Cory Pesaturo / Eddie Monteiro

[Matt Butcher]

Some jazz. Whether you like the sound of digitals or not (I think theyre fine), I thought this was a pretty great version of Cherokee. Theres a funny camera mistake as well described in the comments to the video.


Anyone come across these guys? They both have more videos on YouTube.

Out of all of this great video, I think the bit I found most impressive / exciting was Eddie Monteiros bass playing. A local jazz accordion hero in the Midlands was the late Steve Pacitto who said he used to think of himself as a bass player first and foremost. He used to play some really driving basslines on the stradella. Unfortunately all his Youtube videos were made at the end of his life when he was very frail and a shadow of his former self from a musical point of view (dont get me wrong, he could still play).

Anyway I posted a link to this video of Mr Pesaturo and Mr Monteiro for the sheer enjoyment (I hope).

 

[ChrisH]

I agree that it's a brilliant performance, and I'm a great fan of electronic/digital instruments, but it still seems bizarre to me that anyone would want to use an accordion in order to sound like a Hammond or a piano.

Chris

 

[fjsys]

Nice-
I always really enjoy listening to Mr Pesaturo play. However watching him is a different story. Just watching his videos gives me neck and upper back pain, and I always wonder if he is afraid the keys are going to move on him with the intensity he stares at them.
He really is a wonderful player and great to listen to.
Ben

 

[JIM D.]

Hi Chris; You must realize that walking around with a Hammond or Piano strapped on would be very difficult. :lol: {} :lol:

 

[ChrisH]

Hi Jim

I have both a Hammond and a digital piano in my living room, and I've gigged with both, so I appreciate your comment. I started playing the accordion just over a year ago because I wanted something portable (well, maybe luggable), and accoustic. I enjoy the accordion for what it is, and I've never had any desire to make it sound like anything else.

Chris

 

[Matt Butcher]

Why make the sound of other instruments? I suppose "because you can". Plus the jazz tradition of solos from a series of instruments I suppose. And maybe it's a bit like changing couplers for a different section of the music... but I'm with you Chris in that I totally agree, there's nothing like the sound of an acoustic accordion.

 

[JIM D.]

Matt; I totally agree with you on the sound and feel of an acoustic accordion. I've been playing them for half a century and repairing them for 40 years. But I must say that playing music for a profit has been more profitable in the past years with a digital accordion as my audience's prefer the sounds and effects from a "V" accordion.

 

[Matt Butcher]

And I love them too - though I do get the impression with digital, there's a lot to be gained from putting the time in to get the sound just right, I suppose that's an art in itself.

 

[Matt Butcher]

Does anyone know, are these guys part of the regular jazz scene or are they in a box marked "accordion"? (The US accordion world is a lot different from the UK one.)

 

[maugein96]

Great playing, but I wasn't keen on the sounds at all.

I also found a You Tube video of Cory Pesaturo playing his interpretations of some French accordion classics on an acoustic Sonola, and it was far too technical for my taste. There was so much expression put into his complicated embellishments that the tunes, normally played in a light and airy manner, would have been better left out altogether and the whole performance just comprised of improvisations.

I quite like jazz, but not the way these guys do it. Fantastic accordion technicians they might be, but I suppose it's each to his/her own.

 

[ChrisH]

This may be good keyboard jazz, but it isn't accordion music. They are making use of the accordion keyboards to control synthesisers.. no bellows action, no accordion techniques, just pure keyboard skills.

Chris

 

[Matt Butcher]

It is genuinely a good thing that we don't all agree. Just to check I had another listen to the clip and it still does it for me, but to each their own and quite right too. After what you said Maugein I checked and I also find some of Cory P's other improvisations a bit ...unfocused? Maybe working to the chord sequence of Cherokee and keep with the bass and drums kept it tight, who knows, maybe it's just another matter of taste.

As to whether it's accordion music, I'm going to argue that it is, not that it matters, and it's just chat, I don't want to impose my view. Obviously on a simplistic level they are using accordion shaped things to trigger the sounds but that's not the point. Obviously they aren't doing it with reeds and that is missing something big. I'm going to argue (not forcefully I hope) it's an accordion performance because they're using the bellows to shape the sound. Eddie Monteiro definitely, you can see him give a little push before each beat, which is just what I try to do to give the bass a little bit of a kick on the bass accordion. I think Cory P is using the bellows to shape the notes as well, what he's doing looks to me like how the bellows go on a Roland. Anyway, I have trouble with the IV chord in the 3 chord trick so I'll go now...

 

[jimgansett]

Well, I never had the pleasure to see/hear Eddie live, but I have seen Cory many times. Sometimes he would perform at the Massachusetts Accordion Association. I caught him playing at Chan's in Woonsocket, RI. It's an interesting place, half Chinese Restaurant and half jazz club. It was great that night, Cory was playing with a number of musicians, a truly international ensemble of great jazz. He's from RI, they had players from Italy and Peru. I believe a couple of players were Berklee alumni. In any event, what a GREAT evening of Jazz for a whopping fifteen dollars!

A guy I gig with (jazz/blues harmonica) also is the matinee Jazz DJ on a local public radio station. I arranged for him to interview Cory and Cory played on the air. They just used external mics, not directly from the accordion through an audio board and it sounded great. Later, when I saw Chet (the guy I gig with) I asked him what he thought of Cory's playing and his was a one word comment..."Ridiculous" He meant that as a great complement to Cory as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Having said all that, one of the great qualities of Cory is that in spite of his talent and accomplishments, he remains very humble and down to earth. I must admit though, sometimes when I hear him I feel it's as much or more about the show than the music.

As for the comments on acoustic and digital, I've said it before but since it was brought up in this thread I'll say it again. I see the V-Accordion as an evolution of the accordion, much like the electric guitar was an evolution of the acoustic and the digital piano an evolution of the acoustic piano. They both have strengths and weaknesses. I have both. But just like the electric guitar and the digital piano didn't replace their acoustic counterparts, neither does the V-Accordion and other electronic models replace the acoustics. There is a place for both in the musical world, bottom line is that no matter what kind you play, we're all brothers in the world of accordionists.

I can't speak for the UK, but Jim D. is right that here in the US, audiences are quite demanding about wanting instrumental voices in their entertainment. I do love acoustic reed sounds so I always "sneak" in accordion sounds to the tunes I play. You, I, and other accordionists can certainly tell the difference in sound between the accordion sounds of an acoustic and a digital, but it seems non-players either don't know, can't tell, or don't care for the most part. I've never played a gig with a digital where someone came up to me and said that it didn't sound like an accordion.

Sorry to ramble.....

Jim A