Singer-Songwriter David Vaughan is back at The Pheasantry, King’s Road, Chelsea, London on Tuesday 3rd May 2016 at 8.30pm for The London Festival of Cabaret. Vaughan draws inspiration from the European chanson tradition and uses a unique blend of musical instruments to paint a wonderful palette of musical colours which underpin his original songs. Romano Viazzani on accordion, Daniel Broncano on clarinet and bass clarinet, Jason Reeve on drums, Tom Hewins on tuba and double bass and of course Vaughan himself on piano and vocals.

Romano Viazzani is very excited to be playing a variety of music from opera, Neapolitan serenades, tango, Italian and american standards and Jazz on his accordion alongside John Bailey on Piano, Nick Pini on Double Bass, Richard Jones on Violin, Jason Reeve on Drums with the beautiful operatic voice of Anna Greco at this event on May 22nd 2016.

Royal Academy of Music Events for May – Accordion Showcase (19th May 2016 and Masterclass 24th May 2016).Always great to keep up with how well the accordion students at the Royal Academy of Music are doing and watching them develop in to fine young artists. It is now 30 years this coming September that the accordion was introduced there.The Academy was the first British conservatoire to introduce teaching for classical accordion as a principal study. Owen Murray has been Head of Accordion since the department was founded in 1986.

Currently in his second year at the Royal Academy of Music Ben de Souza spent his gap year converting from a classical piano accordion to the more compact classical button accordion. He also spent some time in Italy learning how to tune and repair accordions with Beltrami in Stradella. It was then that he decided to design his future instrument and trust its construction to Claudio Beltrami.

At last, and well worth the wait we have recordings of Chico Chagas available in the UK. Chico Chagas only lived in London a short time but he made an incredible impact in that short time. In this album Chico Chagas delves into that characteristic Brazilian rhythm, the Bossanova. Full of his wonderful compositions and amazing improvisations and capturing that unique Copacabana beach laid back atmosphere. Recorded on his Beltrami P26 special built to his specification and in colour (Goodwood Green). Put on your shades, turn off the TV and picture Sugar Loaf Mountain in the background whilst you try to feel the hot sand under your feet (a hot water bottle can help to visualise this!).

At last, and well worth the wait, we have recordings of Chico Chagas available in the UK. It was while he was in Europe the idea of what Chopin, Bach, Beethoven and other classical composers would have made of listening to his native Forró music.  The result was this flight of fantasy which takes the well known themes of many of those composers and uses them as a basis of improvisation in the Forró style.

At last, and well worth the wait we have recordings of Chico Chagas available in the UK. Chico Chagas only lived in London a short time but he made an incredible impact in that short time.  This a CD that is difficult to categorise.  You will undoubtedly hear Chagas’s latin-american and jazz influence but this album dedicated to his baby daughter Maria has a filmic quality. He plays both piano and accordion and it could almost be a soundtrack to a collage of different scenes. Happy yet quite poignant at times this album shows a different side to Chagas’s creativity. Recorded on his Beltrami P26 special built to his specification and in colour (Goodwood Green) this is arguably the best album to hear the many tonal possibilities of his 5- voice instrument. It’s also a lovely album for children to first enjoy the accordion and piano with some wonderful melodic writing. Something to listen to and contemplate!

Toral Tollefsen, World Artist is a new publication we now have in stock featuring one of the first truly global accordionists of the concert platform. The book tracks the life of this pioneer of the concert accordion through interviews and articles contributed by the editor Jon Faukstad, Mogens Ellegaard, Ola Kai Ledang and others.

Piano Accordion with C system Free Bass Converter

Maria de Buenos Aires – Piazzolla’s Tango Opera – 6 dates in May and June 2106 – The Vaults, London. Fans of Astor Piazzolla and Tango will be pleased to hear that his opera is returning to London for 6 dates in May and June. It’s quite rare to see this performed so here’s your chance to see it and even participate in a bit of tango dancing after the show!