Born in the tiny town of Norway, Michigan, Art Van Damme was not expected to become a serious American Jazz musician. Classically trained as a pianist and motivated to become a professional musician, Art was a performing musician by age nine in a local theatre in upper Michigan. His family moved to Chicago when he … Continue reading Remembering Art Van Damme, America’s Foremost Jazz Accordionist
ACCORDION By Edward M. Komara The accordion reached its peak popularity with African American musicians between the end of Reconstruction (1865-1877) and the early twentieth century. Clarence Tross, a West Virginian musician, reported that it was ''mostly the colored man'' playing accordions in that period, and a contemporary from coastal Virginia remembered that accordions were … Continue reading A History of Blues Accordion
Accordion Americana 