VA - Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic IV: Accordion Night (2015)

From Musette in Paris to Schrammelmusik in Vienna, the Sinti and Roma music from the Balkans and the tango in Buenos Aires, the accordion is best loved in popular music, and a welcome companion in folk music: the "common man's orchestra". In the classical and jazz genres, however, it is all too often misunderstood and still an outsider in classical and jazz music, despite pioneering talents such as Astor Piazzolla and Richard Galliano. The eighth edition of the Jazz at the Philharmonic series at Berlin's Kammermusiksaal, curated by ACT head honcho Siggi Loch, sought to redress that balance, presenting an interweaving line-up of four of the finest accordionists in duo pairings with other instruments. The result is a triumph and presents unequivocably the accordion as a jazz instrument par excellence.