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I sat and arranged this tune that was requested for an upcoming gig. Fun time working on this one.

Wanted to relate a random cool experience. I had a small gypsy jazz jam session at my place with about 7 musicians hanging out on my back patio on a pleasant summer evening: 4 guitars, a bass player, a jazz violinist, and me on EC. We were going around the circle each selecting tunes from the Django Fakebook to play. One of the guitar players said he recently attended an Irish session at a pub in Maryland where he met a couple of Concertina players. Without thinking I started playing Jump At The Sun. This is an accomplished group of musicians and they caught on pretty quickly and joined in. The tune began to swing and everyone soloed and jammed. It was hoot. Unfortunately no recording of it.

Listen to Yesterdays By Jerome Kern by Randy Stein 1 on #SoundCloud https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/CbztY from the 1933 musical "Roberta". Music written by Jerome Kern. Arranged polyphonically for the EC.

Moonlight In Vermont Written by Karl Suessdorf in 1944 Needed an election distraction.

There is a group of about 6 regular musicians that gather together in Takoma Park, MD every Monday evening and jam to the Django Fake book. I finally made the trek up to join them and had a swell time. Much of the music is familiar but it was great fun playing in this stylized jazz style, which I have some experience in playing but never on a regular basis.I especially enjoyed the chance to sight read a lot of cool chords and fast paced melody lines (mistakes were graciously overlooked). The musicians had never played with an English concertina before so the experience was new and refreshing for all of us. I did not record or take photos but maybe next time. The Django Fake Book which I also use to arrange tunes to play polyphonically, was too big to attach but can be found online for free. Google 2008 Django Fake Book Enjoy. rss

Back-to-back video of both models playing a popular tune. The Aeola is c 1909 with original 5-fold bellows and is in original old pitch. The Model 5 from 1918 has a new set of bellows I made and installed recently. It is in modern pitch. I restored both instruments over the past 12 months. The video is here:

Something new I've been working on here:

Seems appropriate now that we are getting some rain in California. It's here:

A rendition of this standard on the tenor-treble. Here:

Caravan by Duke Ellington Performed at the Northeast Squeeze-IN Sept 14th, 2015 Randy Stein -English Concertina Judy Minot - Piano https://soundcloud.com/randy-stein-1/caravan

https://soundcloud.com/user827948939/ive-only-got-eyes-for-you Great 1934 tune by Harry Warren and Al Dubin.

Hi squeezers - anybody in the west country over the next couple of days? I have two solo gigs at cracking venues over the next two nights- very different vibes but please c'mon down if you want to hear blues/folk/jazz on a 90 yr-old duet concertina and a 67 yr-old voice. Tonight, Thursday, April 16 I'm at The legendary Blues Bar , in Plymouth's historic/pretty Elizebthan Barbican quarter, from about 9pm. (It's next to the Old Custom House on the cobbled quay). I'll be emphasising the blues. jazz vibe with stuff from Fats Waller, Louise Armstrong, Jimmie Rodgers, The Louvin Brothers, Hoagy Carmichael, Bessie Smith & Ma Rainey etc..and my favourite, Randy Newman// but I'll throw in a few more folksy songs and tunes as well. FRIDAY, April 17, follow me about 15 miles inland, up the River Tamar, to the umbelievably quaint riverside village of Calstock( which is just inside the Cornish border) where I'll be performing at the converted Chapel Arts Centre - rapdily becoming on of the gems on the west country acoustic music scene.Sensational views behind the stage of the River Tamar and Brunel's famous railway viaduct...some people still come to the gig by train from Plymouth ! You can just about catch the last train back to the city.. and the trip is unique. I'll be doing a more folky set here, including Cornish mining stuff, some of my own songs, talking about the history/systems of concertina and getting people generally to have a jolly good Friday evening sing-song.Wolf - if you are reading this ( Old Blue Sailor) this is the same little riverside village where you heard my jazz trio in the pub. The Chapel Arts Centre is on the hill as you come on up out of the valley. Wish you could be here !

From the same rehearsal as Jim's posting we recorded a version of Autumn Leaves. Jim Besser - Anglo Gus Voorhees -Melodeon me - EC Cyndy Elliott - Upright Bass https://soundcloud.com/randy-stein-1/autumn-leaves-squeezers-rehearsal-jan4-2015 rss

So I played around with this and did an arrangement as a challange to myself. Performed it at NESI this year and just recorded it on soundcloud. Its a bit different for the EC but I love playing it. never play it the same way twice. https://soundcloud.com/user827948939/round-midnight-by-thelonius rss

I have set up a new You Tube channel to demonstrate playing of the Crane duet concertina- firstly for some of my songs, although I may add some tunes later. The instrument is a 1926, 58-button Wheatstone, steel-reeded duet. Hope you enjoy them. The songs are: "Jim Jones" -an Australian transportation ballad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7IL-PjVtc "I Only Have Eyes For You" - a classic Tin Pan Alley song written in 1932 by Al Dubin and Harry Warren. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bKF8FaNPp4 "My Own Dear Galway Bay" - not the ' Galway Bay" song that begins :" If you ever go across the sea to Ireland...." made famous by Bing Crosby...but the trad' song, written in 1895 by Francis Fahey, that is sung by the people of Galway.( a much better tune in my humble opinion). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4u9yqYLqNk "Tie' em up" - a self-written, sort of angry protest " shanty" - about the limiting of fishermen's days at sea in the South West of the UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWKeOog2kRA "Rule and Bant" - another self-written song, about two men who were entombed , but eventually rescued after five days, at the Drakewalls Mine in Gunnislake, Cornwall in 1889. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtRPow5iPug

In the recent reposting of Leo's Sept 5th there was a version of Peter Trimming playing Gershwin's Summertime . It is one of my favorite tunes and I have posted my two versions, one solo and one with my former jazz trio as well as a couple of others. Not exactly TOTM but cool none the less. Enjoy Peter Trimming Plays: Summertime http://www.youtube.c...ho6-wT8Y&fmt=18 Randy Stein http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtTs16D_qTo Jazz Shed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP5ZD6VJnmM Rodger French Trio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6d7Hr2R9xY Morne Goosen, Die Stellenboys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMUu-jPbTQo