like dynamite

This recording makes me want a Sterling or Monarch really really bad.

Hey Jim,cool stuff,Mark Savoy turned me on to John Kimmel when I was in his shop awhile back.Got the folkways CD.The guy was a monster on the accordion

Hi Jim

A friend is very deeply involved in wax recordings & 78's and equipment too ... see link #3. Plays a lot of instruments as well: this one maybe interesting one for braves:



Nout

Jim, I guess you mean that posting about "strange keys"?
If that is so, Christian meant "buttons".
It was all about a funny kind of accordion Joe Derrane plays, which has huge square buttons.

Talking about playing strange keys on melodeon, the Quebecois are the best. But they too learned from Kimmel. Remember that Bouchard clip (with piano), changing keys all the time?
Gilles Poutoux from France is also quite good in it. He plays reels in G on a D accordion, in Am on a C, etc. In that case have to ignore the basses, or tip them so slightly that you hardly hear them.

Thanks Jim. Actually, as Peer said, I was talking about the buttons. But never mind, that gives us the opportunity to listen to one of those monster accordion players of the past (and watching this cylinder-player running is interesting).

(I got interested in Joe Derrane after reading an article about him in an old issue of a trad. music magazine. I purchased one of his CD's ("Give Us Another") and wanted to watch his fingers in action. Couldn't believe playing so many notes in a few minutes was possible! His story is told at link 1).

Christian

Jim,

What an unexpected treat!

Where on earth did you procure such a reproducing device?
And, an accordion piece no less, fantastic.
The arrangement sounds very orchestral to me (if
that makes any sense.)
Right away, I thought I heard Savoy-esque fast triplets ..
interesting.
I cannot help but wonder how many great performances
were lost over the eons, from BC times around the
planet.
Thanks for sharing this
I do have a Choates 78rpm that plays on my Victrola.
I could post that if too anyone's interested

--Biggy

Nout- Thanks for that link, he's got alot of good stuff. I could learn some from him

Christian and Peer - Oops, my bad! I need to read more thoroughly. That guy on that video you showed did have strange keys or buttons, being square. Hmmm, I bet a Cajun accordion would look kinda ugly with square buttons.

Nick- Actually, that's someone elses. I wish I had one of those contraptions though.

I agree with you all, Kimmel was the stuff!

The world's earliest recordings of the human voice (1860):

http://www.firstsounds.org/sounds/scott.php

Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot...

Brrr!

The singing on these recordings sound almost like a fly caught in a jar trying to get out .... Nout

Or someone singing in an aquarium.
But still, it's pretty impressive to hear words coming from so far back in the past.