I
thought it would be nice to finish off this year on a "lighter
note", and for this week's review I have chosen a recording (cassette)
entitled "Accordion Internationale" by John Bonica.
Instead of me describing the content
of this recording, I thought I would use John's own description,
as it is very to the point:
"John Bonica and his "MIDI" terranean
Quintet visit Europe and the Continent sampling the many flavors
of folk music using his acoustic accordions to blend with a background
of authentic instrumentation in order to capture the ambience
and style of each country. From the pulsing excitement of Russian
Balalaika's in the land of Zhivago, to the wild bazouki's of Zorba's
Greece, the accordions in turn conjure memories of Germany, Switzerland,
France, Finland and the bull fights of Spain. From the haunting
Sicilian Godfather's Theme, we have a final stop in romantic Italy
with its immortal love song Anema E Core. In reality, however,
the entire album was recorded and digitally mastered in my bedroom
studio at home using only Petosa AM 1100 Midi 2000 and musette
tuned Petosa AM1100 acoustic accordion."
To sum up my impression of this
recording, I would say: it is simply very nice. John Bonica plays
with a pleasant, smooth style and at the same time it is such
crisp playing, altogether making it a most enjoyable music entertainment
experience. John's knowledge and use of the MIDI accordion, choice
of timbres and tone colors is skilful as well - it actually does
leave an impression that there is a whole band playing.
In brief: this whole recording is
easy listening, 'peoples' music, played in a nice, pleasant manner
with a lot of style. For what it is, it is very well done *****
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