Loikroh

Great stuff, Danny. Keep them coming

I just returned from a long trip in South Africa and no problem with the concertina in hand luggage at all - except for Dubai on the way back. Ended up playing for the security queue at 01.00 in the morning - hilarious. cheers Mart

Hi John I saw that as well - I think we all did, it was amazing. Came out of the Metropole and there it was - thought it was the beer at first! I took a pic on the ipad but it's a lot worse than your picture..... cheers

Just great that this stuff still exists on film - different planet in those days.

Love the new website, Steve. Looking forward to the CD too. I'll come and pick one up when I'm in Pambula next year cheers and beers Mart

I don't think it's a daft question at all. I would think it's a personal preference thing and depends on where your supporting little fingers rest on the bar and also how far through the strap you like your thumbs. I have my thumbs well through and the natural position is for the index on the left to hit the G and the index on the right to hit the A. Apart from that, the best position is the one where I hit the right notes:-) cheers Mart

Hi Wolf I agree with all you have said here. When I'm playing jazz I'm using the EC very much as a solo instrument rather like the jazz sax or the flute. It's very difficult to bend the notes as those instruments can - possible at a slow speed using very strong bellows and the button hardly depressed -so I tend to grace instead. The EC is perfect for this kind of playing - especially the improvisation - many of the chordal arpeggios run up just one side of the instrument and the chromatic runs are not too difficult to find. Down to practice like everything else I guess. If I'm accompanying a song I tend to use far more chords than single note runs. I see you have provided a link to the Handel sonata. Again this is the EC purely as a classical solo instrument. It's one of the few things I recorded a long time ago that I still really like! I remember reading somewhere - could have been an old "Free Reed" magazine - that Wheatstone envisaged his invention as a "serious" classical instrument. This was one of my early attempts to prove he was right. I was amazed when it was favourably reviewed on the classical music page of the Guardian newspaper! cheers Mart

Hi Ceemonster - glad you like it. Olivier Manoury is a real star on both Bandoneon and Accordina. I especially like his version of Round Midnight on the Bando Monk album.

Thanks Steve - hopefully more to come as soon as I get some recording time. I got a great response to this on Facebook from my mates in Pambula Beach. They're playing some great music over there. Have a look here - https://pbgb.bandcamp.com/album/the-pbgb-jukebox. I'd love to join them at the Merimbula Jazz fest - if only..... cheers and beers Mart

Hi Stuart Glad you like Alfie's - yep,Giant Steps would be a challenge! Like most jazz tunes the head's not too bad to play, even over the 1st line chord progression: Bmaj7 D7 Gmaj7 Bb7 Ebmaj7. A bit unusual! It's just the impro that's almost impossible unless one happens to be a genius like Coltrane - sadly I'm not The solo is transcribed here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kotK9FNEYU It makes an interesting workout for the fingers to just stop it at random and try to play a few bars - argghh! cheers Mart

Great, Stuart. If I could play an anglo I'd play it like this cheers mart

Thanks for the replies, guys, glad you like it - and I must say your restoration job is second to none, David - she plays like a dream. cheers Mart

After quite a lot of Bach has been posted I thought I'd start the year at the other end of the spectrum. This is one of my favourite jazz numbers and so much fun to play. I enjoy the classical playing but there's something about playing jazz when you get the nod and you've got the next three choruses all to yourself. I have incorporated just a couple of tune snippets in the impro. Most jazz musicians like doing it - Dexter Gordon was the king of this I reckon. https://soundcloud.com/mart-bradley/alfies-theme-sonny-rollins-concertina Played on Wheatstone 26234 Happy New Year Mart

A big thank-you for your replies. Your'e correct, Wolf - The Handel was recorded a long, long time ago!! cheers Mart

Nice one, Wolf - love it. And a very happy new year to all.